Bruckner 4 and 7 by Venzago (CPO) "Recording of the month"

[Gerard]

A very raving review in MusicWeb about a recording of Bruckner 4 and 7 by the
Basle Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Mario Venzago.
http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2011/Nov11/Bruckner_sys47_7776152.htm

Has anyone heard these recordings?

[maready]

On Nov 11, 3:45 pm, "Gerard" <g_nospam-hendrik...@hotmail.com> wrote:
> A very raving review in MusicWeb about a recording of Bruckner 4 and 7 by the

> Basle Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Mario Venzago.http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2011/Nov11/Bruckner_sy...

>
> Has anyone heard these recordings?

If I were to compare the interpretive approach of these performances
to any other recent recordings, it would be to Blomstedt's ongoing
series with the Leipzig Gewandhaus on the Querstand label.

[maready]

On Nov 11, 3:45 pm, "Gerard" <g_nospam-hendrik...@hotmail.com> wrote:

> A very raving review in MusicWeb about a recording of Bruckner 4 and 7 by the

> Basle Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Mario Venzago.http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2011/Nov11/Bruckner_sy...

>
> Has anyone heard these recordings?

They are excellent. There is a 'chamber music' feel to the
performances --- tempos are quick. Not at all 'rote' Bruckner
performances; Venzago has clearly given his interpretations much
thought and communicated them to the orchestra. Of the two, I prefer
the Fourth. The phrasing is quite different from the smooth style that
has prevailed in much Bruckner playing since the mid-70s. Definitely
worth checking out. I have the next volume of this cycle-to-be on
order from JPC (Symphonies 0 and 1). I was disappointed to see that
the orchestra has changed to the Tapiola Sinfonietta, as the Basel
ensemble is so good on the 4/7 disc.

[Christopher Howell]

On 11 Nov, 22:00, maready <dab...@hotmail.com> wrote:
I have the next volume of this cycle-to-be on
> order from JPC (Symphonies 0 and 1). I was disappointed to see that
> the orchestra has changed to the Tapiola Sinfonietta, as the Basel
> ensemble is so good on the 4/7 disc.

According to the booklet a different orchestra will be used for each
volume

Chris Howell

[Gerard]

What does the booklet say about Mengelberg?
I see in another review:
"Cela dit, Venzago a peut être fumé lui aussi, puisque dans ledit paragraphe il
s'extasie sur les différences entre les enregistrements de Furtwängler,
Mengelberg, Jochum et Wand. J'envie beaucoup Mr Venzago, qui tire des leçons
interprétatives des enregistrements brucknériens d'un chef (Mengelberg) qui n'a
jamais enregistré UNE SEULE note de Bruckner en disque ou concert."

( http://www.classicstodayfrance.com/review.asp?ReviewNum=4035 )

[Gerard]

maready wrote:
> On Nov 11, 3:45 pm, "Gerard" <g_nospam-hendrik...@hotmail.com> wrote:
> > A very raving review in MusicWeb about a recording of Bruckner 4
> > and 7 by the
> > Basle Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Mario
> >
Venzago.http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2011/Nov11/Bruckner_sy...
> >
> > Has anyone heard these recordings?
>
> They are excellent. There is a 'chamber music' feel to the
> performances --- tempos are quick. Not at all 'rote' Bruckner
> performances; