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Customer Reviews
But first, let's address the main course, Bruckner's study symphony. The opening is cheerily naïve but catchy with a delightful Brahmsian second subject. The second movement too is quasi-Brahmsian but there is also a central section that had me thinking of Philip Glass in its play of repetitive sequences. The scherzo, though, is pure Bruckner, and mercifully shorter than some of the monster scherzi that appear in his later symphonies. The finale, however, is not terribly inspiring; indeed, Bruckner always had trouble with his finales. In conclusion, one can understand why Bruckner did not throw the manuscript away, for there is some good stuff here, but one can also understand why he did not let it enter his canon.
The `Volksfest' alternative finale to the fourth symphony is an interesting and valuable inclusion. Even without having to listen to the weight of the preceding three movements, it soon becomes clear that the composer was right to revise this proposed finale, for it is not as cohesive as the third and final version. On more than one occasion I felt that the composer had lost his way, and some of the harmony is a little unsettling, even laughably naïve in places. But the Brucknerian grandeur is also there too.
The sound overall could be a little more immediate: it's just about OK = three stars. But the inclusion of the `Volksfest' raises this CD to four.
RECORDING: 9 out of 10.
THE "STUDY" SYMPHONY:
Fortunately, there is only one version of this symphony. It is full of Beethovenian, Mozartian, Mendelssohnian and Schumannesque touches. The scherzo is the most original of the movements. Some conductors tried to inflate this symphony to sound like the others. Wisely, Tintner steers clear of that temptation. The 1st Symphony is quantum leap above this and was only written a couple of years later. Nevertheless, it is quite a pleasant piece. The edition is by Nowak. (The total time of this performance is shorter than those of other conductors. This is simply because Tintner did not repeat the expositions in the outer movements, not because he adopted any controversial tempos.)
THE "VOLKSFEST" FINALE OF THE 4TH:
This is the 1878 version of the finale (ed. Nowak). One can play this after the first three movements of the "1878-80" version which Tintner recorded for this series. It's a shortened and simplified reworking of the original finale of 1874. Like the 1874 finale, the "Volkfest" lacks the slow c minor section (repeated in different keys) that Bruckner added to the "1878-80" version. It's an interesting piece, but I could never prefer it over the "1878-80" finale.
SUMMARY:
This CD lives up to the high standards that Dr. Tintner and Naxos have set. I heartily recommend the entire series to all those who are unfamiliar with the composer and to comparative "Brucknerheads".
Symphony "00" is an exercise during Bruckner's studies. It is clearly not mature Bruckner. Tintner, in the acompanying booklet, compares it to Schumann and Mendelsohn. As a Scandinavian, I am even reminded of Grieg sometimes (his symphony, also an early work, is contemporary with Bruckners "00"), but he was also influenced by Mendelsohn, so Tintner is, of course, right. Then, in the middle of it all, you can hear the coming Bruckner (ending of first movement, scherzo). The juxtaposition of Mendelsohn and Bruckner, and the glimpse of Bruckner's development as a composer, is fascinating! It seems that he went through both a Mendelsohn period and a Wagner period, with more and more of himself, before he became the "real" Bruckner - nobody else could have written his 9th!
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