Symphony no.5 in B-flat major (revised
version, 1877-8)
Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra
Bernard Haitink (conductor)
Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra
Bernard Haitink (conductor)
I rarely find myself in the realm of the juste milieu, ever aware of Schoenberg’s
dictum that only the middle road does not lead to Rome. Nevertheless,
when it comes to Bruckner, I seem to be somewhere along that road, slightly
fearful of where its non-Roman destination might turn out to be. I admire the
later symphonies greatly; indeed, the final two I find truly awe-inspiring. The
earlier works I continue, however, to find problematical, and cannot help but
contrast their formal difficulties – devotees will doubtless respond that the
difficulties are mine, not Bruckner’s, and perhaps they are – with the unanswerable
‘rightness’ and satisfaction afforded by Brahms. Nor can I bring myself to
become hopelessly absorbed in the business of interminable numbers of ‘versions’,
though I cannot help but think that some judicious editorial work would not
necessarily be a bad thing.
It is testament, then, to the excellence
of this performance from the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra and Bernard Haitink –
‘in the presence’ of a Dutch princess of whom I had never heard, but who
required a welcoming committee and police guard – that there were times when I
was almost convinced. Not all of the time, I admit, but I do not recall hearing
a better sense of the work as a whole, not even from Claudio Abbado and the Lucerne Festival Orchestra last year. From the opening pizzicati, orchestra and
conductor were utterly at home. The excellence of playing was such that a split
horn note registered more strongly than otherwise it would have done. The
weight, both sonorous and historical, of the Concertgebouw’s bass line
contrasted strongly with the lighter approach adopted by Abbado. This was
Bruckner with a reassuringly traditional, almost mediævalist, character to our
pilgrim’s progress. There was, moreover, the inestimable advantage of having a
great Wagnerian at the helm, even down to the level of the handling, the
resounding, of string tremolos. Haitink’s way with – I am tempted to say, ‘creation
of’ – the melos, the guiding thread,
almost convinced me that Bruckner could develop here, rather than juxtapose.
The splendid peals of rejoicing at the end proved a fitting culmination to a
journey led by the surest of guides.
Command of line was equally supreme in
the slow movement, likewise Haitink’s ability to conjure so gloriously full an
orchestral sound – and, of course, the orchestra’s ability to provide it. Lucas
Macías Navarro’s oboe solos were an especial melancholy joy. Indeed, the oases
of woodwind stillness had me spellbound. I truly felt that the pathways,
thickets even, mattered, as well as beguiled; Haitink again proved a
magisterial guide. The abruptness of transition between material in the scherzo
I continued to find bewildering, perhaps bizarre, but everything was wonderfully
characterised and the menace imparted to peasant dances proved properly
terrifying.
Apparent reassurance in the return of
earlier material at the opening of the finale, after the model of Beethoven’s
Ninth Symphony, was immediately questioned by the majesty of the Concertgebouw’s
brass section in voicing the chorale. One could not doubt the conviction in all
the contrapuntal working out that followed, riveting in its way, and yet, does
it not actually go on a bit? Does the writing of a fugue not continue to feel like
an externally-imposed decision rather than an organic dictate of the material?
In a lesser performance, I might have started gazing at my watch, but not here.
Nevertheless, longing for a spot, or more than a spot, of Brahmsian developing
variation was still felt on my doubtless heretical part. That said, the
magnificence of the playing at the conclusion sent shivers down the spine. It
was a pity, then, that someone who sounded suspiciously similar to the idiotic
purveyor of multiple Bravos at the previous Barbican Concertgebouw appearance(under Mariss Jansons) again contrived to make his presence felt immediately.
