Search - Bruckner, Dohnanyi, Cleveland Orchestra :: Symphony 5

A well-proportioned but exciting Bruckner Fifth from the ove

Santa Fe Listener | Santa Fe, NM USA | 02/14/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"During his 18 years with the Cleveland Orch. (1984-2002), Dohnanyi accumulated a sizable discography, but it sems that he's largely fogotten. Decca keeps his CDs in print spottily, but here at Amazon Marketplace a great many sell at super-bargain prices, like this Bruckner Fifth from 1991. The Gramophone's resident Bruckner expert, Richard Osborne, described the performance as "gaunt, dramatic, and as fiercely concentrated" as any account he had ever heard. In particular he priased Dohnanyi for not fudging the long expanse of the work by artificially revving up the tempo and injecting upbeat emotions where the composer doesn't call for them.



I was intrigued, even though I htought I'd placed Dohnanyi's Bruckner considerably lower than Karajan's for being foursquare and literal. On second hearing, those qualities remain, but I now hear a well balanced reading that plans the overall pacing of the work very well -- for once, the music doesn't go by fits and starts, and the first and last movements feel less episodic than usual. Also, one feels more depth in the interpretation than from, say, Welser-Most on EMI and less inflated portentousness than from Barenboim and the Berliners on Teldec. This is very seasoned, serious, powerful playing of a European order. For those who care about editions, Dohnanyi uses Nowak, and his timings are middle-of-the-raod: Welser-Most 70 min., Barenboim 72 minutes, Dohnanyi 74, Schuricht 77, Karajan 81 (most of Karajan's slowness comes from an extremely broad Adagio -- some would label it perversely slow). As for the sonics, Decca chose to employ Severance Hall, with its dry acoustic but compensate with close miking. I hear a ibt of dullness on top and tubbiness on bottom. Otherwise, the sound is quite acceptable.



In the end, I'm glad to get the chance to re-evaluate Dohnanyi's strengths and find this Bruckner Fifth a real success."