The Genuine Article
Dvorák from the
Lucerne Symphony Orchestra -
heard by
STEPHEN FRANCIS VASTA'... I'm looking forward to hearing and seeing more of Gaffigan's work ...'
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On the present evidence, the American James Gaffigan, winner of the 2004 Solti Conducting Competition, is a first-class technician — the Lucerne Symphony responds to him with warm, well-balanced sounds and excellent ensemble — who knows how to animate a singing phrase. And his choice of Dvořák's Sixth Symphony, rather than a chestnut like the G major or the New World, is refreshing, suggesting an intrepid programming sense.
Still, even at the fringes of the standard repertoire, it helps to have a thorough understanding of a composer's aesthetic, and, for all his musicality, Gaffigan isn't yet quite on Dvořák's wavelength.
Gaffigan plays to the first movement's 'symphonic' power, rather than to its more pastoral inclinations...
Copyright © 31 December 2014
Stephen Francis Vasta,
New York, USA
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