Three recordings of Bruckner 5 - Venzago, Harnoncourt, and Thielemann

Anton Bruckner, Symphony No. 5

Tapiola Sinfionetta

Mario Venzago

CPO 777 616-2 (CD)

Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra

Nikolaus Harnoncourt

RCO Live 14106 (Blu Ray)

Staatskapelle Dresden

Christian Thielemann

C Major LC 15762

It would be hard to imagine three more different performances of Bruckner’s Symphony No. 5 in B Flat Major. With this recording Mario Venzago brings his iconoclastic cycle to a close, consciously setting himself against almost every current and past approach to Bruckner interpretation. Harnoncourt is less conspicuously revolutionary, but still wedded to a more historically informed performance style. Thielemann, in contrast, gives us Bruckner in the grand style.

I reviewed Venzago’s recording of the Eighth Symphony here. I was  unconvinced, but not wholly negative. I have the same reaction here. As he states in the lengthy essay explaining his approach, Venzago plays Bruckner much faster than we are accustomed to. His model is Schbert’s Unfinished, which he thinks has likewise been excessively slowed down by generations of conductors. He also favors a relatively small orchestra, with some 30 strings, as was more standard during Bruckner’s lifetime, and argues that the slower pace we have become used to is a function of excessively large orchestras. In sum, Venzago sets himself against the kind of cathedral interpretation so well articulated by Benjamin Zander in the long interview accompanying his performance of the Fifth (Telarc 80706).

This is by quite some way the fastest performance of Bruckner’s Fifth ever recorded. It comes in at 60 minutes even. For comparison, the Bruckner Discography shows only a handful of performances coming in under 70 minutes, with the majority significantly longer. The first movement speeds by in a blur at 15’55” (nearly 7 minutes quicker than Thielemann, for example, and 5 minutes quicker than Harnoncourt). The slow movement takes some getting used to, but the final movements are very effective, bringing out very clearly Bruckner’s adventurous harmonies. The Scherzo benefits from the pace, but it’s worth noting that the Scherzo is longer than the Adagio. One of the claims that Venzago makes for his approach is that it better allows the counterpoint to emerge. There is some truth in this, but the overall effect of the final movement is not good. The pace sounds forced. Venzago seems to have forgotten that Bruckner was an organist.

Whereas the Venzago disc is a studio recording, the other two performances are both recorded live. Harnoncourt’s concert is a historic event – his farewell performance after 38 years and 276 concerts with the Concertgebouw. Like Venzago, Harnoncourt aims to strip away some of the Romantic excesses with which Bruckner has become encrusted. His style is much less mannered, however, and his personality does not intrude much into the music. One of Harnoncourt’s trademarks is minimal vibrato in the strings. As a result he loses some of the grandeur of the slow movement. But it undeniably yields a clean and crisp sound. This is entirely appropriate for Harnoncourt, who focuses more on vertical than on horizontal structure. This is a very polished performance – one that does credit both to the occasion and to the score.

Thielemann takes a much more orthodox and weighty approach. The timings tell the story, with the Staatskapelle Dresden taking 82 minutes, more than 22 minutes longer than Venzago and nearly 15 longer than Harnoncourt. The principal divergence is in the slow movement, to which Venzago and Harnoncourt devote less than 13 minutes, while Thielemann takes over 20. Unsurprisingly Thielemann achieves a weight in the Adagio that neither of the other two can come close to matching.  This helps him achieve a much more satisfying architectural balance across the four movements – Thielemann very much focuses on horizontal structure. The third movement also achieves a fine balance, with the contrast between the Scherzo and the Trio well judged.

The Finale is also longer in the Dresden performance. Here too Thielemann brings the overall structure out very clearly. There is a tremendous build up at the opening of the movement and the two fugal passages play their role in a very complex movement, rather than stealing the show. I certainly found this the most satisfying of the three performances – helped no doubt by being well filmed in the fine surroundings of the Semperoper in Dresden.

Siegfried on DVD from the Frankfurt Opera

Richard Wagner, Siegfried

Siegfried                                 Lance Ryan

Mime                                      Peter Marsh

Der Wanderer                       Terje Stensvold

Alberich                                 Jochen Schmeckenbecher

Erda                                        Meredith Arwady

Brunnhilde                            Susan Bullock

Stimme des Waldvogels       Robin Johannsen

Waldvogel                              Alan Barnes

Frankfurter Opern- und Museumsorchester
Conducted by Sebastian Weigle

Directed by Vera Nemirova

Recorded live June/July 2012 at Frankfurt Opera

DVD OEHMS Classics OC997  (4 hours and 3 minutes)

With this issue Oehms has now released in DVD three of the four dramas in the 2012 Frankfurt Ring cycle conducted by Sebastian Weigle and directed by Vera Nemirova. This new set follows on from an earlier (2010) CD issue of the same production with a very similar cast. I was very impressed by Das Rheingold and positive also about Die Walküre, although the overall impact of the latter was marred by some shaky singing.

