This is the fifth volume of RCA’s Bruckner Symphony series with Paavo
Järvi and the Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra. It has been preceded by
numbers
4, 5, 7 and 9. Each of these has been well reviewed here
and in most other places. This Sixth is also a fine performance, as the
Järvi series looks increasingly likely to be another valuable addition to an
increasingly swollen catalogue of modern Bruckner cycles.
We can assume it will be a cycle, as the spine of the CDs of 4, 5, 6 and 7
bear the capital letters U, C, K, and N so that a cycle of 1 to 9 on the
shelf could spell “A.BRUCKNER” – except that the Ninth has been issued
already with no final letter R but with a blank spine. This also implies no
number 0, which was written after No.1. If only Bruckner had had
aristocratic forebears, his ‘von’ would allow AvBRUCKNER and a full symphony
cycle of his ten mature works in that genre. There's more serious
confusion in RCA’s planning in that we are now offered only CDs and not the
SACDs we had for the earliest issues, of numbers 7 and 9. The booklets
mention SACD mastering credits for the others, but not in which territories
they will be available on disc.
Järvi wrote in his booklet note for the Fourth “I deliberately try to stay
clear of the so-called “traditional” approach, avoiding the typical
monumental, heavy and pseudo-religious-kitsch” and he could just as well
have said this of the present issue. It has the same qualities of fairly
swift tempi and straightforwardness in interpretation, but without sounding
routine or superficial. The orchestral playing is always responsive and
often very eloquent. There is tautness in the tense
pp strings that
announce the opening rhythm, and at the thrilling
ff brass entry of
the first subject the trumpets and trombones are absolutely together. The
songful periods of the music are as beguiling as they should be, but never
indulged, always taken in tempo so that the movement never flags. The
momentum is maintained throughout the coda of the movement, which Tovey
called “one of the greatest passages Bruckner ever wrote … passing from key
to key beneath a tumultuous surface sparkling like the Homeric seas.” The
only slightly false moment is on the last page, where Bruckner’s
molto
ritardando is nicely judged until just before the final chord where
Järvi inserts a clear ‘comma’. It’s spontaneous-sounding enough – this
recording is from live performances - but it might not stay in one’s
affections after a few hearings.
The second movement’s basic pulse might be thought a touch swift for an
adagio. This is the sort of thing Robert Simpson meant when he
wrote that the movement “is often played too fast (and) will reward the
slowest playing that artistry, technique and courage can afford.” Certainly
Järvi’s time of 15:16 is less than the 17:00 norm that others favour, but
the sense of flow is appealing, holds the attention, and there is no lack of
tenderness in the playing. The lower strings have fine presence at the
opening, and the keening oboe counterpoint is delicately touched in. For the
wonderful second theme (bar 25) the string playing is properly rapturous –
“Listen to it with reverence” said Tovey, “for the composer meant what he
said and is speaking of sacred things.”
The scherzo has good rhythmic impetus, and the fleeting evanescent mood
that the scurrying string figures imply are etched in with deft playing.
Here Järvi’s speed makes good his claim about avoiding the ‘monumental,
heavy’ style in Bruckner. The movement’s tempo markings are
nicht
schnell (not fast) for the scherzo and
langsam (slow) for the
trio. I had thought
Jaap van Zweden’s Challenge Classics timing of 7:44 would
always be the swiftest of modern versions and it still is, but Järvi runs
him very close at 7:48.
Volkmar Andreae’s 1953 Vienna Symphony 50-minute Sixth is the
quickest of all overall, but still takes 8:28 for this movement.
The various tempo changes in the finale make it difficult for any
conductor really to exert a sense of structural grip and symphonic
direction, but here Järvi does not try to use a fast speed to integrate all
the sections. You have to look to
Marek Janowski on his beautifully recorded Pentatone SACD
for an effective execution of that approach. Janowski’s 12:54 is not for
Järvi, whose 14:11 is the closest he gets to a traditional tempo on this
performance, and he makes it work well, with a fine blaze in the coda to cap
an excellent addition to this increasingly impressive series.
Roy Westbrook
