Customer Reviews

Bruckner 7 [Hybrid SACD]

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

What a grand, glorious feast for the ears is Haitink's latest Bruckner recording with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra for the symphony's CSO-RESOUND label. Recorded during live concerts last year, producer James Mallinson and his staff have wrought yet another splendid recording of Haitink conducting the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, demonstrating that the orchestra is once more an ensemble that is second to none with respect to its sterling musicianship, under the command of our greatest living interpreter of Bruckner. I honestly don't know whether this superb account is better than Haitink's earlier, critically acclaimed recordings with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra and Wiener Philharmoniker, except in this respect: it is quite simply the best recorded performance of a Bruckner symphony I have heard so far. Mallinson and his team has brought the listener into the orchestra itself, allowing us to hear it as though we were standing alongside Haitink at the conductor's podium.

Haitink's interpretation is one that is replete with great clarity, precise intonation and empathy for Bruckner and his score. From the opening notes in the first movement (Allegro moderato) we are treated to exceptionally warm playing from the strings, winds and brass, culminating in a "call and response" motif between the brass and strings which Bruckner uses again, in varying degrees, throughout the symphony. The second movement (Adagio: Sehr feierlich und sehr langsam) features prominently this same motif, albeit in a slower tempo, and, of course, subtle variations. The third movement reminds me a little of a fast-paced polka in its rhythm (Scherzo: Sehr schnell), or rather, perhaps more accurately, a traditional country folk Landler dance which Bruckner may have been familiar with. The symphony concludes with yet another swift movement (Finale: Begewt, doch nicht schnell) going out in a blaze of glory in a restrained, but still exquisite, brass fanfare. For anyone seeking a recent, well-produced recording of the Bruckner 7th Symphony No. 7 in E major, then the potential listener needs to look no further; without question, I must regard this as a definitive recording of this work.

I wasn't sure how this would be. I am an ardent fan of Haitink's original readings of Bruckner (and some, but not all, of his original Mahler cycle) from the sixties/seventies, but some of his later efforts proved disappointing to me. I found this reading to be without flaw and wonderfully played by the CSO. Of course the SACD sound can't be beat. For the life of me, I don't get why high resolution formats have been ignored by the industry and the public. Oh yeah...it's the crappy mp3 thing...let's just all give in to teenagers and whatever they want.

The older I get, the less I find myself in complete agreement with about anyone on any thing. Not because I'm stubborn, although I may very well be. But, because I find things in life aren't always "that" simple. Without quibbling on minute details, I prefer to weigh the balances of a larger view, as seen by the world, the Church or the sciences. It's nice to feel this in my ascending years, hope it continues.

Mr. Kwok is absolutely right about this recording. Being from Chicago, however,I have to stress that this is not a suprise for me. This orchestra and I first met in June 1972 and the following summer I heard Levine and the new Music Director Ricardo Muti. He was booed for a strange "Picture at an Exhibition." The orchestra members smiled and shrugged their shoulders, a comfort to a musical rookie such as myself.....things would get better. When Barenboim announced his retirement from Chicago, I began praying for Haitink. We were close. Mr. Kwok may very well be spot on with Haitink being the finest living Bruknerian today. I can't see any real viable competition.

This is a mature and seasoned reading, one which I might well have scorned when I was a young wipper-snapper of 25. I've grown older with these fine musicians, composer AND conductor. They seem old friends, family almost. Haitink shows himself to be the master he always has been at building and containing drama and tension to it's rightful point of release. He almost seems to be shaping the music with his hands and fingers, and YES we do hear what Mr. Haitink hears, side-by-sisde on his podium. THAT, I think , is our greatest compliment to conductor, orchestra and engineers. Don't wait another second, swing into this buying page and click yourself a real treat. You wil not be disappointed. On the contrary, you will agree with the guys from the Big Apple and the Windy City!!

This was a substantial disappointment for me______ not a rugged or dynamic Bruckner, not a grand, sweeping contemplative Bruckner, just a rather lackluster yet competent performance. Not being familiar with Haitink's previous Bruckner renditions, I relied on his reputation as a whole, but was left underwhelmed. There is nothing here to stand out, no voices that cut through the background to surge forward, as is the Brucknerian forte. Most likely this is how Haitink wishes it to sound, and if so; bring me Giulini, bring me Karajan, bring me someone who will fertilize his interpretation with more life than this muzak mumbling.
In addition I was left unsatisfied with the SACD delivery. Nothing really wrong with it, yet no sharp definition to it, as though it were undermiked from far away. Perhaps this is an admixture of the performance and the recording process; I can't be sure, yet this totally failed to stir me. I was listening through Sennheiser HD600 phones driven by a Creek headphone amp, and have heard far better, both performancewise and recordingwise, from other sources. Too bad. Have to trade this one in on something and go looking for an SACD that will rattle my guts as I was hoping. I shop, I hope, I listen and either keep or pass it on: So many recordings, so little space to store them all.