Anton BRUCKNER (1824 –1896)
Symphony No. 4 in E-flat major, Romantic (1878/88 revised version)
[73:27]
Toronto Symphony Orchestra/Peter Oundjian
rec. December 2007, Roy Thomson Hall, Toronto
TSO LIVE [73:27]
With the announcement
of the details of Peter Oundjian’s first season as Music Director of the Royal
Scottish National Orchestra in 2012/13, it is timely to consider this performance.
Oundjian (b. 1955) is a Canadian violinist and conductor, born in Toronto,
who became Music Director of the Toronto Symphony in 2004. From what I have
read it seems that the Toronto orchestra was in a pretty parlous state when
he took over as MD and that he is widely credited as a leading factor in the
subsequent restoration of its fortunes. I believe he intends to retain that
post in addition to his new commitments in Scotland. His background is interesting.
He took up conducting after a fifteen-year stint as first violinist with the
renowned Tokyo String Quartet. As he revealed in an interview
with The
Scotsman newspaper when his appointment to the RSNO was announced, that
retirement, in 1995, was something of an enforced move because he had developed
a repetitive strain injury. Not that he should be regarded as a reluctant
conductor; he says he was ready for the move and took the view that one door
had closed and another was opening.
This Bruckner Fourth comes from live performances in the TSO’s regular concert
hall. I don’t know from how many performances this recording may have been
compiled but I didn’t detect any obvious evidence of editing. The performance
is a good one. The first movement is judiciously paced; the basic tempo is
sufficiently broad as to allow the majesty to register but the speed is definitely
not sluggish. The orchestra sound is clean but has ample weight where required
– the brass section makes its presence felt but never overwhelms. There’s
good work by the wind principals and, crucially, by the first horn. The string
section produces a sound that has sheen and body. (Sample the section in I
between 11:12 and 11:55). Oundjian controls the flow of the music well, using
dynamic contrasts effectively and handling Bruckner’s trademark crescendi
very well. There’s welcome energy at times also (for example between 8:30
and 9:35). The conductor seems to me to have a sound grasp of the music’s
architecture and I found his reading convincing.
The above comments apply to the remaining three movements also. In the second
movement the strings in particular have opportunities to show their worth
and they take them. Once again Oundjian’s control of speeds is convincing.
There’s good momentum in the ‘hunting’ passages of III – I liked the crisp
playing from the horn and trumpet sections. The trio (from 4:35) is aptly
described in the notes as “amiable” and that’s how it comes across here. The
finale can sound episodic and I think that for this reason it’s the hardest
movement for a conductor to pull off. However, Peter Oundjian lays out a pretty
convincing narrative. Once or twice I felt his approach was slightly impetuous
but these instances were brief and not so significant as to mar my overall
enjoyment.
My overall verdict is that this is a convincing and enjoyable performance
and one that is very well played. If this is typical of Peter Oundjian’s achievement
to date in Toronto then I’d say the Royal Scottish National Orchestra has
made a pretty shrewd choice. The recorded sound is good. There’s a wide dynamic
range, as one needs in Bruckner, and the engineers present the orchestral
sound with plenty of body and definition. Though there is applause at the
end – swiftly faded out – there is otherwise no audience noise that I detected,
even through headphones.
Details of this and other live recordings by the Toronto Symphony and Peter
Oundjian can be found on the orchestra’s website.
John Quinn
A convincing and enjoyable live Bruckner Fourth from Toronto.
Masterwork Index: Symphony 4