ANTON BRUCKNER: Symphony No. 0 WAB 100; March WAB 96; Three Pieces WAB 97 – Beethoven Orchestra Bonn/ Stefan Blunier – MDG Live multichannel SACD (2+2+2) MDG 937 1673-6, 63:07 [Distr. by E1] *****:
It is quite amazing to see how many of Bruckner’s symphonies are available in the multichannel SACD format – it appears even more than Mahler’s symphonies. That’s definitely a testament to the format’s abilities to clearly separate out the complex details of both composers’ symphonies. Bruckner’s symphonies especially can begin to sound repetitive and often boring in their big unison passages and blocks of repeated sounds when heard on standard CDs or LPs. His symphonies are in an entirely new style – not restating either Beethoven or Wagner – which paved the way for modern musical radicalism with his often startling dissonances, sudden modulations and wildly-changing harmonies. His unique orchestral approach is modeled on the sounds of his main instrument, the pipe organ, and just as with good SACD recordings of that instrument, the format can open up and involve the listener so much more than most two-channel standard-resolution recordings. However, among the long list of SACDs of the standard nine Bruckner symphonies, I could find no other recording of the one given the odd title of No. 0 – only this superb SACD.
(By the way, there is also the so-called Study Symphony in F minor of Bruckner, which is usually give the even odder title: Symphony No. 00. So there are really 11 Bruckner symphonies.) The composer “annulled” both works, but we are fortunate that he didn’t throw them into the fireplace, because this one especially is the equal of his nine numbered symphonies, though Bruckner didn’t think so. It was actually the second symphony composed by the shy, devoutly Catholic German composer (who never married but had a strong platonic attraction to teenage girls all his life, which at one point almost got him into trouble). One good outcome of Bruckner’s rejection of this symphony is that he failed to make a bunch of usually inferior revisions of it, prompted by friends and critics, as he did on most of his other symphonies.
The symphony is about as monumental and gigantic in this recording as his other symphonies – a quality only surpassed later by Mahler. It runs 50 minutes, but Solti’s CD of the work cuts it down to 38 minutes. I’m afraid I hadn’t noticed the WAB numbering in Bruckner before; it stands for Werkverzeichnis Anton Bruckner’s (thank you Wikipedia). The other four little pieces are strictly filler, and sound a bit more like Schubert than Bruckner symphonies.
In the usual four movements for Bruckner, the “Nullte” shows Bruckner is adept at his entirely new symphonic style in spite of it being some of his earliest orchestral writing. It was actually composed in 1869, after both his Symphony No. 1 and his Study Symphony. Stefan Blunier is a master at keeping the symphony going in its inevitable fashion throughout its extended length. It just builds and unfolds very gradually but somehow rationally. The playing in both the string and brass sections is superb in the many big orchestral climaxes. The slow movement is very serene and measured, though it has an odd 14-second silence in it that almost makes one think the recording has somehow failed. The Scherzo is quite lively and makes way for a heavily contrapuntal Finale. This is a most impressive performance, very well recorded, and the audience at the live concert hardly seems to be there, so quiet do they remain until the conclusion. (I’ll be anxious to hear this one again when I have my vertical frontal speakers set up again for the Aurophony option.)
— John Sunier
Chet Baker – Late Night Jazz – Elemental Music
A tender exit…
