Any performance or
recording of Bruckner’s Eighth Symphony
will to a large extent be a labour of
love. The nature of music determines
the nature of the experience, for the
performers as for the listeners. This
live performance from Linz, with an
orchestra whose name pays homage to
the master, and in all that does likewise,
captures the experience of a special
event.
The conductor, Dennis
Russell Davies, chooses to perform the
less well known original version of
1887, rather than the revision of 1890
which represented Bruckner’s final thoughts.
There is always room for more than one
view of a great symphony, but the general
consensus has been that on this occasion
the composer’s second thoughts were
better than his first. True, if we only
had the first version it would still
rank as a masterly score. Moreover there
is a danger that any listener will become
familiar with one performance or edition,
inviting doubts when another is presented.
Even so, for this reviewer at least,
Bruckner’s Eighth in its 1890 version
is as great a symphony as the repertory
contains, whereas the earlier version
does not quite maintain the tension,
build the sonorities and move the spirit
to the same extent.
Either version is now
well represented in the recording catalogue,
and anyone seeking the 1887 version
will find that Davies and the Linz Orchestra
have as much to commend them as anyone
else. But set against the experience
of the Vienna Philharmonic and Karajan
(DG), the Berlin Philharmonic and Wand
(RCA), or even the Saarbrücken
Orchestra and Skrowacewski, this newcomer
does not quite pass muster. But remember
that all these alternatives are of the
revision. Among the recorded performances
of the original version Davies ranks
strongly alongside the likes of Eliahu
Inbal (Teldec) and Georg Tintner (Naxos).
The Arte Nova price
is attractive and so, as ever, is the
recorded sound. There is an appropriate
warmth and atmosphere, while the playing
of the Linz Orchestra is altogether
admirable. Davies keeps the music flowing
and, at some 80 minutes, his performance
might nearly have fitted on to a single
CD, as some others do (e.g. Boulez on
DG). The cogency of the symphonic development
emerges strongly out of this approach,
nor is sonority wanting when the climaxes
build. If there are doubts they tend
to linger when considerations of atmosphere
and line take priority.
The scherzo is driven
hard ... and why not? This allows the
contrast of the (different) trio section
to make a strong impression. In the
slow movement the flow is compellingly
symphonic, with a convincing sense of
line and direction. A little weight
of tone is sacrificed while the great
climax, which works rather better in
the revised version, lacks a little
in intensity in this performance.
There is some fine
playing in the finale. The timpanist,
for instance, covers himself in glory,
while the brass create a magnificent
sonority. Details of development seem
less compelling than in the revision,
but even so there is an abundance of
symphonic weight in the best sense of
the term. Whatever doubts may emerge
along the way, there is no question
that this performance invites the compelling
assertion that the best single performance
of a Bruckner symphony must always be
the next one.
Terry Barfoot
Bruckner Orchestra Linz/Dennis Russell Davies
