Classical Music

BRUCKNER Symphony No. 3 (first version, 1873) • Jonathan Nott, cond; Bamberg SO • TUDOR 7133 (Multichannel Hybrid SACD: 63:12)


In Fanfare 28:3, I briefly described the three versions—1873, 1877, and 1889—of Anton Bruckner’s Third Symphony, while reviewing Kent Nagano’s recording of the 1873 version with the Deutsches Symphony of Berlin (Harmonia Mundi 901817, also available as a multichannel hybrid SACD, HMC 801817). For all its virtues of interpretation, execution, and sound—and sounding even better in the SACD version—I judged it not quite as compelling a performance as one by Georg Tintner and the Royal Scottish Orchestra on Naxos 8.553454. Now a new SACD from Tudor further complicates the picture. Jonathan Nott, an English conductor enjoying a major career in Europe, leads a powerful performance of the symphony, and the Bamberg Symphony never sounded better. In “super audio” five-channel sound, this is now clearly the best recording to date of the 1873 version. It is also one of the shortest; Nagano is more than five minutes longer, and Tintner more than 14! The first commercial recording by Eliahu Inbal and the Frankfurt Radio Orchestra clocked in at 65:12, and the fastest ever, by Roger Norrington and his London Classical Players, zipped by at 57:25. In placing Nott and Tintner at the head of my list, I obviously do not care how fast the music is played, but how convincing a conductor and orchestra can make their interpretation sound. Nott, like Tintner, creates drama through persuasive dynamic and rhythmic contrasts, adding up to a complete and compelling conception. It is especially gratifying to find a relatively young (born 1962) conductor creating a profound and exciting performance reminiscent of much older conductors, such as Bruno Walter, Carl Schuricht, Wilhelm Furtwängler, Otto Klemperer, and Eugen Jochum.


Tudor’s notes argue, as did Georg Tintner annotating his own performance for Naxos, that the later versions were not so much improvements as attenuations of a great masterpiece that is best heard and understood in its original form. Now that I have become thoroughly familiar with it, I can no longer argue against that view, though there is so much to admire in every version of Bruckner’s symphonies that I prefer to enjoy each on its own terms. It seems more worthwhile to argue against those who, for whatever reason, try to suppress marvelous scores like the Vienna version of the First Symphony, or the final version (1888) of the Fourth, both of which were revised and sent to the printer with the composer firmly in charge, however much help he had from his disciples.


An ethical case might be made against the publication (as recently as 1977, edited by Leopold Nowak) of this first version, because the composer never tried to have it performed or published. But every Bruckner enthusiast I know is grateful to hear these alternate versions, and conductors may now choose which version or versions they wish to perform. Similarly, serious collectors can choose which they wish to buy and keep.


Thanks to many recordings and concerts heard live or by radio, one can now accept the large number of allusions to the operas of Richard Wagner in the 1873 edition.


This was the version Wagner saw; Bruckner sought and received the great man’s permission to dedicate the symphony to him. This version is characterized by monumental length: 2,056 measures, compared to 1,715 in the 1877 version, and 1,544 in 1889. When performed with such skill and conviction, and recorded in such rich and burnished sound as in Tudor’s new release, one feels that more, indeed, is better.

FANFARE: Robert McColley

Richard Wetz's ultra-conservative Third Symphony, like his second, resembles sort of a cross between Bruckner and Max Bruch. Not that this explains anything useful. One thing's for sure, though: Wetz writes beautiful music. His themes sing, stay with you when listening, and offer clearly contrasting moods and images. While never calling attention to itself in an ostentatious manner, Wetz's orchestration elucidates his musical arguments with perfect clarity and efficiency. His harmony, both diatonic and tastefully chromatic, is gorgeous. There's more than a touch of Schubert in his mixture of major and minor modes, and he knows how to use both discrete dissonance and fluid rhythms to carry his melodies across the bar lines. In short, the guy knows how to write symphonically, and if he now appears to have been born a generation or more too late (the piece dates from 1922 but sounds more like 1872), that need not concern us now.


