The Symphony No. 5 provides us with the essence of Bruckner.
The fact that the composer never heard the music in performance
is an indication of his pioneering and very personal approach
to the symphony as an art-form. The work was composed between
February 1875 and August 1877, and although it was eventually
performed at Graz in 1894, Bruckner was by that time too ill
to undertake the journey from his home in Vienna. His career
as a composer developed late and enjoyed all too few triumphs,
with the result that he was often persuaded by well-meaning friends
to rework his symphonies. In this respect the Fifth was lucky;
since it lay unperformed for years, revisions by the composer
himself were hardly possible.
However, an indication of the nature of the problems Bruckner
faced during his lifetime can be understood from what happened
at the first performance. The conductor was Franz Schalk, who
was a great supporter of the composer. Even so, he made severe
cuts in the finale, and deployed additional brass players in
the closing stage in order to make a huge effect. In the light
of these difficulties it is no wonder that Bruckner regularly
suffered from depression, brought on also by financial hardship
as well as the failure of so many of his contemporaries to comprehend
his artistic aims and achievements. For it was not until 1832
the Fifth Symphony received a performance in the version in which
it has originally been written.
However, some of the great Bruckner conductors, and most notably
Hans Knappertsbusch, performed the
Schalk
revision.
The Fifth contains two features by which it differs from the
remainder of Bruckner’s symphonies, and which are therefore
crucial to its understanding. Both the first movement and the
final have slow introductions, while the structure of the finale
is a synthesis of sonata form and fugue, while employing also
a powerful choral theme. There is eventually a rousing apotheosis
built upon the return of the first movement’s principal
theme.
Unlike the schedules of our major orchestras, the recorded music
catalogue pays appropriate home to this great symphonic composer,
and there are many choices for the discerning collector. In that
sense the special feature of this new recording on Telarc from
Benjamin Zander and the Philharmonia Orchestra is the additional
disc, on which the conductor gives a lucid and eloquent introduction
to the symphony, replete with music examples. This has a thoughtfully
contrived balance between analysis and biographical context,
and interestingly it also involves some family history, telling
the tale of his father’s love of Bruckner through the dark
years of the First World Way, when Zander senior served in the
Austrian army on the Russian front. This was at a time when the
original edition of the symphony, as played here, was not available.
As for Zander’s performance, the helpful acoustic of the
Watford Coliseum makes the Philharmonia Orchestra sound well
as a corporate unit. At the same time, the richness of the climaxes
is supported by the clarity of the contrapuntal webs that the
composer so often weaves; for this symphony combines the elements
of counterpoint and harmony more determinedly than any of Bruckner’s
compositions, not least in the deliberate combining of chorale
and fugue that lies at the conceptual heart of the finale. Perhaps
Zander’s concern to obtain textural clarity in these contrapuntal
lines leads to a certain lack of atmosphere; but each performance
must take its own paths in these matters and there is more than
one way to interpret a great symphony.
The accompanying booklet contains a remarkable little document
that Zander has invented in order to liken the construction of
the symphony to that of a great cathedral, or of the monastery
church of St Florian that was so central to Bruckner as man and
artist. All very interesting, though whether the listener will
follow the exact line of argument is another matter.
While the orchestra plays well enough, the tutti sound lacks
the incandescent atmosphere of the finest performances. The strings
might be more radiant, though the brass feature resonantly. For
comparison, try Günter Wand’s recording with the North
German Radio Symphony Orchestra (RCA:
review;
review).
Zander adopts tempi that always seem appropriate, with a sensitive
flexibility that brings an ebb and flow to the symphonic journey,
while also serving longer term issues. While this may not a top
recommendation for a single version of the work, it is hugely
satisfying and full of interest, and worth acquiring for the
bonus disc that offers so many insights into the workings of
this great symphony.
Terry Barfoot
Full listing of all reviews of Bruckner 5
Philharmonia Orchestra/Benjamin
Zander
