Andrey Boreyko, SWR Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra - Silvestrov: Symphony No. 6 (2007)

Valentin Silvestrov's major symphonic achievements marks an important addition to the Ukrainian composer's rapidly growing discography on ECM. Since 2001 the label has addressed his creative output in a number of releases that encompass a variety of genres. These include chamber works (leggiero, pesante), choral music (Requiem for Larissa), works for piano and orchestra (Metamusik / Postludium) and an extraordinary song cycle (Silent Songs). Now comes the almost hour-long Symphony No 6. Composed in 1994/95 and revised in 2000 it concludes the sequence of great orchestral works that Silvestrov wrote in the 1980s and 1990s. Symphony No. 6 is cast in five interrelated movements that all circle around the creation, transformation and final fragmentation of a melody. Valentin Silvestrov is acknowledged by his fellow composers as an artist of unique expressive power. Alfred Schnittke called him "the greatest composer of our generation", a sentiment seconded by Arvo Pärt in the New Yorker some years ago: "Silvestrov is one of the greatest composers of our time." He was one of the first composers from the former Soviet Union to cast aside the conventional gestures of the avant-garde, and his unique "metaphorical" style integrates echoes of long-lost sounds and poetic allusions with a highly developed sense of form.

Silvestrovs Sixth Symphony is a dense work leavened by inventive scoring and powerful narrative ideas. The central movement, by far the longest, begins with an Andantino section that quotes from Mahlers Fifth and then progresses on a journey that includes a violent brass-percussion eruption that fades away. There are five movements, all played without a break, and ECMs excellent notes will help guide the listener new to this composer through an adventurous exploration into a piece that bears frequent repetition. The Sixth is very much in the manner of other Silvestrov works such as his Postludium, which explores musical and personal memories--recommendation enough for anyone familiar with his style. The broadcast orchestra under the baton of Boreyko, who has often conducted Silvestrovs large-scale works, is well drilled and delivers a moving performance of this deep and powerful symphony. The sonics fit the music well, darkly resonant on a wide stage with well-defined solo and section work. A thrilling listening experience. --Dan Davis