Concertgebouw Bruckner 5:, c. Haitink at the Barbican

[HighlandDougie]

Today's Times review made me wish I'd been able to get to the Barbican.

Me, too. In the meantime, though, this is a more than adequate substitute (and it's a Hybrid SACD)

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Bruckner-Symphony-No-5-B-Dur-Wab/dp/B00442M0MQ/ref=sr_1_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1337690884&sr=1-1

One of my favourite recordings of any Bruckner symphony - and I don't care what Mr Snotty said about it on CD Review in conversation with AMcG

[PJPJ]

I do have that disc - it's awaiting unwrapping like so many, sadly.

Unfortunately the Times review is inaccessible on-line for free users. ".....Bernard Haitink's grasp of what he conducts remains supreme. No fancy tricks for him, no egotistical preening: just the music, clean and neat, though it never arrives dehydrated. What made this B5 so memorable was Haitink's absolute faith in the composer's idiosyncratic methods, thematic cul-de-sacs, awkward pauses and all........" and so on.

[By the way, and completely off-topic, for a devastating review, look at classicstodayfrance for a view on the Brodsky's Debussy and Ravel from Chandos. http://www.classicstodayfrance.com/r...eviewNum=4267]

[Prommer]

Four star review from The Times (Geoff Brown)

This was the final concert in the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra's first residency at the Barbican, and the trumpets and pomp were out in force for the 80-minute expanse of Bruckner's Symphony No 5, presented in splendid isolation. The brass could also have supplied a celebratory toot to mark the presence of the orchestra's patroness, Her Royal Highness Princess Máxima of the Netherlands, but she remained discreet, a silent presence, though I trust she clapped loudly.

There was much to clap about. At 83, the orchestra's former principal conductor may tire more easily now, and take longer to reach the podium, but Bernard Haitink's grasp of what he conducts remains supreme. No fancy tricks for him, no egotistical preening: just the music, clean and neat, though it never arrives dehydrated.

What made this Bruckner Five particularly memorable was Haitink's absolute faith in the composer's idiosyncratic methods, thematic cul-de-sacs, awkward pauses and all. Never tempted to hurry along and make Bruckner seem as excitable as Mahler, he laid the symphony's spacious architecture before us and let the orchestra's gorgeous finesse, perfect ensemble and kaleidoscopic colours decorate the structures.

Characterful pizzicato bass lines; the flutes' liquid beauty; the threedimensional brass; the weeping oboe; the warmth of a thousand cellos (well, more like 12): all these and more gave ample delight as Bruckner started, stopped, started again, and went in search of lost threads. Along the way, Haitink accurately judged the symphony's mottled emotions, disquiet jostling against radiance, questioning phrases and painful dissonances pricking the comforts of a solid brass chorale. This was a symphony written during a fretful time for Bruckner, and in Haitink's hands it showed.

The first movement's threads were woven together magnificently well; ditto the second. In the oddball scherzo, Haitink kept his head, never getting too crudely rustic, accepting the movement's twists and turns as a normal part of life. Only in the fourth did the performance's tension sag a little; never enough, though, to knock out the glory of the final minutes.

The performance done, Haitink received hearty applause and a bouquet of flowers. Followed, I hope, by rest.

[Nick Armstrong]

a celebratory toot

Blimey, Anna, are you reading this?!?! We should have gone!! Give 'em something to toot about!

[Alison]

Much as I'd like that, it's unlikely LSO Live would record the Concertgebouw. However, it's possible RCO Live recorded the other performance in Amsterdam.

I think Petrushka was referring to the forthcoming Schubert 9 with LSO/Haitink. With just the one Barbican performance I cannot see this
as a likely candidate for the LSO Live series.

[jayne lee wilson]

"Thematic cul-de-sacs"? "Awkward pauses"? "Lost threads"?

Of course I'm glad Geoff Brown acclaimed the performance but, as for understanding Bruckner... Honestly, will they never learn? Far too many critics or reviewers today seem to hear, or try to hear, Bruckner through a vaguely conceived grid of prefabricated sonata-form, with the ghostly image of the composer floating apologetically in the background.

[Alison]

It's what I call coffee table journalism.

Nor was I convinced by Ivan Hewett in the Torygraph:

When the chorale blazes out at the end, it should seem as if order has finally emerged out of confusion, or affirmation out of struggle. But in this performance, the sense of struggle and confusion only made itself felt intermittently. It was all too beautiful, too sweetly reasonable, as if the players and conductor knew from the beginning that it would all come out right in the end. The work’s sharp edges need to be sharper, if the final affirmation is to carry real conviction

[PJPJ]

I think Petrushka was referring to the forthcoming Schubert 9 with LSO/Haitink. With just the one Barbican performance I cannot see this
as a likely candidate for the LSO Live series.

Thanks for clearing that up - my reading skills need polishing up. I hope it's broadcast.

[Petrushka]

"Thematic cul-de-sacs"? "Awkward pauses"? "Lost threads"?

