This issue combines, in a bargain package, two major performances
previously issued separately. As such it represents a very attractive
purchase for any committed Bruckner fan. They are not necessarily
the first recommendations you would encounter in surveys but
could easily be so, particularly with regard to the Seventh.
Apart from the muting of the reverberation of the last note
on the horn right at the end of the Ninth before the applause
comes in - presumably some eejit yelled out “Bravo”
or something - there are no niggling sound or production problems
despite these being live. In fact the sonic quality is tremendous,
as is the quality of execution. There is barely a sound from
the audience and the Liederhalle acoustic proves to be ideal;
full marks to the engineers. The Stuttgart Radio Orchestra is
immensely impressive but not flawless: the horn fanfare seven
minutes into the Allegro moderato of the Seventh is tame. There
are some slippages in ensemble and some passing moments of rhythmic
uncertainty, particularly in the Scherzo. Similarly, in the
manic Scherzo of the Ninth, the orchestra cannot emulate the
precision and tonal weight of the VPO. The hammer blows are
not unanimous, the woodwind intonation is slightly awry and
the brass is sometimes wayward. For the most part, however,
they are astoundingly good, above all in the shimmer of their
strings, even if the latter cannot sustain the amplitude of
the VPO’s brass in the “Dresden Amen” in the
Adagio.
I believe the Sanderling Seventh to be the more striking of
the two symphonies here, only because Giulini surpasses even
this Ninth in his legendary live account with the VPO from June
1988. Were it not for the existence of that recording, this
would be the Giulini Ninth to have, but it does not quite achieve
the singing ecstasy of the Vienna performance. However, there
is much to be savoured here. Those who, to borrow an apt phrase
from a fellow reviewer, “get bored sitting in cathedrals”,
will prefer this faster version. Giulini has curbed his predilection
for etiolation and chopped two minutes off the first movement
and four off the third compared with his Vienna account. This
results in a more standard total running time, as most competitive
recordings come in between 58 and 62 minutes. I for one still
miss the rapt majesty he generates in Vienna but still endorse
this Stuttgart performance as a great achievement. Another attraction
for fans is that this was the last of his three Ninths and his
valedictory Bruckner performance before retirement.
There is also the question of the desirability of buying a Ninth
complete with the newly reconstructed finale, especially as
several good ones are now available and conductors such as Rattle
are recording and performing it. I do not propose to embark
on a discussion of that here but will confine myself to discussing
only the three movement version of this symphony that Giulini
performed. For more on the reconstruction, see my review of
the recent three-symphony Profil issue with Schaller conducting
at the Ebrach Festival.
The Sanderling Seventh may be recommended without hesitation,
even alongside established classics by Karajan, especially as
the latter’s recordings still await a proper re-mastering
and the sound here is so satisfying.
Sanderling brings a sense of occasion to Bruckner. His is a
grand, stately, direct, no-frills interpretation; the only quirk
being an exceptionally slow Adagio of over 25 minutes. This
he pulls off by exhorting his violins to play the downward figures
with highly expressive portamento and a sense of the sweep and
arc of their phrase. You know that you are in the hands of a
master by the way he engineers the crescendo five minutes into
the first movement Allegro; his gradation of dynamics is telling.
In the Scherzo, you feel that Karajan is almost too refined
in comparison with how Sanderling galvanises the triple-time
theme, despite the occasional rhythmic slip from the Stuttgart
orchestra. He takes a broad, Romantic approach to the lyrical
sections more akin to Karajan’s warm treatment whereas
Schaller, having managed such concentrated urgency in the fast
sections, slightly falters here and is erratic in pulse. In
the Finale, Sanderling captures a kind of Brahmsian combination
of massive dignity and thrilling propulsion; the music is both
broad and driven, underpinned by some superb horn-playing. The
balance between the refulgent brass and the shimmering strings
is perfectly judged. So, too, is the skilfully managed, successive
alternation between the sprightly opening subject and the slow,
weighty second theme. This is Bruckner playing of the highest
order, wholly in the spirit of the composer.
Hänssler do not provide recording dates beyond the year
but I believe those I give above to be correct.
Ralph Moore
Masterwork Index: Symphony
7 ~~ Symphony
9
Radio-Sinfonieorchester Stuttgart des SWR/Kurt Sanderling*; Carlo
Maria Giulini 