I had some trepidation about Siegfried, both because Susan Bullock’s Brunnhilde was one of the low points of Die Walküre and because I have never really warmed to Lance Ryan as a heldentenor. In the event, though, I was happier than I expected to be. Bullock was much more impressive than in Die Walküre and Ryan rose to the occasion. To my ear the finest singing came from Terje Stensvold as Wotan/Die Wanderer and Jochen Schmeckenbecher as Alberich. But the real star was Sebastian Weigle in the orchestra pit, who shaped a performance that ends up much greater than the sum of its parts.

The signature device of Nemirova’s staging (a large rotating disc, itself made up of concentric rings that can move independently in three dimensions) continues to govern the production. The disc rises to create space for Mime’s hut and Fafner’s cave and a clever use of lighting keeps the sets visually interesting and relevant (the red lighting for Fafner’s cave is particularly effective). The only addition to the rings comes in the scene with Erda, who appears to have been enjoying her primeval sleep sitting upright in a large aquarium. It does look better than it sounds, however.

The aspect of the production that seemed least successful to me was the costumes (designed by Ingeborg Bernerth). I can just about live with Fafner bedecked in red paint and beads, since it’s pretty tough to do dragons. But Erda looked for all the world like an enormous hairy Afghan dog (lacking the characteristic elegance of the breed), which didn’t do her any favors and distracted from some rather good singing, particularly in the lower register. Siegfried and Brunnhilde were both rather traditionally attired in pseudo-medieval outfits. Not so the wild bird, sung off-stage by Robin Johannsen (rather well, as it happens) and represented on-stage by a ballet dancer in a dark skin suit with feathered extensions instead of fingers. That didn’t work for me, I’m afraid.

Terje Stensvold was a longterm regular at the Norwegian National Opera from 1972 to 1999 before launching an international career that has seen him singing Wotan in Stockholm, Frankfurt, and Melbourne. He is the real find of this production and has developed the role very convincingly over the first three dramas – from the braggart empire-builder in Das Rheingold to the weary but wiser Wanderer who has learnt to accept the inevitable demise of the Gods. The complexity of the character comes out particularly well in the encounter with Alberich (Jochen Schmeckenbecher) at the beginning of Act 2. Schmeckenbecher also develops his character with depth and insight. The same cannot quite be said for his brother Mime (sung by Peter Marsh), who manages successfully to capture on occasion Mime’s simultaneous ingratiatingness and malevolence, but who also lapses on more than one occasion into caricature.

Brunnhilde (Susan Bullock) has fewer problems projecting than she had in Die Walküre, where she sounded painfully strained on occasion. But she still appeared to be having difficulties keeping up with Lance Ryan, even though he has been singing for several hours before she wakes up in Act 3. Her strengths are in the more thoughtful and reflective parts of the role (the dialogs with Siegmund and Wotan, for example) and the long duet with Siegfried does not fall into that category – certainly not when large parts of it are sung, as they are here, by the two protagonists standing side by side to address the audience. Ryan sings very naturally in his confrontation with Wotan. He occasionally over-sings in the first two acts, but overall he is a more than credible Siegfried.

Sebastian Weigle’s conducting is becoming more impressive with each part of the Ring. He has a very fine sense of pacing, both within the individual scenes and across the entire drama – as well as the ability to articulate the vertical structure of the music clearly and to integrate it with the voices. Under his direction the Frankfurt Opera is revealing itself to be in the front rank of Wagner orchestras. I am looking forward to Die Götterdämmerung.