Highlights of this work include an impressively argued opening, a truly noble slow movement that packs a Brucknerian sense of timeless spirituality into a mere 11 minutes, a scherzo full of gentle humor (with a lovely and lyrical trio), and a passionate, wholly satisfying finale that never overstays its welcome despite being more than 14 minutes long. This last, in particular, represents no small achievement in a late-Romantic symphony, and the closing pages, where Wetz decides to explore (so earnestly and so well) "The Greatest Hits from the Coda of Bruckner's Fifth", will bring a smile to the lips of every music lover. The coupling, Gesang des Lebens for chorus and orchestra, really does sound like an eight-minute-long Max Bruch wannabe (terrifying thought!), and in this case offers nothing at all memorable. However, if you're interested in music that expresses the best in the conservative German tradition, you'll find much to enjoy in this authoritatively paced, well-played, richly recorded, genuine "sleeper" of a symphony. Listen to it with respect. It really grows on you.
--David Hurwitz, ClassicsToday.com

Franz Krommer was once a highly regarded composer, but he then ceased to be remembered more quickly and disappeared more completely than any other creative musician of his generation. It was not until 1997 that the Czech musicologist Karel Padrta compiled a thorough catalogue of his works including a biographical introduction. Krommer all too long was overshadowed by Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven, and it is only recently that his oeuvre has begun to attract increased attention. Krommer’s oeuvre focuses almost exclusively on instrumental music. In his first symphony he succeeds in forming a thoroughly individual synthesis of stylistic elements recalling Haydn and Mozart, while in his second such work he largely distances himself from these models and develops a symphonic style all of his own. The slow introduction of the first movement, which begins in forte with a gloomy D minor triadic chord, immediately presents a tone quite different from that of his early works and develops an individual sound character with a fitting continuation in the following Allegro vivace’s main movement complex distinguished by strong dynamic contrasts and constantly oscillating between major and minor. Krommer’s third symphony is comparatively conventional, which may have to do with the fact that it is based on an older source and was merely reworked for its publication.

Classical Music

F. E. FESCA Symphonies: No. 2 in D; No. 3 in D. Cantemire: Overture • Frank Beermann, cond; North German RSO • cpo 999 869 (61:04)


Not unlike Gossec, Mehul, and Onslow in France, or the Germans Spohr and Ries, Friedrich Ernst Festa (1789–1826) was a symphonist whose works have been eclipsed by Beethoven. Frank Beermann has sought to alleviate this neglect in performances with Hannover’s North German Radio SO. Their recording of Fesca’s Symphony No. 1 became available last year (cpo 999889). This new cpo release includes excellent performances of Fesca’s two remaining symphonies, recorded in the fall of 2001. Beermann is a conductor familiar to the record-buying public these days, especially due to his collaboration (conducting the Bamberg SO) with Matthias Kirschenreit in the complete Mozart piano concertos on Arte Nova.


Though it’s doubtful that anyone would argue for an elevation of Fesca’s status above that of Kleinemeister , this is music of considerable charm and skill. Oddly, the Second Symphony, composed between 1809 and 1813, seems more innovative than the Third, dating from 1816. The Second Symphony, for instance, features interesting writing for the woodwinds, which are given special prominence in the Andante con moto. Thematic elements of the finale seem oddly quirky, in a way that leaves one wondering if this were creative audacity that didn’t quite come off or simply awkward writing.


In critical assessments, Fesca’s orchestrations are often described as conventional. At least on the basis of these symphonies, this judgment seems unduly harsh. His handling of the orchestra is never less than effective, the string-writing is consistently idiomatic, and textures occasionally achieve an almost Mendelssohnian translucence. The overture to Cantemire , the first of two operas that Fesca wrote for Karlsruhe, rounds out the program.


Balances and presence in this record leave little to be desired. The performances are strong and imaginative. While the music itself must suffer in comparison to Beethoven and Weber, it nevertheless presents a worthy contribution to the rich and varied landscape of the early-19th-century symphony.


FANFARE: Patrick Rucker

Classical Music

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REVIEWS:
Fanfare (1-2/00, pp.212-213) - "...Borrensen's Symphony No. 1 is a finely crafted piece....The two other pieces...are more overtly folkish than the symphony....Recommended to all aficionados of Scandinavian music, and especially to those who have yet to discover its still out-of-the mainstream glories."

Classical Music

Natanael Berg (1879 - 1957) studied at the Stockholm Conservatory and was a Swedish Army veterinarian who, as a freelance musician also composed music in a Late Romantic style. Natanael Berg's colorful music is the subject of an on-going project on the CPO label.

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TCHAIKOVSKY: Piano Concerto No. 2 / Concert Fantasy, Op. 56

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KOMPONISTEN-PORTRAIT

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Classical Music

Classical Music

DISCOVER THE CLASSICS, VOL. 1