Search - Bruckner, Knappertsbusch, Vienna Po :: Symphony 5

Of interest to Kna fans, or those wishing to hear the Schalk

Panthera Pardus | New Jersey | 05/14/2008

(2 out of 5 stars)

"I purchased this recording ages ago, and was very disappointed in it. The performance itself is fine, as such. While not stellar, not bad either - the problem is quite different, and after seeing the other reviewer hasn't mentioned it, is the reason I decided to post mine.



Here's the warning: this is not Bruckner's 5th as Bruckner wrote it. Nor is it a matter of picking a Bruckner revision, as Bruckner never revised this one. This is Franz Schalk's bowdlerized version, which was prevalent before the Haas and Nowak editions restored Bruckner's actual writing to publication.



In other words, the orchestration doesn't sound right, nor do passages sound right if you are at familiar with how the symphony should sound.



The Wagner is well-played, but this disc is purely for fans of Knappertsbusch, or people curious about how people would have heard Bruckner prior to the Bruckner Society's editions coming out in the 1930s.

Of specialist interest only."

3.5 stars -- of historic interest for the edition and conduc

Larry VanDeSande | Mason, Michigan United States | 04/20/2010

(3 out of 5 stars)

"The Symphony No. 5 in B flat major of Anton Bruckner (1824-96) is singular among his nine numbered symphonies in eschewing the problem of having multiple performing editions. While all Bruckner's numbered symphonies have more than one edition -- and some have as many as five named either for editors or the conductors that premiered the works -- the Symphony 5 has only one edition regularly recorded. That is the 1878 Nowak edition (from 1951) that is about the same as the 1878 Haas edition from 1935. Both vary from the one used here, the 1896 edition from conductor Franz Schalk.



Hans Knappertsbusch recorded the Schalk edition of the symphony for Decca-London in the earliest days of stereo in June 1956. While Kna's recording represents the lesser-used edition, it also represents a style of Bruckner performance that was more prevalent in Bruckner's time and in the first half of the 20th century when speeds were, generally speaking, faster than they are usually taken in the 21st century. While the Schalk edition eviscerates some of the mighty double fugue from the final movement, it is more Kna's fastish speeds that get the whole symphony done in an hour compared to the 70-80 minutes conductors take to get through the Nowak edition today.



Some of his speeds are quite fast and present problems that are obvious when you listen to the recording. In particular, the exposition of the Adagio is taken at such a rapid clip that the Vienna soloists either won't or can't keep up with the conductor, sometimes trailing his lead by part of a beat. The 1956 Vienna Philharmonic was not the instrument it was in either 1944 or 1976 but it was still a world class instrument, so this is a serious deficiency. However, for me, the choice to use the Schalk edition is the bigger problem with that prominent flute tweeting away and taking the place of strings in critical moments of the finale. This is also a primitive recording that does not show the orchestra in its best light.



Still, this historic document is one many collectors cling to a half-century later as their preferred version of the Schalk edition. I don't find that edition does justice to Bruckner's most complex and rewarding contrapuntal masterpiece, whose lengthy final movement not only includes his best counterpoint but expresses ideas that exceed any he put forth in any other work. The long double fugue of the finale, which can easily last 25 minutes in a recording of the Nowak score, here is over with in less than 20 minutes. While the final peroration and coda are intact, this performance loses momentum the best recordings of the Nowak verison contain.



Lots of Brucknerians think of this symphony as one of the composer's lesser tracts. I believe the Symphony 5, especially its long finale, is the greatest composition Bruckner penned. Furtwangler said something similar, as well. The glory and victory expressed in the finale was shown to great affect in the 1974 documentary, The World At War The World at War (30th Anniversary Edition), in its opening episode titled "A New Germany 1933-39." In the final moments of that program, where the film shows the Germans celebrating Hitler's 50th birthday with celebrations in the streets, the music from the coda to the end, leaving out the final chords, accompanies the narration. While this was probably a disservice to Bruckner's intent, it was most effective, even shattering in its aurual impact supporting the visual story.



That's what I expect at the end of this titantic symphony. Knappertsbusch's more than half-century old recording delivers some of this but the impact is blunted by his fast speeds, the Schalk edition, and the recording technology of the day that dimished the orchestra's impact. My preferred versions of this symphony all use the other editions -- Furtwangler's mighty 1942 concert recording from Berlin Symphony 5 that's also available in a Music & Arts box Furtwangler Conducts Bruckner: Symphonies 4,5,6,7,8,9, Horenstein's 1971 concert recording from London Bruckner: Symphony 5, Hermann Abendroth's 1949 recording from Leipzig Anton Bruckner: Symphony No 05, and Heinz Wallberg's 1960s LP from Vienna that is avaiable as a free download at the [...] Web site. All these recordings, made between 1944-71, are of the vintage of Knappertsbusch's and better show the totality of the music, in my opinion. I would refer listeners with interest in the symphony to all or any of them for further investigation."