Symphony No. 8 in C minor (version of 1890) [75:26]
Konzerthausorchester Berlin/Mario Venzago
rec. live, 29 October 2011, Konzerthaus Berlin, Germany
CPO 777 691-2 [75:26]
On the CPO label Zurich-born conductor Mario Venzago is currently recording
a complete set of the Bruckner symphonies using several orchestras. It
was the Basel Symphony Orchestra that commenced the series in 2010 with
Symphonies Nos. 4 and 7. Venzago used the Tapiola Sinfonietta for Symphonies
Nos. 0, 1 (review)
and 5 (review in hand), the Northern Sinfonia for Symphony No. 2 (review)
and the Berner Symphonieorchester for Symphonies Nos. 3 and 6 review.
and 4 and 7 (review).
Now for this recording of the monumental Symphony No. 8 in
C Minor Maestro Venzago has recorded the excellent Konzerthausorchester
Berlin in live performance at the Konzerthaus Berlin in 2011.
One of the last great Romantic symphonies this multi-faceted masterwork
was once berated by the critic Eduard Hanslick for its “nightmarish
hangover style” (Cambridge Music Handbook: Bruckner Symphony No.
8 by Benjamin J. Korstvedt, Cambridge University Press, 2000). Bruckner’s last completed symphony, lasting
over an hour contains music of awe-inspiring majesty which seems to chronicle
the history of the world from Creation to Armageddon.
I take every opportunity to attend concerts of Bruckner symphonies. Only
a couple of months ago in September 2014 at the Musikfest Berlin
I reviewed
a fine performance of the Eighth in the Philharmonie, Berlin
by the SWR Sinfonie orchester Baden-Baden und Freiburg under François-Xavier
Roth who used the Robert Haas version. A few days later at the Philharmonie
I reported
on the concert by the Konzerthausorchester Berlin under Iván Fischer playing
Mahler’s First Symphony and I can attest to the quite magnificent
form of this major orchestra.
Bruckner completed a first version of his Eighth Symphony in
1887 and dispatched it to Hermann Levi. He trusted Levi on account of
his having successfully directed the Symphony No. 7 in Munich. To Bruckner’s
dismay Levi rejected the score saying although many of the themes were
“magnificent and direct” he found it “impossible to
perform the Eighth in its current form”. Hurt and disillusioned
it was well over a year before Bruckner in 1889 found the motivation to
undertake serious revision. In 1890 he finished a new version the score.
The 1890 version contained a considerable number of changes from his 1887
original, for example the score is 160 bars shorter and contains a completely
new trio section in the Scherzo. It also has a number of revised
passages designed in the interests of conciseness of design. Cuts are
made in the Finale and the triple woodwind and eight horns (four
of which double as Wagner tubas) are extended to all four movements.
Things began to look up for Bruckner as Emperor Franz Josef I agreed to
be the dedicatee of the Eighth Symphony. In 1892 Bruckner eventually
managed to find a publisher. After difficultly in arranging a first performance
and finding a willing conductor Hans Richter premièred the Eighth
in December 1892 at the Musikverein, Vienna. Many eminent audience members
were present including it seems Johannes Brahms, Johann Strauss and Hugo
Wolf as well as detractors such as Eduard Hanslick. The critic didn’t
stay for the whole performance saying that the work “as a whole,
alienated, even repelled him”. Not all press comment was negative;
one reviewer commented that the symphony was “the crown of the music
of our time”.
For this new CPO release conductor Mario Venzago chose to play the 1890
version. He considers that posterity has a debt of gratitude to Hermann
Levi for spurring on Bruckner to “make a revision from which the
work greatly benefited”.
Under Venzago the Konzerthausorchester Berlin valiantly accepts the challenge
of Bruckner’s magnificent compositional and spiritual dimensions.
The orchestra plays with a strong and engaging commitment. The structure
of the symphony feels rock solid in its foundation. I concur with this
conductor's tempo choices - always fundamental, indeed vital, to
the realisation of Bruckner scores.
In the opening Allegro moderato I was drawn immediately to its
directness of impact. Remarkable are the sonorities of the instruments,
notably the golden sheen of the strings including harps and the opulent
tone of the prominent brass. The woodwind chorus can often be overshadowed
in Bruckner but this interpretation reveals plenty of fine detail. The
second movement with its glorious sounding Scherzo feels hard
driven yet with firm control exercised and an especially lovely and lyrical
trio section. Here I was reminded of the vigorousness of the reading from
Jochum/Berliner Philharmoniker (1964). In the massive Adagio,
lasting here almost twenty-five minutes, the tension builds successfully
with the playing achieving an elevated spiritual quality that comes close
to the interpretation by Wand/Berliner Philharmoniker (2001). Jochum wrote
that in the Eighth Symphony “the ‘point of culmination’
comes at the end of the Finale”, exceeding the climax in the Adagio.
Convincing and compelling, the Finale boasts potent energy with
Venzago moulding mighty surging climaxes that rise to epic summits. The
Konzerthausorchester Berlin comes across as extremely well prepared for
this live recording. This reading imbues the many monumental passages
with both nobility and romantic warmth. Lingering long in the memory are
those superb Wagner tubas that certainly add to the sense of occasion.
Give the difficulty Bruckner had during his lifetime in getting taken
seriously as a composer and obtaining performances of his works it’s
pleasing today that there are a considerable number of high quality recordings.
For its concentration and spiritual intensity my benchmark recording of
the Eighth Symphony is the live 2001 Philharmonie, Berlin account
from the Berliner Philharmoniker under Günter Wand on RCA
Red Seal. Of the older accounts made under studio conditions, for
its thrilling sense of occasion, I admire Eugen Jochum with the Berliner
Philharmoniker from 1964 at the Philharmonie, Berlin on Deutsche Grammophon.
I found the sound quality from the Philharmonie, Berlin satisfying being
clear and reasonably well balanced. The only thing about this release
I can grumble about is the cover-art which seems to be a picture of a
breeze-block painted brown and green. The Konzerthausorchester Berlin
under the baton of Mario Venzago reveals its credentials as a Brucknerian
orchestra of repute.
Michael Cookson
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