|
Audio Asylum Thread Printer Get a view of an entire thread on one page |
For Sale Ads |
204.152.235.219
CHICAGO SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA / MUTI / ORCHESTRA HALL, Chicago FRIDAY, June 22 BRUCKNER SYMPHONY #6
It's been maybe 5 or 10 years since I've listened to the Bruckner 6th. It just hasn't been a music priority for me. But, how many chances will you get to hear it performed in concert? And, by a top tier orchestra under a top tier conductor? Probably not many. Had to jump on this one. I'm so glad I attended.
1. There was a post some time back exploring the effect of concerts. Concert performances have a pronounced, often profound effect on me [about which I hope to post in the future]. And, what an effect this one's had. I love the Bruckner 6th. I used to like it. But, now I love it. What an amazing piece. As I listen more carefully to Bruckner, especially in concert performances, where the music literally springs to life, it becomes apparent how much of an influence he was on Mahler; and, for that matter, the Second Viennese School in general. For example, the quarter note stacatto march for string basses that opens the scherzo reappears as the opening of the Mahler Sixth. But, it's not just discrete, concrete examples such as that, of which there are actually fewer, but the overall feeling and style that Mahler absorbed. That's not to say that Mahler's not his own man; he certainly is. But, even as late as the Mahler 10th adagio, Bruckner's influence is still apparent.
2. The concert was on Friday. It's been playing in my head non-stop since then. That always happens, an it's usually torture. But, a strange and wonderful thing's happening this time. As passages of the music play, I can hear them in my mind's ear with great clarity, and various bits of instrumentation, harmony, melody, structure, etc. are being revealed - as if I'm actually hearing the music actually playing!!! Amazing. I'm getting a bunch of new insights into the music, all from it just re-playing in my head!!
3. I haven't yet established any preferences of recordings. Anyone with any they'd like to share, please do so.
4. I'm convinced that Bruckner got better an better as he went on. The Sixth is manifestly better, in terms of compositional mastery, than the preceeding pieces, including the mighty Fifth, the Forth, or any of the earlier ones. Don't misunderstand; I'm not saying those are bad. I like them. What I'm saying is that Bruckner's mastery is just better in the Sixth [and that includes any of the late modification versions of the earlier pieces]. It shows concentration; and the awkwardness of the earlier symphonies, even the Fifth, is gone.
5. Everytime you look up the piece and read something about it, they're always, always, always repeating the same thing about it: that it's the least popular Bruckner symphony. That may've been true 50 years ago, but not anymore. Checking sources, anyone may see that there're a ton of recordings of it. More likely, the so-called Symphony Zero's less recorded or played. That said, it's true that the Sixth is not often played in concert.
6. And, that's one reason why I paid for premium seats for the concert [$140 per seat]. Among my goals in life is to hear all of the pieces which I've come know through recordings at least once in concert, before I die.With Beethoven, that's no problem. But, with pieces such as the Bruckner Sixth...it's a problem. So, I splurged on this concert. The other reason's that I've always wanted to hear the sound from the front row of the first balcony, where the sound's supposed to be super-ideal in the hall. It was pretty good. You can hear everything. The bass was phenomenal.
7. I hate to bring in a negative note here, but, it happened; and, it's been bugging me; so here goes. I really hate hearing audience members make nasty, negative remarks about a piece, or a composer, at concerts. A couple of guys were within earshot, and after the concert they said, "Oh, that finale's just a hodge-podge", and so on. They're likely rich kids; the front row 1st balcony seats are pricey, and they were college kids. And, I'd say they're gay, cause that's how they spoke, in really obvious way. As they obnoxiously continued, it became clear that what they valued in music was what they got from their preferred music genres: loud, constant non-stop thumping rhythm. You don't get that from the Bruckner Sixth. They stressed that their favorite Bruckner piece was the scherzo of the Ninth. Of course. The one movement with a lot of constant rhythm, simple enough for enough stretches of time for Thumpers to grasp. I imagine that the concert, which's been the highlight of the entire year so far for me, was merely a warmup for their evening, and a trivial one at that; the night being capped off at some bass-droning gay night club....where they'd hear thumping, non-stop, for the entire night. No hodge-podge there.