Of course I'm glad Geoff Brown acclaimed the performance but, as for understanding Bruckner... Honestly, will they never learn? Far too many critics or reviewers today seem to hear, or try to hear, Bruckner through a vaguely conceived grid of prefabricated sonata-form, with the ghostly image of the composer floating apologetically in the background.

[scottycelt]

"Thematic cul-de-sacs"? "Awkward pauses"? "Lost threads"?

Of course I'm glad Geoff Brown acclaimed the performance but, as for understanding Bruckner... Honestly, will they never learn? Far too many critics or reviewers today seem to hear, or try to hear, Bruckner through a vaguely conceived grid of prefabricated sonata-form, with the ghostly image of the composer floating apologetically in the background.

You are absolutely right ... it is amazing how, even in the 21st Century, Bruckner's style is still considered in some quarters a bit 'odd' and there is an almost apologetic' air about many concert reviews.

Well it's never seemed 'odd' to me ... different from the mainstream, yes, but all these 'pauses' and 'cul-de-sacs' are ESSENTIAL to the tension and drama unfolding in any Bruckner symphony. The composer knew exactly what he was doing ... the fact that others failed to see this (and apparently still do) is a problem for them not the composer.

Life is full of sudden 'ups' and 'downs' and contrasting juxtapositions and Bruckner referred to this himself when witnessing the jollity of a wedding party when returning from a funeral, and he reflected this in his Third Symphony.

I was struck by the silent concentration of the audience on Sunday even at the so-called 'awkward pauses'. These days, concert-goers are experienced and knowledgeable enough to know exactly what to expect when listening to a Bruckner symphony, and, what's more, they now often turn up in droves for that very privilege!

[jayne lee wilson]

It's what I call coffee table journalism.

Nor was I convinced by Ivan Hewett in the Torygraph:

When the chorale blazes out at the end, it should seem as if order has finally emerged out of confusion, or affirmation out of struggle. But in this performance, the sense of struggle and confusion only made itself felt intermittently. It was all too beautiful, too sweetly reasonable, as if the players and conductor knew from the beginning that it would all come out right in the end. The work’s sharp edges need to be sharper, if the final affirmation is to carry real conviction

Heavens, Alison, yes, that's almost worse isn't it? "Struggle" and "confusion", in the finale of No.5?! Dear me...
We've discussed the problems of critical vocabulary elsewhere, but with these comments on Bruckner there's a readymade terminology applied to the wrong music, as if no fresh, original listening had even taken place. Why haven't they read - or understood - Dr. Simpson? He got to the heart of things rather a long time ago...

[Petrushka]

I was struck by the silent concentration of the audience on Sunday...

So was I. There was never a cough to be heard. Great posts from Alison, JLW and Scottycelt.

We have had a veritable feast of outstanding Bruckner in London this season and without an anniversary in sight. Abbado and the Lucerners as well Haitink and the Concerttgebouw in the 5th, Barenboim and his 'Bruckner Project' giving us the last three symphonies. Still to come are Runnicles in the 8th and VPO/Haitink in the 9th at the Proms. The ones I have attended thus far have been to capacity audiences and there seems to me to be an ever more urgent need for Bruckner in these days of doom and gloom. I for one have definitely been listening to more Bruckner than Mahler in recent months.

[jayne lee wilson]

Yes, very envious... I have to wait till next May to hear live Bruckner in Liverpool, Thomas Dausgaard with No.6... still, at least the Olympics will be at arm's length...

[teamsaint]

rule 1...trust you own eyes and ears.(on music, politics, or anything).
I am sure that people reviewing this type of event are paragons of virtue,(as these are high profile affairs) but reviewers /critics/reporters aren't even always at the event they are supposed to be reviewing!
Always interesting to hear the views of a trusted critic , of course.
anyway, the discussion on this thread has certainly been great stuff, and the enthusiasm infectious...sharing the joy of the music is just so important.
lord only knows when we will next get a Bruckner symphony round this way !But my Bruckner journey is only just, belatedly, starting, so I can hardly complain.
Great news is, I am waking up each day itching to hear more...what a great feeling that is !!

[PJPJ]

You are absolutely right ... it is amazing how, even in the 21st Century, Bruckner's style is still considered in some quarters a bit 'odd' and there is an almost apologetic' air about many concert reviews.

Well it's never seemed 'odd' to me ... different from the mainstream, yes, but all these 'pauses' and 'cul-de-sacs' are ESSENTIAL to the tension and drama unfolding in any Bruckner symphony. The composer knew exactly what he was doing ... the fact that others failed to see this (and apparently still do) is a problem for them not the composer.

Life is full of sudden 'ups' and 'downs' and contrasting juxtapositions and Bruckner referred to this himself when witnessing the jollity of a wedding party when returning from a funeral, and he reflected this in his Third Symphony.

I was struck by the silent concentration of the audience on Sunday even at the so-called 'awkward pauses'. These days, concert-goers are experienced and knowledgeable enough to know exactly what to expect when listening to a Bruckner symphony, and, what's more, they now often turn up in droves for that very privilege!

I'm terribly envious - you put across a performance I'll never hear so well.