The tide seems to be turning with regard to conductors deciding which of the various versions of Bruckner symphonies to perform and record. The cuts and changes which were the mild-mannered composer made were the usual choice until recently, probably stimulated by many listeners simply finding the symphonies overlong. Now with conductors such as the late George Tintner (Naxos) going back to Bruckner’s original versions, we are finding that perhaps the composer had it right the first time around. The excesses and occasional clumsy sections in the Third were the composer trying a whole new approach to symphonic writing, which he got more under control by his Fourth Symphony. It is unfortunate that the first three symphonies as well as Nos. “0” and “00” are seldom visited by conductors or listeners.
The Third is sometimes called The “Wagner” Symphony because the first version actually quotes a number of Wagnerian themes and Bruckner humbly presented it to the Bayreuth master to get an OK to dedicate it to him. These were nearly all excised in the later versions, so right there is one reason for preferring the original version. There were four published later versions of the symphony, and others not published. Günther Wand, in his Red Seal CD of the Third, uses the last Nowak Edition of l889, and though an exciting live recording, it’s all over in 54 minutes, whereas Tintner takes 77 minutes for the first version!
Young Australian conductor Simone Young adopts a faster pace in most of the movements of the original version than did Tintner, and her Oehms SACD totals 68 1/2 minutes, which I find one of the attributes of this disc. However, her tempo in the first movement is painfully slow. If you haven’t heard of her before (and I must admit I hadn’t) she was made Music Director of the Hamburg Philharmonic three years ago, after directing the Bergen Philharmonic from 1999 to 2002. Earlier she conducted thruout Australia and with top orchestras around the world. Bruckner has been her specialty since her beginnings as a conductor. She has successfully conducted his symphonies not only in Norway but also Dresden, Stuttgart, Vienna and Berlin, and this is the second recording in her cycle of the Bruckner Symphonies in their original versions. The Hamburg Philharmonic has 130 salaried musicians and was founded over 175 years ago. Mahler led them in the premiere of his Fifth Symphony.
The playing is excellent and Oehms’ hi-res surround cannot be faulted. The aural envelopment of the SACD is a tremendous improvement over the seemingly pinched and flat sonics of the Wand and Tintner CDs. (I understand there are multichannel SACDs of some of the Wand recordings available in Japan.) There are some audience noises, but not annoying. Young communicates perfectly Bruckner’s building to tremendous climaxes thru almost excessive repetition. The work’s Adagio movement runs over 19 minutes and is as emotional as any of Mahler’s slow movements. After it, the seven-minute Scherzo seems a burst of energy and excitement. There is a competing multichannel SACD – also using the first version – conducted by Kent Nagano on HM.
– John Sunier
