Anton BRUCKNER (1824-1896)
Symphony No.0 (1864) [44:00]
Symphony No.1 (Linz Version) (1866) [44:32]
Tapiola Sinfonietta/Mario Venzago
rec. Tapiola Hall, Espoo, November 2010, stereo. DDD
CPO 777 617-2 [44:00 + 44:32]
Mario Venzago describes this cycle as "a different Bruckner", but it's not
as different as he seems to think. Some ideas from the period instrument movement
are brought into play, but these only serve to highlight the conventionality
of the "modern" performance conventions with which they rub shoulders. It's
a fascinating combination though, and the results are deeply satisfying, even
in these earlier works.
So what's new and what's old? Well, Venzago limits the vibrato from the strings.
He also uses a small string section. As a result, the strings are able to
play with exceptional clarity and intimacy. They are also able to balance
the brass in the climaxes, and perhaps their metal strings are to thank for
that. Venzago sees rubato as a virtue and his tempos, while often brisk, are
always fluid. This allows him to build up to the climaxes, despite his reduced
forces and lack of string vibrato. Another interesting feature of Venzago's
approach is his conviction that much more of Bruckner's orchestral music is
chorale-based than we think. As a result, he always tries to make the quieter
woodwind ensemble passages sound like male voice choirs, with round, euphonious
timbres and clearly articulated phrasing based on the players' breathing.
Again, this isn't really a radical departure, but it allows Venzago a slightly
different focus for his interpretations.
Both of these works are usually considered in need of serious help from the
podium. In most recordings, the conductor will try to justify programming
Nos. 0 or 1 by doing everything in his or her power to make the work in question
sound like one of Bruckner's last three. Venzago rightly sees that approach
as anachronistic. He also strives to present each of the symphonies as an
individual work, and so never stresses any interrelations between them.
He demonstrates conclusively that neither piece needs apology or excessive
intervention. Schubert is his model in these earlier symphonies, and the clarity
of the textures that Venzago draws from his reduced orchestra certainly highlights
the continuity between the symphonic languages of the two composers.
Personally, I'm convinced that the Zero Symphony is superior to the First,
but in Venzago's hands it is the First that really shines. The precision of
the textures, the subtle gradation of articulations and the fluidity of the
tempos all come together to make this a dramatic and thoroughly convincing
reading. The ending of the first movement, for example, is as powerful and
incisive as any on record. The second movement initially seems constrained,
but by loosening his grip in some of the louder tuttis, Venzago is able effectively
to counter any suspicions of Classical formality. The third movement is given
propulsion and gravitas, not by dynamic extremes, but by the range and weight
of the accents from the woodwind and brass. The finale attains a truly symphonic
scope through the interplay of powerful orchestral tuttis and chamber-like
interludes.
The Zero Symphony, great as it is, doesn't quite have the same dramatic or
rhetorical potential for Venzago to reinvent as he'd like. It's still a great
performance, and earns its place in the catalogue through the insights that
the smaller orchestra and Schubertian performance practice bring.
It is interesting that these two symphonies have appeared so early in the
cycle. This is only the second instalment, after a first which coupled Symphonies
4 and 7. The programming on the first release was clearly based on commercial
concerns, but putting these earlier works on the second seems more like a
statement of intent. I suspect that these will be the most distinctive readings
of the whole cycle, but they augur well for some individual and accomplished
versions of the more famous symphonies later on.
Gavin Dixon
Venzago demonstrates conclusively that neither piece needs apology or excessive
intervention.
Masterwork Index: Symphonies 0 & 1