Daniel Barenboim is
an experienced Bruckner conductor and
it shows. His judgement in the balancing
of orchestral sections is always effective
and sometimes penetrating in its observation
of detail. For example, the lyrical
gesangperiode of the first movement
of the Symphony No. 4 can seldom have
been articulated with more loving care
and attention, yet there remains a feeling
of the utmost spontaneity.
As a Bruckner acoustic
the Philharmonie in Berlin has been
captured inconsistently over the years,
but for the most part it sounds well
here, so all praise to the recording
team. The playing of the Berlin Philharmonic
Orchestra is majestic, sure of tone
and with suitable observation of detail.
There is also a subtle treatment of
dynamics, which is an important issue
as regards this music. These matters
should not be taken for granted, and
of course owe something to the recording
too. Both the pianissimo playing and
the full-toned climaxes are compelling
in their different ways.
In Bruckner, capturing
exactly the right sound counts for so
much; more than might be the case with
other composers. Phrases demand the
chance to breathe, and the string sound
needs to expand resonantly while allowing
for the subtleties of the contrapuntal
textures to make their point. That is
why this performance communicates so
well, even though some of the climaxes,
such as at the centre of the finale,
do feel just a little strained and congested.
The other caveat concerns the string
tone, which does not always sound as
warm as it might.
From the very first
bar of the first movement, one senses
that the music is moving inexorably
on its symphonic path, and everything
sounds as though it could not possibly
be otherwise. Barenboim’s tempi are
on the broad side, given that his performance
is so far over the hour mark. Nothing
wrong with that, of course, and the
music always sounds right as far as
its development and evolution are concerned.
The famous scherzo
is particularly exciting, a true rhythmic
tour-de-force, with tight ensemble and
detailed stresses.
Barenboim chooses the
Nowak edition of the commonly played
1878-80 score, but he also includes
the highly dubious cymbal clash at the
peak of the first climax of the finale.
It makes its mark well enough, but was
it written by Bruckner?
Whatever the merits
of the inner movements of this marvellous
symphony, it is in the first movement
and the finale that any interpretation
will stand or fall. Barenboim is a most
experienced Bruckner conductor and this
1992 recording followed his previous
version with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra,
made more than a decade earlier. That
too showed the way that the line of
the music has to be maintained, while
at the same time allowing the music
to breathe and build naturally to its
climactic statements.
Surely Bruckner intended
that the greatest of the climaxes should
be the last, when the first movement
theme is recalled (in typical fashion)
in order to set the seal upon the whole
remarkable conception. It is a mark
of Barenboim’s success that when the
symphony reaches this concluding statement
it sounds absolutely final.
Terry Barfoot
Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra/Daniel Barenboim
