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In Reply to: RE: I think Szell kind of had it right posted by Chris from Lafayette on April 28, 2015 at 21:05:58
"I've read that Szell considered Bruckner a 'great but imperfect' composer. For years, I considered Bruckner my favorite composer, but although I still like his music a lot, his over-spinning of sequences and his rhetorically weak conclusions to many of his movements (many of which sound as if they just stop without enough preparation) have come to bother me a bit more now than they used to."This is why so few conductors really "get it" with Bruckner.... (Szell is one of many who don't.) I had a similar opinion to yours of Bruckner's 5th Symphony, for example..... Until I heard Herbert Blomstedt conduct it.... The piece transformed from a bland exercise in music into an epic and monumental experience.... In this performance, even Blomstedt himself couldn't hold it back, after the piece ended.
It took me YEARS to realize what Bruckner was about, by the way. I was once not a fan.... (I've even bashed this composer at times, getting into heated arguments with Bruckner fans. On this very board.) But give it to a conductor who understands the composer, the composer becomes top-tier.
Edits: 04/29/15Follow Ups:
Todd, the link you gave to the Blomstedt/Bruckner 5 does not work for me. Which recording is this?
It's a live performance with one of Todd's beloved Japanese bands! ;-)
It's one of my recommendations for complete sets (along with Skrowaczewski on plain old CD). However, for me, even Blomstedt can't overcome the weaknesses I mentioned in Bruckner's symphonies in my post above. (BTW, I've always liked the Fifth, which remains one of my favorites, along with the Eighth and Ninth.) Actually, I can't tell you how many recordings I have of the Bruckner symphonies - it's a lot, even though I don't know the Furtwängler and Jochum (either set) recordings well at all.
Was at least 4 years ago, and yes, he gets it.One thing to keep in mind. Bruckner was a VERY religious guy and it is said that most or perhaps all of his compositions were religious in nature. Blomstedt is a very devout Seventh Day Adventist so there may well be a connection there between Bruckner and Blomstedt. Who knows? I sure enjoy his work and try not to miss him when he comes to town.
Also enjoying Todd's link, worth the effort to register as long as I didn't download a virus in the process.
Edits: 04/29/15
The "religious" thing is an interesting angle..... A theme in the middle of the last movement sounded like a church organ (depicted by the brass), followed by a hushed reverberant echo (depicted by muted strings), as if to create the effect of a huge cathedral...... The entire movement had the effect of peaceful refuge inside a church in the midst of a violent war battle going on outside.....
This is why I'm finding it hard to get away from his work as I've come to understand it a bit better and believe its largely due him being a religious man! At times you can pick up on a deep internal struggle while at others hope! Glad to hear another conductor got it! Paavo did an excellent job with the 7th & especially his 9th conveying this with a great tempo that encompassed both.
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