Bruckner, Symphony No. 8
Boston Symphony Orchestra, conduced by William Steinberg
ICA Classics DVD ICAD 5071
William Steinberg conducted the Boston Symphony Orchestra in
this performance of Bruckner’s 8th Symphony on January 9, 1962 while
he was music director of the Pittsburgh Symphony. He subsequently served as
music director in Boston from 1969 – 1972, but his recorded legacy is primarily
with the Pittsburgh Symphony, recording with Capitol Records. (Bargain-hunters
should note that a 20-CD collection of Steinberg recordings with the Pittsburgh
Symphony is currently retailing at around $2 per disc at an online retailer
near you.) This DVD comes from a concert televised by WGBH, Boston’s public
television station.
Perhaps due to broadcasting constraints, Steinberg makes
cuts of his own in the 1892 Bruckner/Schalk edition, primarily in the finale
but also in the Adagio (which come in at 17’10” and 20’42” respectively). The
cuts are not individually obtrusive, if one is not following with a score, but
they do add up over the course of the final two movements so that by the end
this listener at least was left feeling a little short-changed.
Curiously the first movement sounded the least convincing. I
found it a rather flat performance, lacking in dynamic contrast both
emotionally and acoustically. The scherzo carried more conviction and Steinberg
and the BSO really came into their own in the Adagio, where the strange
mismatch between the tenor of the music and the conductor’s body language
disappeared. The finale was played with gusto, but over far too quickly.
Symphonic music does not always benefit from being filmed.
Facial expressions don’t always enhance musical understanding, and 50 year old
TV broadcasts have their own quality issues, with occasional flickers and blurs
in focus. There is also a more subtle hidden cost in this case from the
camerawork. The shots are predominantly close-ups, focusing on the individuals
or instrumental groupings that are thematically prominent at a given moment
(apart from a somewhat surreal superimposition of Steinberg on an orchestral
background in the finale). This creates a claustrophobic effect very much at
odds with the vast expanses of Bruckner’s symphonic landscape.
This DVD is interesting as a historical document and has
some musical high points, particularly in the Scherzo and Adagio. But it is not
a satisfying performance overall and it would ne hard to recommend to those
without a special interest in the conductor or the orchestra.
