ROUSSEL: Symphony No.2 / Pour une fete de printemps / Suite in F

The 11-minute tone poem Pour une fête de printemps dates from 1920 and may have been originally conceived as the scherzo of the symphony. Instead, as Roussel wrote to Charles Koechlin, it became “a sort of little symphony comprising within itself the various movements: allegro, scherzo, andante, with the slow movement at its centre.” In the same letter, Roussel emphasized that the work had no pictorial or literary program; he was turning towards absolute music at this time. This fascinating piece contains echoes of the composer’s impressionistic past as well as hints of his muscular style to come. Denève leads the Scottish orchestra in a performance full of detail and vigor, which knocks out all prior competition.

The Suite in F shows the composer finally getting into his late stride. In three movements (Fast/Slow/Fast), it truly is a petite symphony, conceived for a chamber orchestra and filled with attractive neo-Classical ideas. Significantly, the movements are entitled Prelude, Sarabande, and Gigue. Denève emphasizes an appropriately Stravinskian edge to the textures, yet also finds warmth in the low central movement.

Simply, this issue is first-class, both in interpretation and execution, and is spaciously recorded, making Denève’s the bargain Roussel cycle of choice (the only low-price competition coming from Dutoit’s 1980s cycle) and potentially the best choice in any price range.