Dutch orchestras and conductors have long
been associated with the great German masters, including Bruckner
and Mahler. And this tradition is alive and well, of which this
fine new recording offers ample proof. The broadcasting orchestras
of Holland have maintained an enviable quality throughout the
post-war era, and principal conductor Jaap van Zweden certainly
brings the best from his players in this idiomatic performance
of Bruckner’s Romantic Symphony, which has perhaps become
the master’s best-loved work.
The spacious first movement sets the tone
and scale for the whole. The atmospheric beginning has a special
quality, an E flat tonality which is very similar to that of
the opening of Wagner's Das Rheingold. A solo horn, surrounded
by tremolando strings, suggests the work's title, Romantic,
and perhaps was the reason for its acquisition. The horn playing
here is exemplary, at once confident, accurate and warm-toned.
Perhaps the acoustic of the Hilversum studio might have offered
greater atmosphere, after the manner of the monastery of St
Florian where Bruckner worked, but it is still perfectly satisfactory.
This horn-call turns into the movement's central theme; and
it will, moreover, conclude the whole symphony. Therefore it
is imperative that the conductor sets an appropriate tone, balance
and tempo. ‘Lively, but not too fast’, says Bruckner, and van
Zweden sets a pulse that fits this description, while allowing
the majesty of the dynamic range to make its mark. Full marks
can also be awarded to the recording in this regard, since when
music builds towards the first massive, powerful tutti, the
effect is undeniably impressive.
The ensuing dialogues between woodwinds
and strings in flowing lyrical music, the latter known as the
gesangperiod (song-period), are played poetically with
a nicely judged phrase structure. If there is a criticism, both
here and throughout the symphony, it is that the violin tone is
on the hard side, and other versions have achieved a more sensitive
range of string sound. Among these the recordings of Gunter Wand
are personal favourites, including his last recording of all,
made with the North German Radio Symphony Orchestra for RCA (74321
93041 2 - see review).
The Andante opens with an eloquent
cello cantilena, whose whispering violin postlude is the perfect
foil. But the restrained, meditative chorale and the beautiful
melody, introduced by the violas, might have found just a little
more poetry on the new recording. On the other hand, there is
a truly magnificent, epic climax towards the close.
The Symphony No. 4 was composed in 1874,
but in 1878 and 1880 Bruckner revised it, replacing the original
scherzo and completely reworking the finale. The work thus created
received a successful premiere under Hans Richter in Vienna,
on 20 February 1881. The chief reason for its initial success
was the new scherzo movement, one of the most directly appealing
examples of Bruckner's art. Van Zweden and his players respond
to the atmospheric orchestration and the stirring horn fanfares,
with their hunting allusions. The music builds to a powerful
and exciting climax, which is balanced by a lyrical trio of
magical calm.
The finale resumes the more purposeful agenda
of the first movement, and van Zweden’s opening bars reinforce
the point. Out of the quiet opening a huge, massive climax is
generated, while again there is lyrical music to provide the
balance of contrast. But the question of the violin tone has
not gone away. The final phase, replete with full orchestral
sonority, sounds magnificent, although a more ample acoustic
would be more indulgent still. Despite these few misgivings,
however, this remains a fine performance, sympathetically recorded.
Terry Barfoot
Netherlands
Radio Philharmonic Orchestra/Jaap van Zweden
[71:36]
