This pair of relatively early works by Henri Dutilleux, completed in 1951 and 1959 respectively, show him poised to inherit the Honegger/Martinu strand of the symphonic tradition. Yet, while an almost Simpsonian elan in the first movement of No. 2 promises a rich vein for further exploration, the Stravinskian strategies of the finale, ending with a virtual recomposition of the chorale that concludes the Symphonies of Wind Instruments, reveals a more modernist tendency, and leads away from the well-made, tonally-resolving symphony altogether.
Dutilleux may have written no more symphonies but he has no more reason to disown the products of his earlier years than have Tippett or Lutoslawski. With their broad thematic vistas and persuasive adaptations of traditional forms, Dutilleux's symphonies offer considerable rewards to interpreters and listeners alike. There are special difficulties for recording engineers, however, in that an already high level of textural density in the First Symphony expands in the Second to a sustained interaction between the main orchestra and a 12-strong concertante group.
For Daniel Barenboim and the Orchestre de Paris, Erato sought to maximize clarity by introducing what now sounds like a rather artificial dryness and flatness of perspective: by comparison, the new Chandos disc has a much richer sound and a more natural acoustic. A few more details in the Second Symphony may be audible on Erato, and the gradual winding-down that ends the work is particularly well managed, but there are passages of inappropriate impatience and restlessness in Barenboim's readings. No such problems with Yan Pascal Tortelier and the BBC Philharmonic, who allow the music all the space it needs, in strongly characterized, rhythmically well-sprung performances with uniformly excellent solo playing in No. 2.
A small final nail in the Erato coffin is (as LS noted in 1988) that the first few seconds of the First Symphony went missing during editing. All in all, then, Tortelier's disc is superior, and can be welcomed wholeheartedly. Let's hope more Dutilleux will follow.'