Bruckner's letter to Nikisch about the Seventh
rkhalona
recording of Bruckner's Seventh symphony with the Leipzig Gewandhaus
Orchestra (Querstand SACD VKJK 0708, recorded live, 23-25.xi.2006). I
am quite taken with the excellent sound of this live performance.
Blomstedt does his usual thing in the climax of the great Adagio (no
cymbal clash or triangle, but he does include the timpani part, which
is very prominently and excellently recorded).
The notes of this release are particularly good, documenting the
strong connection between the Leipzig Gewandhaus and this symphony
(they premiered the work under Artur Nikisch on 30 December 1884).
Of particular interest is a letter that Bruckner wrote to Nikisch
before the premiere (concerning his arrival to attend the premiere and
Nikisch's difficulties in procuring Wagner tubas for the performance
and replacing them with horns):
<<
"Dear Mr. Conductor! I have already taken holiday and I plan to take
the courier train of Northwest Railways on the night of the 26th. I
should then arrive at Leipzig on Saturday, the 27th, at 11 o'clock
noontime. (Yet I will not come if you tell me: 'You'd better stay at
home.') Are there no military tubas available? Have there been
rehearsals already? How does the symphony sound? Please be so kind
as to write to me. I am so excited (If the work fails I will leave at
dead of night.) ... I hope that everything will be fine. Artists who
play Tristan so well will know how to perform my Seventh Symphony
excellently..."
Nikisch wrote back: "There have already been rehearsals. The work is
very difficult and must be studied carefully. All in all we will have
5 rehearsals for the symphony. This should suffice."
Bruckner arrived in Leipzig on the 27th of December as he had
announced. Nikisch had not only thoroughly rehearsed the symphony
with the orchestra, he had also personally given introductions on the
piano for journalists and experts. The newspapers published
announcements similar to the one which appeared in the 'Leipziger
Nachrichten': "On the New Theatre on the 30th of December Mr.
Kapellmeister Nikisch will conduct a great concert which is especially
interesting because it is played a symphony of the Wagner disciple
Anton Bruckner which has not yet been performed in public." The
performance was a resounding success with the public despite the
contradictory reactions of the press. And it formed the foundation of
Bruckner's international fame. "In Leipzig at the end they applauded
for a quarter of an hour," reported the happy composer.
As conductor of the Gewandhaus Orchestra Artur Nikisch by and by
performed all of Anton Bruckner's symphonies and he crowned this
historic deed in the 1919/20 season with a Bruckner cycle which
received attention beyond the city of Leipzig "as the first in the
musical world" (Allgemeine Musikzeitung).
(Renate Herklotz)
>>
I found Bruckner's letter very touching, showing some insight into the
composer's personality (If the work fails I shall leave at dead of
night). I also did not know that Nikisch had performed all of
Bruckner's symphonies (I assume this refers to the numbered symphonies
1-9), and that a 'complete' Bruckner cycle had taken place even before
a Mahler cycle (Mengelberg/Amsterdam). Does anyone know more about
this?
I recommend this recording as a strong evidence of what Blomstedt
achieved during his years in Leipzig and the notes are icing on the
cake.
Ramon Khalona
en...@hawaii.rr.com
> During the last couple of days I have been enjoying Blomstedt's
> recording of Bruckner's Seventh symphony with the Leipzig Gewandhaus
> Orchestra (Querstand SACD VKJK 0708, recorded live, 23-25.xi.2006). I
> am quite taken with the excellent sound of this live performance.
> Blomstedt does his usual thing in the climax of the great Adagio (no
> cymbal clash or triangle, but he does include the timpani part, which
> is very prominently and excellently recorded).
>
> achieved during his years in Leipzig and the notes are icing on the
> cake.
>
> Ramon Khalona
Sounds like a must get. Blomstedt continues to impress me as "the"
Bruckner conductor these days. Pretty much all of his Bruckner
performances I've heard out of the Scandinavian and German webcasts have
been most impressive.
--
-----------
Aloha and Mahalo,
Eric Nagamine
http://classwebcast.googlepages.com/
TareeDawg
Not the same composer, but I found Blomstedt's Hindemith (on a Trio) a
touch too generic.
Ray (Dawg) Hall, Taree
Sol L. Siegel
>Sounds like a must get. Blomstedt continues to impress me as "the"
>Bruckner conductor these days. Pretty much all of his Bruckner
>performances I've heard out of the Scandinavian and German webcasts have
>been most impressive.
He did a very fine performance here of the first version of the 3rd a
few years ago. I don't know about "the" Bruckner conductor, but I
can't argue that there's a better one.
FWIW: Gielen's recording of 7 also uses tympani only at the climax of
ii.
- Sol L. Siegel, Philadelphia, PA USA