Sebastian Weigle's Die Walküre from Frankfurt

Richard Wagner, Die Walküre

 
Siegmund       Frank van Aken

Hunding         Ain Anger

Sieglinde        Amber Wagner

Wotan             Terje Stensvold

Fricka              Martina Dike

Brunnhilde    Susan Bullock

Frankfurter Opern und Museumsorchester
Conducted by Sebastian Weigle

Directed by Vera Nemirova

Recorded live June/July 2012 at Frankfurt Opera

DVD OEHMS Classics OC99  (3 hours and 54 minutes)

This Walküre, recorded from live performances in June and July 2012, continues the Frankfurt Opera Ring Cycle conducted by Sebastian Weigle and directed by Vera Nemirova. Oehms Classics released a CD recording of live performances from the 2010 production.  The current DVD issue is the second in a complete DVD Ring recorded live two years later in the summer of 2012 (with an overlapping, but slightly different cast). I reviewed the Blu Ray version of the opening Das Rheingold very positively here [add hyperlink], describing it as “a very fine start to the cycle, with very strong singing, good conducting, and an imaginative staging that supports, rather than diverts attention from, the drama.” I am a little more equivocal about the second drama in the Frankfurt cycle. The production is no less effective (perhaps more so in fact); the conducting is even better; and there is some very fine singing indeed. But, unlike the earlier drama, there is some significant unevenness in the singing (unfortunately in two of the key roles).

Vera Nemirova’s production continues the minimalist staging that worked so well in Rheingold. The curtain rises on the same blue circular rings  which rise and rotate throughout the drama to shape all the necessary locations. The rings open up to allow Siegmund to stagger on the stage during the overture and then rotate to reveal Hunding’s hut. In Act 2 the space beneath of rings is closed off with a wall on which graffiti depicts the family tree for Wotan’s extended clan and the other major participants. Brunnhilde  and Wotan make additions/deletions as required. The only real props in the entire drama come in Act III, where the space under the rings (which now represent what will become Brunnhilde’s rock) is filled with coffins, added to by teams of men in military uniform to represent the Valkyries collecting dead heroes. In the final scene a circular plug rises out of the middle, while a circular ring of fire descends onto the stage. It is a very intelligent and economical production.

Vocally the highpoints are all in the more reflective, extended dialogs. As in Das Rheingold  the dynamic between Wotan and Fricka is well captured by Terje Stensvold and Martina Dike. Fricka comes across exactly as she should – as Wotan’s conscience, rather than a shrill nag – which highlights Wotan’s own responsibility for the terrible decision he has no choice but to take – the decision to sacrifice his own son and potential savior. The scene that follows with Brunnhilde is the dramatic center of the performance. Stensvold really excels here, starting in an almost understated way before building to a magnificent climax as he foresees the end of the gods. Sebastian Weigle’s finely paced conducting shapes the scene very effectively, as he does in the lengthy dialog between Wotan and Brunnhilde in Act III. There Stensvold portrays Wotan’s rage and subsequent softening with sympathy and understanding.

In the final part of Act III Susan Bullock is a fine Brunnhilde, portraying the depth of the character in a way that explains why the edge comes off Wotan’s rage. She is also good in the scene summoning Siegmund to Valhalla. Elsewhere, however she is disappointing. Her voice sounds very strained in the more heroic parts of the role, including (unfortunately) her initial entrance and her flight to the other Valkyries in Act 3.

Amber Wagner is a fine Sieglinde in all three acts. She is capable of singing with passion, delicacy, and despair – all essential parts of the role. In Act I she is not helped by Frank van Aken’s Siegmund, who has great enthusiasm but also an unfortunate tendency to shout. Van Aken is the second disappointment in this production. He meets his end in Act I. Sieglinde lasts into Act II, where she delivers a moving performance in the scene with the Valkyries.

Even more so than in Rheingold, Sebastian Weigle conducts with a finely judged sense of pace and a clear understanding both of the architecture of the drama and of the partnership between orchestra and singer. His efforts, together with the excellent performance from Stensvold, make this a recommendable recording, despite the uneven singing from Siegmund and Brunnhilde. The sound and visual quality is first rate.

Mahler's Ninth from Markus Stenz and Riccardo Chailly

Gustav Mahler, Symphony No. 9

Gustav Mahler, Symphony No. 10 Adagio

 

Gürzenich-Orchester Köln

Conducted by Markus Stenz

Oehms Classics CD (OC 654)

Gustav Mahler, Symphony No. 9

Gewandhaus-Orchester

Conducted by Riccardo Chailly

Accentus Blu Ray (ACC 10299)

Here are two new recordings of Mahler’s Ninth, one on hybrid SACD and one on Blu Ray (also available as a DVD). With this recording, Markus Stenz brings his cycle of Mahler symphonies with the Gürzenich-Orcherster in Cologne to a close – and also his career with the orchestra, as he moved this summer to the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic. All of the recordings in Stenz’s cycle are studio recordings, although based on concert hall performances. This is the sixth Mahler symphony that Riccardo Chailly has conducted for Accentus with the Leipzig Gewandhaus (already available are Nos. 2, 4, 5, 6, and 8). All of these recordings come from live performances at the Gewandhaus zu Leipzig.

