Anton BRUCKNER (1824-1896)
Symphony No. 4 Romantic
in E flat major (version 1878/80 edited Leopold Nowak) [62:56]
Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra/Paavo Järvi
rec. 3-5 September 2009, Alte Oper Frankfurt, Germany.
RCA 88875 131242 [62:56]
This is the fourth volume of RCA’s Bruckner symphony
cycle with Paavo Järvi and the Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra. It has
been preceded by numbers 5, 7 and 9 and just recently joined by the Sixth.
This is the familiar second version of the Fourth from 1878–80, still
the one most often heard in performance; this despite a few recent recordings
of the first version making that one increasingly better known. However Paavo
Järvi states in the booklet “I combine some details of the various editions
in pursuit … of the optimal version”. He does not state what all
these details are, but they certainly include a rather startling cymbal crash
near the start of the finale (2:32 in). It must be frustrating for the current
generation of distinguished Bruckner scholars to work so tirelessly to establish
authoritative texts of a version, only for the old practice of a conductor
assembling his own version to persist; Skrowaczewski does it too.
How long does it take to play Bruckner 4? Robert Haas in the preface to his
edition of the score of this 1878-80 version states “Duration: approx.
1 hour”. Haas’s edition appeared in 1936, and when Volkmar Andreae
recorded his distinguished cycle with the Vienna Symphony in 1953, the Fourth
took 60:29. Otto Klemperer, despite his slow-coach reputation, took 60:58
live in Munich and 61:01 for his London recording. Even in the mid-1980s another
old-school Brucknerian, Heinz Rögner, took just 58:17 with the Berlin Radio
Symphony Orchestra. So perhaps there used to be a consensus about this timing,
but there have always been exceptions, and Bruckner symphonies generally seem
to have got slower. Thus such famous versions as Böhm on Decca with the VPO
in 1974 (68:10) and Karajan on EMI in 1971 (70:00) took a much more leisurely
view. Succeeding generations have followed suit – Simon Rattle with
the BPO in 2007 took 71:19. I am sure you can guess who gets the trophy for
lethargy. Yes, it’s Celibidache in Munich in 1988 needing 79:11. While
it is true that Bruckner marks both outer movements and the trio with the
injunction “nicht zu schnell” (not too quick) he might
have reconsidered things if he had known that these words could help produce
a twenty minute difference between the shortest and longest performances.
All this is by way of preamble to the significant observations which Paavo
Järvi makes in his booklet note for this new recording. Järvi explains that
he perceives the symphony as being lighter and sunnier than the other Bruckner
symphonies, even calling it pastoral in character. He writes, somewhat provocatively,
“I deliberately try to stay clear of the so-called “traditional”
approach, avoiding the typical monumental, heavy and pseudo-religious-kitsch.”
That is well said — unless you are a devotee of Celibidache or others
of the 70+ minute school. The point seems to me to be that his performance,
at 62:56 has in fact gone back towards a once traditional approach, from which
the ‘monumental’ view — his so-called 'traditional'
approach — can be seen as an aberration. The remark in the Gramophone
review of this disc that “the result involves slightly faster tempi
than usual” is true only in relation to that ‘so-called traditional
approach’ therefore. It is Järvi’s tempi here that were once ‘usual’.
Whatever your tempi preference for Bruckner, it is difficult to imagine any
reasonably open-minded listener failing to enjoy this Jårvi performance. The
Frankfurt Radio Symphony is a fine group and sound idiomatic throughout, with
weighty brass, flexible strings and alert woodwind giving voice to Järvi’s
pastoral and romantic vision. The conductor writes that the “Romantic”
subtitle that Bruckner gave the work should be taken seriously, and for him
it even links back to the first generation of romantic composers such as Berlioz
and Schumann, His account has something of their questing spirit but he nonetheless
offers the powerful rhetorical manner that Bruckner requires and a persuasive
unfolding of the symphonic narrative. The horns are as splendid as they must
be in this work, but so too are other sections, such as the violas in their
long lyrical lines in the andante. The scherzo has plenty of bucolic bustle,
and the finale, once one is past that intrusive cymbal crash, grows compellingly
towards a sublime coda. At no point did the conductor’s tempi bother
me, even though I learned the work from those Böhm and Karajan discs of more
than forty years ago. Järvi seems able to have it both ways – always
flowing without sounding rushed, achieving grandeur without any undue broadening
at climaxes.
He is not quite alone in this view of the work among newer versions, as Janowski’s
Suisse Romande SACD recording on Pentatone takes only half a minute more.
His swifter finale (18:46 to Järvi’s 21:10) could even be preferred
as making a more convincing case for the most structurally problematic of
the Fourth's four movements. Another recent Fourth that has been widely
acclaimed is the SACD from Manfred Honeck and the Pittsburgh Symphony. It's
on a spectacular Reference Recording disc. His 66:07 will give comfort to
those who feel Bruckner just needs a bit more time to make his full effect.
Do try to hear Järvi before you make up your mind on the matter. His fine
performance is well served by a good recording, one with excellent clarity,
as shown the well-focused timpani which reveal some crucial details in that
instrument’s important role. However, having launched this series with
SACDs of symphonies 7 and 9, RCA seems to have issued this disc only as a
stereo CD, at least in Europe. There is an SACD mastering credited in the
booklet, and that can be imported from Japan it seems – at a price.
RCA did the same with the later stages of David Zinman’s Mahler cycle
that when complete was boxed as a set of stereo CDs only. If you must have
surround sound – and it really does benefit Bruckner symphonies –
then Janowski and Honeck - as well as Blomstedt on MDG with the Leipzig Gewandhaus
Orchestra no less - all provide very satisfying listening. This Frankfurt
version is always refreshing, often inspiring, and a worthy addition to an
impressive series.
Roy Westbrook
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