Here at last! A fine first edition of Robert Simpson's book on Bruckner.

Bruckner on period instruments?

Philippe Herreweghe's Harmonia Mundi recordings of Bruckner's 4th, 5th, and 7th symphonies with the Orchestre des Champs Elysées have met a mixed reception. Some reviewers have been downright hostile - e.g. this review of the 4th by David Hurwitz (whose book on Mahler, by the way, I greatly appreciate). After listening to all 3 recordings over the last few days I have a much more positive response. There are real benefits from listening to Bruckner's symphonies with a smaller orchestra - as Herreweghe points out in the booklet accompanying the 7th, the balance of his forces is pretty close to that of the Leipzig Gewandhaus in the 1880s. And the use of period instruments and gut strings adds new timbres and sonorities. He is not a purist about editions, but does leave out the cymbal clash in the Adagio on the 7th (which makes good sense in the context of his overall approach – although including it works well for many other conductors).

The real strengths of Herreweghe's approach are, first, how the smaller orchestra allows the finer details of Bruckner's orchestration to emerge and, second, his grasp of the verticality of Bruckner's scores. On this second point, and as one might expect from a conductor so steeped in Bach, Herreweghe does wonderful job with the heavily contrapuntal 5th (particularly the fugue and double fugue in the final movement). He typically adopts fairly constant tempi. This generally works well, although the slow movement of the 5th has its longeurs and the overall architecture of some of the longer movements occasionally gets blurred.

Herreweghe's Bruckner is much more the religious symphonist than the Romantic Wagner enthusiast. There is much to be learnt from listening to him in this light.

The most recent of these recordings was 2009. It's about time for an 8th and a 9th. And, for that matter, why not a 6th and a 3rd?

Download 'The Bruckner Problem Simplified'

I was pleased to find Deryck Cooke's famous 1975 essay 'The Bruckner Problem Simplified' downloadable here (on John Berky's excellent site). Some of the claims are controversial, as Berky notes, but it's hard to imagine a more useful overview of the different versions. Berky's online discography categorizes available recordings by version. Cooke explains what the differences amount to. The rest of us can then argue about which one is better.

Richard Wagner, Parsifal (Hänssler Profil PH09009)

 This interesting but uneven recording dates from 26 March 1954. At the time Ferdinand Leitner was the general music director for the Württemberg State Opera in Stuttgart. Stuttgart was so highly regarded for Wagner productions in the 1950’s  (with Wieland Wagner a regular visitor) that it became known as the “Winter Bayreuth” , and the company made guest performances of Wagner in England, France, and Italy (including a complete Ring at the Florence May Festival in 1957). The present recording is the record of a guest performance at the Palais Garnier in Paris, with a representative set of Stuttgart soloists and the Stuttgart choir, accompanied by the Orchestre de l’Opéra de Paris. (Go here to listen to extracts from this recording.)

 

The cast of principals is extremely strong, particularly Wolfgang Windgassen as Parsifal and Martha Mödl as Kundry (both sang the same roles at Bayreuth that year under Hans Knappersbusch). Gustav Neidlinger makes an uncharacteristic appearance as Amfortas, while Gurnemanz is sung by the somewhat less known Otto von Ruhr.

The highlights of this set are primarily vocal. Windgassen is a magisterial Parsifal in Act III, and suitably anguished in Act I. Mödl is magnificent as Kundry. The long duet in Act II is required listening for all Wagner-lovers. Neidlinger’s Amfortas has more than curiosity value, but he does not seem to have entirely internalized the role. The anguish works well, but the self-laceration less so. Gurnemanz is well sung, although plainly some levels below Hans Hotter, the dominant Gurnemanz of the time. Von Ruhr’s Act III duet with Parsifal is finely sung, and somewhat more effective than their Act I encounter.

I have few complaints about the conducting. Leitner’s interpretation is well-paced and architecturally sound. The preludes and orchestral section reveal his ability to bring out the color and range of Wagner’s orchestration. Sadly, though, the orchestra is up against a restless and tubercular audience, silenced only by wonderful singing in the second half of Act II – at least until the final bars, when an early clapper provokes an atmosphere-destroying round of sshhes. Stage noises interfere with the climaxes of the other two acts, with a particularly loud crash at the end of Act III.  Anybody contemplating purchasing this set will of course be used to noisy audiences and on-stage crashes. But here it does seem to be worse than usual and severely detracts from the enjoyment of some fine singing and conducting.

In sum, this was probably an excellent performance, and the quality of the transfer is good, but there are too many extraneous sounds for it to be recommended as a performance, rather than as a testament to some very fine individual interpretations.