BRUCKNER
Symphony No 8 in C minor
Wiener Philharmoniker, Pierre
Boulez
DG 459 678-2, 76'14,
Full Price
(Recorded Live at the International Bruckner Festival in
1996)
Crotchet
Reading through Pierre Boulez's collection of essays, Orientations,
the reader will find a single entry for Bruckner. It is in the essay,
Mahler: Our Contemporary and Boulez writes only that 'Bruckner
and Mahler appear as the Castor and Pollux of the symphony'. How extraordinary,
therefore, to find Boulez not only conducting a Bruckner symphony (the only
one he has ever conducted) but also giving us a performance of quite astonishing
power. Both the first and second movements seethe with an electricity I have
not encountered elsewhere, and the third and fourth movements are beautifully
expansive without being in the slightest bit self-indulgent. It is a remarkable
disc.
The genesis of this recording is fascinating. After a concert with the Vienna
Philharmonic in 1992 Boulez was asked by the orchestra's then managing director
if he would consider conducting Bruckner's Eighth in the Abbey Church at
St Florian in September 1996. Boulez initially thought of turning down the
offer, but later accepted the engagement and after rehearsals in the Musikverein
moved onto Linz where the concerts were recorded on 21 and 22 September at
St Florian. When Boulez was asked about his first experience of Bruckner
he believed that he had first heard the Eighth under Otto Klemperer and the
Philharmonia Orchestra in London in the 1960s - a performance, Boulez states,
left a formative influence upon him. Klemperer's daughter, Lotte, however,
is certain that the performance Boulez heard was actually of the Fifth symphony.
To this day, Boulez remains uncertain to whom he owes his first experience
of Bruckner's greatest work.
Like Günter Wand, Bernard Haitink and Herbert von Karajan before him,
Boulez plays Bruckner's Eighth in the Haas Edition. Boulez's own conviction
in the 'rightness' of Haas is based largely on the 'unnecessary' cuts that
Nowak made to the score (notably in the Adagio and Finale), but he also feels,
perhaps incorrectly, that the Nowak edition sometimes destroys the symmetry
and logic of the structure. Contrary to Boulez's views on this, I would argue
that Haas' restitution of the 10 bars in the Adagio (at mm 209-18) [16'55
to 17'33 in this performance] actually reduces, rather than enhances, much
of the unresolved tension that has developed in the preceding bars. If you
listen to a great performance of the Nowak (and Guilini is superlative here)
the tension is never allowed to dissipate for a moment. Boulez is surely
right, however, in ignoring the 1887 version's imperfect ending to the first
movement (fff) in favour of the Original Version's ppp. The
moment is so subliminal as to give real cogency to the work's overall structure:
it not only recalls the peaceful coda of the Adagio, but also of the triumphant
closing pages of the Finale.
The Adagio is a superb place to start in analysing Boulez's recording for
he brings to it a superbly integrated dynamic range. Perhaps because Boulez
is such a great conductor of Stravinsky and the Expressionist composers the
harmony of this movement's orchestration is often more tense and anticipatory
than we are used to. This is most evident in the great tonal ascent to the
climax itself [19'40 to 20'07], where Boulez shades the distinctions between
Bruckner's dynamic markings so explicitly as to make them newly minted. In
contrast, the close of the Adagio is printed in the most delicately subtle
of fabric - it almost dies away like a final heartbeat. It mirrors the opening
of the movement more closely than normal and gives it the perfect 'symmetry'
Boulez sees in the Haas version. None of this would have been possible without
the staggering refinement of the Viennese strings which seem to spin warmth
and tension in equal measure.
In contrast to most conductors, Karajan and Wand included, Boulez takes both
of the opening movements at a cracking pace. Even though he takes the first
movement almost two minutes faster than Karajan the complexity of texture
and rhythmic prominence remain totally intact. The sparseness in the writing
is still there (although only Celibidache gives the single notes an unparalleled
transparency). The C minor ending is almost poised on the bridge of impossibility
so perfectly attuned are the Vienna strings in balancing the ppp writing.
Boulez takes the second movement Scherzo at a similar pace - although he
allows tremendous space for the Trio to emerge so the triadic stillness takes
its effect. The single trumpet call is a glorious moment.
This is such a symphony of two halves that only the very greatest conductors
can reach the Finale and make it work. Boulez's is a major achievement -
even following on from his profound Adagio. The opening
accelerandi to the Finale is gloriously sustained with horns breathing
fire through the most phenomenally articulated string figuration. The long
crescendi develop beautifully as the tension is gradually wound up, and the
shading of the dynamics and thematic clarity are perfectly judged. One of
the problems with Furtwängler's otherwise extraordinary performance
is the wild oscillation in the sonic intensity of the orchestral playing.
Listen to Boulez at 7'05, where lower strings are as burnished as mahogany
and how he controls the entry of the flute at 7'18 and how by 7'25 the playing
is just enveloped in the most perfectly graded pianissimo. It is a
moment Furtwängler and others (notably Jochum) scramble. By the time
we approach the coda, Boulez is already in his stride. Rather uniquely for
a modern day interpreter of Bruckner Boulez does add a visceral quality to
the coda's preface - but it is also handled with exquisite beauty by the
orchestra. As it starts from 17'28, the string figuration is noticeably faster
paced than we often hear and by the timpani's entry at 18'28 the performance
has moved from solemnity to a gripping majesty. The coda itself, starting
at 19'43, moves from beautifully balanced strings to the most astonishingly
graded forte on brass, with the orchestra at full tilt, bringing the
symphony to its triumphant conclusion.
Single disc Bruckner Eighths are less frequent nowadays than we might expect.
Part of the reason for this is that Bruckner's tempi markings are not explicitly
stated in the versions most conductors use (Haas or Nowak). As such, it is
almost impossible to say, outside the main tempo indicators for movements
- such as Allegro moderato for the first, or Adagio for the
third - what remains the ideal pace for a great performance of Bruckner's
Eighth. Eugene Jochum's EMI Dresden Eighth (on a single disc) is an example
of a performance that falls very flat. Not only is it disfigured by abrupt
and sudden changes of pace, it is also dynamically corrupt with brass playing
that makes one shudder. Celibidache, on the other hand, takes Bruckner's
tempi at such a slow pace that many find it hangs fire when in fact it is
so revelatory as to be well ahead of its time. Boulez crosses both of these
boundaries - his Adagio contains some of the most astonishing examples
of ritardando I have heard from this conductor - and he does so magnificently.
There is no doubt that Boulez' Bruckner Eighth falls into that very select
category named 'great recordings' - worthy to stand beside recordings by
Karajan (Vienna Philharmonic), by Celibidache (Munich Philharmonic) and by
Guilini (Vienna Philharmonic). There is also no doubt that this recording
would not have been the great one it is without the playing of the Vienna
Philharmonic who are simply magnificent throughout and who are given a quite
superlative recording by the DG engineers. Boulez is quoted in the booklet
notes as saying, '..from the very outset, I accepted that I would undoubtedly
get more from the orchestra than they would get from me'. It is a rare
perception, but true nevertheless, and sets the seal on what is a landmark
recording in both the Boulez and the Bruckner discography.
Marc Bridle
Performance & Recording -
