Following the success
of their "Great Recordings of the
Century" (GROC) series, EMI’s attention
is now turning to "Great Artists
of the Century". Otto Klemperer’s
1964 recording of the Bruckner’s 6th
Symphony was issued as a GROC and is
widely considered to be a primary recommendation
for that work. I imagine that few would
argue with Otto Klemperer’s early inclusion
in this new project but the choice of
his recording of Bruckner’s 4th
Symphony could prove controversial.
Although the 4th symphony
is a less elusive work than the 6th
for most conductors, something of its
spirit seems to have eluded Klemperer.
As was commonly the
case with Klemperer, he provided an
unorthodox view on tempi. Whilst often
these were slow, here they were markedly
quicker than the norm, with the exception
of the Scherzo. This is played in a
rather ponderous vein, similar (but
perhaps less obtrusively so) to his
recording of the Peasant’s Merrymaking
in Beethoven’s Pastoral Symphony.
Overall, Klemperer’s timing of 61 minutes
is 3-8 minutes shorter than the main
competition for this work i.e. Jochum
(DG 1965), Böhm (Decca 1973), Karajan
(DG 1975), Haitink (Philips 1985) and
Wand (RCA 1998). Given that his scherzo
is almost a couple of minutes longer
than is usual, that is quite a considerable
difference. All the other movements
seem slightly fast but it is the first
movement which suffers most, losing
the mystery of the opening horn calls
and underplaying the romanticism implied
by the subtitle of the work. However
this is all a matter of taste and there
are compensations. Klemperer’s is certainly
an individual view, cogently presented
and very well executed. The playing
is magnificent and the recording, to
my surprise, has greater clarity than
Karajan’s 1975 recording, although that
seemed to be pretty good at the time.
Like many of his symphonies,
Bruckner’s 4th has a chequered
history, undergoing various revisions
and leading to the existence of several
editions. The finale gave him particular
trouble. With the 1878-1880 version
he produced a work which has stood the
test of time. First performed in 1881,
this is probably Bruckner’s most immediately
accessible and popular work – the ideal
place to start exploring. Fortunately
the vexed problems of editions are not
generally at issue when choosing between
recordings of this symphony. Almost
all use the 1878-1880 score (there are
earlier and later versions which are
markedly different and essentially only
of academic interest) and, in this case,
Haas’s 1936 and Nowak’s 1953 editions
are very similar. However, there is
one unusual textual point in this recording:,
whilst basically using Nowak’s text,
Klemperer includes a variant from Haas’s
rarely played 1944 edition. This entails
using an oboe (rather than a flute)
along with the clarinet for the charming
opening melody of the trio, an effect
which is quite different.
In summary, this is
an interesting recording by a great
conductor. It serves to make one think
again about the work. But it is not
a primary recommendation and certainly
not a version of Bruckner’s 4th
with which to start getting to know
this symphony. In these contexts, any
of the recordings mentioned above would
be preferable. Haitink arguably has
the most pressing claim given his straightforward
approach, excellent sound, low price
and superb reading of 5th
Symphony as a coupling (see link to
review below). Celibidache’s EMI Munich
recording of the work is also worth
hearing. This inspired live rendition
is the antithesis of the Klemperer and
runs for 79 minutes without ever seeming
to outlast its welcome.
The coupling, Wagner’s
Siegfried Idyll, is placed first
on the disc. This is a fairly standard
filler for a Bruckner Symphony but the
first time that I have come across it
so coupled on a single disc (with the
relatively fast performance of the Symphony
it just squeezes on). Here, for once,
Klemperer’s performance does not seem
particularly individual. However this
is not a criticism of what is a very
warm and passionate reading. Unlike
many other versions, the forces used
sound hardly larger than those assembled
for the first performance (given on
Wagner’s staircase on Christmas Day
1870). This is a delightful bonus but
not perhaps a major factor in deciding
whether to invest in the disc.
An interesting disc
but not a general recommendation for
the Bruckner. Ultimately I was a bit
disappointed but, as ever, Klemperer’s
interpretations demand a hearing.
Patrick C Waller
Link to review of Haitink’s
recording :
http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2002/Oct02/Bruckner45.htm
Philharmonia Orchestra/Otto Klemperer 