Customer Reviews

Bruckner: Symphony No. 6 in A major - Georg Tintner

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

 

 

In my 56 years I have heard about every recording of this symphony that his been available in the US, starting with the Swoboda-conducted lp on Westminster back in the 50s. Keilberth/Berlin, Stein/VPO, Klemperer/Amsterdam and New Philharmonia have been the highlights for me. I rate this recording among them. I find it rhythmically alert in the 1st movement, and for once the finale has purpose and direction as well as drive and energy. I also think the coda of the first movt. -- one of Bruckner's most remarkable -- is perhaps the finest here of any recording I now own or can remember.

Perhaps I just find myself in tune with Tinter's approach. I now own the complete set, and value it as highly as Jochum's EMI set, and not only for offering alternate ecitions of the scores. That, I believe, says it all.

This is a surprisingly good performance of the 6th symphony by the NZSO, and a testament to the great artistry of Georg Tintner. Bruckner on many occasions modified the scores of his symphonies, often against his will. The Sixth is one of the luckiest in the sense that it has never undergone any wholesale alteration by Bruckner. It is, however, also one of the unluckiest of all Bruckner's symphonies for it frequently receives astonishingly poor interpretations.

The first movement starts with a simple yet difficult marking - `Majestoso'. Bruckner went through an untiring effort to make sure that despite the palpable energy that permeates the entire movement, the music should be majestic in nature. Unfortunately, the cautiously skeletal markings are often blatantly ignored by many conductors who add numerous flashy and unnecessary tricks in their performances, leading ultimately to this movement sounding more Beethovenian than Brucknerian. Under the stoic and sensitive guidance of Tintner, the austere majesty of the work emerges with humbling beauty. The tempi are naturally paced, and the NZSO responds with an unerring accuracy that puts many world-class orchestral powerhouses to shame. The second movement of the symphony is perhaps one of the most heart-wrenching human utterances ever written. The poignant beauty of the movement makes it especially vulnerable to over-dramatization, as exemplified by the otherwise extremely fine Celibidache's rendition on EMI. The movement begins and ends with a heartrending oboe solo. It brings an untold story from the distance, and it takes with it the present despair to the distance. The success of performing this movement (hence the whole symphony) lies in the ability of the musicians to convey this recurrence, and to reveal the inexplicable destiny of the music - the end at the beginning, and the beginning at the end. Tintner captures this cyclical continuum with a sense of purpose that not only justifies the existence of the slow middle section, but also allows it to unfold with compelling necessity. The last two movements are perhaps some of the most problematic musical cases faced by musicians, they are organic yet conflicting. Tintner resolves them with great convictions and insights that ultimately allow the music to shine through with mesmerizing and incandescent excitement.

Tintner's mastery lies in his deep understanding and love for this symphony, which are apparent through his sensitive and purposeful reading. Not a single phrase in the symphony is over-conducted. It is one of the most magical moments when the music collapses into the ethereal morendo at the end of the second movement. We find ourselves suddenly connected with the colossal cosmos of Bruckner's imagination. This is the ultimate success for a musician, when the interpreter ceases to exist between the composer and the listener. This bargain CD epitomizes the purpose of music. Experience it, for no superlative can do justice to Tintner, and more importantly, to Bruckner.

Tintner's vision of the Bruckner 6th is wonderful. His pacing is perfect, his control of climaxes is impressive, and he understands the complex architecture of this wonderful work.

Having said that, the New Zealand Symphony, while possessing a lovely string tone and good wind and brass, really can't give Tintner everything he asks for. Disturbingly, the strings, especially the violins, have frequent mishaps that often seem to mar the phrasing, especially at the end of long phrases. In light of this, unless you are understandably a huge Tintner fan, the sixth to get on a budget label is Skrowaczewski with the wonderful Saarbrucken forces on Arte Nova. Both conductors have similar takes on the music, but Skrowaczewski has the better orchestra, and sometimes he holds the tension a little better, too.

The engineering is admirable.

PERFORMANCE: 9 out of 10.

RECORDING: 9 out of 10.

