RECORDING OF THE MONTH
Anton BRUCKNER (1824-1896)
Symphony no.6 in A Major (1879-81) [59:59]
London Philharmonic Orchestra/Christoph Eschenbach
rec. live, Royal Festival Hall, London, 4 November 2009. Stereo. DDD
LPO LIVE LPO0049 [59:59]
Prospective buyers can be forgiven for some trepidation when approaching this
disc. Christoph Eschenbach is not widely known as a Brucknerian, and his Mahler
readings can best be described as 'controversial'. He's a method man, who
excels in German precision and finesse but often at the expense of the music's
passion and humanity. That's fine for the modern music that he seems increasingly
to be turning to, but for Bruckner?
As it happens, this is not his first Bruckner 6 on CD. There is another with
the Houston Symphony that was released in 2001. Listening to this new version,
it is clear that he knows the score like the back of his hand. And the results
are great. The Sixth is, after all, the most tightly constructed of Bruckner's
symphonies. That isn't saying much but it does mean the score responds very
well to Eschenbach's disciplined approach. The clarity of the orchestral textures
is his overriding priority, but he is also looking for cleanly articulated
phrasing. And while precision is the watchword, the music is never mechanical
or lacking in grace. True, his rubato is more constrained than that of other
Brucknerians, but it is there all right, and he is sure to slow down into
a climax whenever the dramatic shape of the music requires it.
Another important factor in the success of Eschenbach's reading is that he
never takes anything too fast. We are usually just a notch slower than the
average tempo in each movement, although there some wonderfully brisk passages
in the first movement that also come off really well. But steady tempos combine
well with the conductor's focused, detail-rich approach to create both intensity
and scale. Some may hanker after the more emphatic climaxes that you meet
in Furtwängler-era recordings, but Eschenbach demonstrates that the music
works just as well without. And unlike some of his predecessors, he doesn't
make any excuses for the coda of the last movement. That is the one structural
weakness of the symphony, and other conductors often compensate by ratcheting
up the final bars into a monumental climax that the notes on the page don't
quite justify. By not doing so, Eschenbach risks an anti-climax at the end,
but even then it doesn't feel right to put all the blame on him.
The playing from the London Philharmonic is superb. There isn't a single section
of the orchestra whose performance ever drops below the superlative. One of
the greatest strengths of the LPO is its low strings, and their clarity and
sheer power provide an impressive foundation for this music. The brass too
are on top form, plenty of power from the trombones, punch from the trumpets
and subtly from the horns. The horns have a busy time in this symphony, and
there are many details of their parts, for example the question and answer
interplay between the desks, that I've never heard before and that sound great
here.
The sound quality too is very good. The refurbished Festival Hall is turning
out to be a great recording venue, both warm and detailed in its recorded
sound.
Why no SACD? Many, if not most, orchestra own-labels have adopted the technology
and in most cases have done their own playing more justice as a result. This
recording is crying out for the full SACD treatment. Fairly cursory programme
notes too. Still, this is a lower end mid-price release, so you can't ask
for miracles. It's a great recording though, and worth every penny.
Gavin Dixon
It's a great recording and worth every penny.