8. Not to end on a bad note, and to help banish the nasty crap about the Bruckner Sixth I had to endure, I'm hoping that you guys here can share any positive remarks, insights, and experiences you may have about the piece. Thanks.
Follow Ups:
A bootleg video of a nice performance of Verdi's "Forza del Destino" Overture......... Not familiar with the venue the video was taken, but it looks like an intimate hall. (The orchestra had my favorite musician arrangement- The cellos to the far right.)
If Muti can clean up the string intonation issues and develop the phrasing in the winds, this could become the best orchestra in America. (I did like the trumpet playing in the final melody.) I still think Philly is the best right now, but the CSO could very well be in second.
Muti could be the best CSO music director since Fritz Reiner...........
Thanks for affirming the music, guys. It's really a wonderful piece, and so multi-faceted.
Chris - you're so on the money. I've always felt that the opening theme was exactly that - exotic sounding. Just really exotic and mysterious. An amazing melody. Now that you've revealed the harmony, I understand why it sounds that way.
I'll bet that had the symphony been performed more often during the 19th century, it would've been named. Something such as "Le Mysterie", or "The Philosopher" would've really fit. But, from what I've read, it was performed exactly 1.5 times during the 19th century:
* the inner 2 movements only during Bruckner's lifetime [he attended the rehersal, and according to the program notes to the concert, was so excited about the prospect of having his music actually performed, he wore to 2 mismatched, different shoes];
* the entire work under Mahler in the 1890's, after Bruckner's death. I seem to recall that Mahler may've cut the thing, though.
Listening to the Sixth, I find something that's jumped out that I haven't seen commented anywhere. And, that's the element of lyrical gentleness that appears in it. In the first movement, big dramatic passages are built up, but resolved in a gentler, very lyrical way. That may seem anti-climactic, but it isn't at all. The same sort of thing's taken even further in the Seventh. Then, in the adagio there so much tenderness, and yet it's balanced with everything else: drama, tragedy, an so on. The coda of the adagio's so tender, I can only think of it as parental love for a baby. It caresses the listener. Astonishing.
I'checked into the Blomstedt/LGO/Querstand recording, but the Sixth seems to be no longer available. The 4th, 5th and 9th are available, but not the 6th.
Just looked...it is there.
I came to Bruckner through the 6th symphony. In the late 70s I splurged on Solti's recording. I couldn't usually afford the premium priced LPs.
To highlight some favorites: pride of place goes to the truncated Furtwangler. Yes it is missing the first movement, but the last three movements are terrific. I keep hoping that the first move,meant will turn up some day. Also note that the sound is terrific considering its WWII vintage.
Trivia: Fritz Reiner had scheduled a recording of it but it was not to be.
The recording I listen to most often is the Klemperer.
...no first movement. The Klemperer is excellent, although I prefer the Concertgebouw version. There's a great Celibidache from 1961 or 1965 (I'll have to check), and always, always there's the great complete set by Georg-Ludwig Jochum.
P.A.
A lot of it is just speculation on your part, and that kind of behavior could just as easily come from the non-gay world too.
But on to the main part of your post, those are really great observations. I've always thought that the Sixth would be an ideal introduction to Bruckner for the non-specialist listener. It's a very concise work for Bruckner (or so it seems to me), and I love the opening theme, with its suggestion of the A-Phrygian mode! (Bruckner almost never uses modal scales in his symphonies.) It gives the theme an air of exoticism that is almost unique to this movement among his output.
I first heard the work in a recording by Heinz Bongartz and the LGO on one of those cheapo Philips LP's in the late 60's / early 70's - it was originally recorded in 1964. I have the CD re-issue of this performance on the Berlin Classics label, and I feel that this recording still holds its own, in terms of both performance and engineering. However, if I were recommending a single recording of this work now, it would have to be the Blomstedt/LGO SACD on the Querstand label. Unfortunately, Querstand is not a well known label, so I don't think this recording is getting the recognition it deserves: the in-concert performance and engineering are both magnificent - and I really feel you need close to state of the art engineering for these big, densely-textured late-nineteenth-century symphonies. So for me, this is really the one to get:
Which this assemblage surely is, so let's all behave correctly .