THE VERSIONS OF THE 6th SYMPHONY:

There are were two versions of this symphony. The 1881 version was published by both Haas and Nowak with almost identical results. Then there is the first published edition by Hynais which contains some minor changes which, to my knowledge, have not been authenticated. Tintner presents the Haas edition.

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".

I cannot really amplify any more what others had said here, except that there is a superb warmth to these performances that give great depth to the 6th.

This is certainly a tough Bruckner work to perform and as an orchestral player have found this to be my favorite from a performance perspective.

.... In terms of sonics it is well recorded with a natural quality.

Many years ago Klemperer did a super version as well with the London Phiharmonia and this is the only other 6th in the entire catoloque worth having !!

There are many reasons to visit New Zealand. It is a choice destination for those among us who want to revisit old taboos regarding sheep. Wannabe warriors might want to learn the Haka from the All Browns or All Blacks or whatever they are called nowadays. Perhaps Kiri Te Kanawa throws the odd party or two with young sopranos in attendance.

But what about Bruckner? Is New Zealand the . . . fifty first place that comes to mind as a recording venue for his symphonies?

May be not. I would have said seventh sixth, immediately after the Solomon Islands.

I do not know what prompted both Naxos and Tintner to tackle the Bruckner Sixth - one of the toughest nuts in the symphonic canon - in the Land of the Long White Cloud. Perhaps the Guadalcanal Philharmonic was not available, or Georg wanted to water-ski in Milford Sound. In any event, this Bruckner Sixth is a dud. The woolly Naxos recording further militates one's enjoyment.

The New Zealand Philharmonic do not have Bruckner in their boot-straps, let alone bones. Crudity abounds in the famous `timpani recapitulation' some eight minutes into the first movement. Its coda sounds more like the Straits of Malacca than the Homeric seas of Tovey. The amassed entry of the violins with the first big melody of the adagio is another woofer. Tintner speaks about the challenge of this finale in the booklet but he seems unable to avert the very problems that he sketches: namely, the tedium imparted by the theme (Gesangeperiode, first introduced in C Major) and its incessant repetitions. One is grateful when the Kiwi orchestra limp over the line.

Worse still, Tintner's Bruckner rarely smiles. I have many of his CDs in my collection. They rarely see the light. What a pity that Naxos did not use Wildner and his Westphalians for this noble enterprise.

Eschenbach (Bruckner: Symphony No. 6 or Stein (Bruckner: Symphony No. 6; Weber: Overtures) are far more idiomatic in this symphony.

I'm a big Bruckner fan and I can't completely say why yet. I do know that when Tintner got his Bruckner going right he kept pouring it on and this is no exception. This is without a doubt worth 4-5 stars for anyone with a heart and ears.

Very fine performance. Just a word of warning: ideally, a performance of the Bruckner 6th should be more exciting than this. Tintner never achieves the breathtaking momentum one should reach in a work like this -- a suggestion (but only a suggestion) of some momentary loss of control, of a horse breaking loose from its harness, that a Furtwaengler or Tennstedt might conjure up in this repertoire. Otherwise the performance is superb.

The recent performance of Bruckner 6 on Teldec of Barenboim led me to this particular recording of Bruckner's rather strange A minor work once again...for sure here we have a nicely balanced recording but I find the string work a bit feeble...again not the best combination in a work that requires a great string ensemble.\

I have long admired Barenboim and Klemperer in this work because at least they don't drag the proceedings so much as Tintner does. Naxos sound is good ...but certainly not any better than the previous DG record with Barenboim. Come on DG, get off you butts and re-release a great Chicago performance of this piece!!!

Almost all of Tintner's Bruckner cycle has been grossly overrated but this one is a real turkey. Slack performance by the N.Z. orchestra combined with ponderous and unfocussed conducting make this the most uninvolving and uninspired version in the catalogue. Almost any other alternative is preferable. Klemperer, Eugen Jochum, Kleinert, Haitink, Stein, Wand, Steinberg, George Ludwig Jochum, Barenboim, Swarovsky etc. (and even Karajan) are all superior. Get three or four versions, (most of those I mention are available cheaply), and see if you don't agree!