Stenz’s interpretation of the Ninth is towards the restrained end of the spectrum, with a valedictory tone throughout. The Gürzenich-Orchester is not one of Europe’s best-known orchestras, but it has a fine Mahler pedigree (having given the world première of the Fifth on October 18, 1904, with Mahler himself at the podium). Under Stenz’s direction the players find a fine singing line in the first movement, which is brought to a haunting close with fine playing in the piccolo and strings. The second movement Ländler does indeed dance – the grotesque and ironic dimension is there, but not foregrounded. There is a similar restraint in the Rondo-Burlesque, where the cantabile middle section effectively contrasts with the two outer sections, particularly the brutal last few minutes. Stenz’s understated approach to the first three movements throws the spotlight on the final Adagio, one of Mahler’s greatest movements, perhaps the greatest. Stenz and the Gürzenich-Orchester deliver a very powerful rendition that is deeply elegiac.

Chailly’s approach to the Ninth is rather different. The bonus item for the disc is a 15 minute conversation between the conductor and the celebrated Mahler biographer and musicologist Henry-Louis de la Grange (now 90 years of age and still a very acute commentator). In the conversation Chailly stresses how full of life and strength the Ninth is. Much of the music, particularly in the finale, is music of farewell, but it is not the music of Mahler himself bidding farewell. In line with this basic insight, Chailly brings out the contrasts much more than Stenz. The first movement is significantly more dramatic and the macabre side of the scherzo is more pronounced, becoming ferocious towards the end. Chailly attackes the Rondo-Burlesque from the opening, so much so that the contrast with the cantabile section is quite jarring. All of this leads up to a truly magnificent finale, with drama and depth culminating in an other-wordly ending. The hush in the Gewandhaus at the movement’s close says it all.

The Stenz recording is good and certainly to be recommended. It includes a fine performance of the Adagio of the Tenth from 2011.  But it suffers by comparison with the Chailly performance, which is truly exceptional and one of the finest issues so far in 2014, with fine cinematography and excellent sound quality.    

      

Hindemith's 1958 recording of Bruckner's Seventh

Anton Bruckner, Symphony No. 7

Radio-Sinfonieorchester Stuttgart des SWR

Conducted by Paul Hindemith

Live radio broadcast (24 June 1958)

Hänssler Classic CD 94.222

The celebrated composer Paul Hindemith was no stranger to the conductor’s podium, to which he turned increasingly after World War II as his solo career as a violist wound down. The existing studio recordings are primarily of his own compositions, but he was more wide-ranging in the concert hall and on radio broadcasts. Recordings exist of three complete Bruckner symphonies – one of the Third in the 1889 version and two of the Seventh in the 1885 Guttman edition. This recording is the earliest of the two Sevenths, dating from 1958 while the other is with the New York Philharmonic in 1960.

There are some parallels between Hindemith and Bruckner – both were deeply attached to the great contrapuntal tradition and somewhat out of step with the music of their times. Admittedly, Hindemith’s talent fell far short of Bruckner’s, and he was much more successful than Bruckner in his own lifetime. But still it is an intriguing match.

Like most conductors of the time Hindemith was deeply influenced by Furtwängler. He displays much greater rhythmic flexibility than we are used to nowadays, unashamedly in the service of a very dramatic and romantic approach to the symphony. 

This performance has one very interesting structural feature – the first and second movements have almost exactly the same duration, whereas in the vast majority of performances the second movement is significantly longer than the first. Karl Böhm’s famous 1943 performance with the Vienna Philharmonic has the two movements coming in at 18’43” and 26’37” respectively. For Hindemith the timings are 18’45” and 18’53 respectively.

One consequence of this architecture is that the Adagio does not overwhelm the other movements, as it is only too easy to do. Instead Hindemith is able to set an exciting mood and pace in the first movement and carry it through to the end, while still allowing the second movement to serve as the symphony’s spiritual heart and center of gravity.

The music-making is a little rough around the edges. The horns go uncomfortably awry every once in a while and there is occasional ragged playing in the wind section. But the strong, rich string sound carries the day. The two words that best characterize this performance are “exciting” and “momentum”. It is of far more than historical interest and the sound quality is a pleasant surprise.