P.A.
. . . whether it's applicable or not.
I'm kicking myself for not picking that up when I was in Leipzig last year. I was in a Mahler purchasing spree though...
Second the comment about great post...although I too can't agree with bullet 7....
I decided early this year to knuckle down and get to know Bruckner's 5th & 6th. The 5th I have known a long time - my first exposure to it was the Haitink recording distributed by the International Preview Society long ago - alas, I no longer have it. But I never really got to know it, not in the way I like to know works. The 6th was mostly unplowed territory for me. Earlier this year I bought the Blomstedt 6th that Chris mentions, and it is a terrific performance (although, yes, I don't really know the 6th, so how would I know....).
I also attended a performance by the SFSO with Blomstedt conducting the 5th....magnificent (especially given his age....and he conducted from memory!) - but I find the 6th to be the finer work. Lots of note spinning in the 5th, IMHO - music written by and for a music theory professor. :-). I think he might have performed the 6th a season ago - I am sorry I missed it. There are times when I believe Blomstedt to be a superior conductor to his successor in SF, MTT.
Anyway, I highly recommend Blomstedt's recording of the 6th, as Chris does - my only caveat is that is was recorded live, and there is a trace of audience noise, and worse, applause at the end, something that I am allergic to...but still a recommendable recording. I have heard that the 8th from these same sources is absolutely magnificent.
I have the whole Blomstedt/LGO Bruckner series so far, except for the most recent release (No. 4) released a couple of months ago. It started with the Ninth on Decca, and has worked backwards on the Querstand label all the way to No. 3. I'll vouch for every one of those performances - just tremendous. And it's even better for me than for you, since I'm not bothered by the audience noise or the applause at the end! ;-)
BTW, I'm pretty sure of this: I think the very first concert that Edo de Waart conducted after he'd been named music director of the SFSO included the Bruckner 6th.
Mike,
I know some of us gay men can be insufferably shallow and ready to snipe bitchily at what is disliked. With that, I'll say that I love Bruckner's works. I got reacquainted with some records I've had kicking around for the last thirty years or more when I recently digitized Herbert von Karajan's Bruckner cycle. There's some breathtakingly stunning playing going on, along with dynamic range that is huge (sometimes I think there's audible compression going on in the loudest passages). I have Jochum's DGG cycle as well (on CD); there are some marvelous performances there, too. I have Haitink's 1960s-1970s cycle as well, and try as I might, I keep thinking it sounds efficient and no-nonsense, and I just don't really connect with it.
I think the Sixth is a wonderful work that repays repeated listening. Jochum and Klemperer really "get" it; I think Karajan is successful too, but not quite as successful. (I read somewhere recently that the Sixth was one of the Bruckner symphonies Karajan never conducted in concert.)
For myself, the Fifth is one of my favorites; that last movement with its odd mix of sonata form and fugue builds tremendously, and the slow movement shows off the strings so well.
Glad to hear about a live performance of Bruckner! They just don't happen in Tucson....
"I know some of us gay men can be insufferably shallow and ready to snipe bitchily at what is disliked."
Based on the intelligence of the rest of your post, I would assume this is some gentle sarcasm. My experience (as a straight man, so casual observation only) is that the classical music arena is one place where the anti-gay hostility that is still pervasive in much of our society is not so strong, and gay men are a little more comfortable about being openly gay. (Though apparently that wasn't the case for Leonard Bernstein in the fifties. I've read he felt he couldn't be openly gay without hurting his chances to direct the Boston Symphony, a position he coveted but never obtained. In NY, he succeeded Dmitri Mitropoulos, another gay man.)
I know that in many venues in business, law, etc., many gay men feel they have to "live a lie" and pretend to be straight at work in order to be accepted. So if Mike saw two gay men holding hands or otherwise being "obviously gay" at a concert (sniping bitchily?), I think that's great. Let's hope the classical music world can teach a lesson in tolerance to everyone else.
Post a Followup:
FAQ |
Post a Message! |
Forgot Password? |
|
||||||||||||||
|
This post is made possible by the generous support of people like you and our sponsors: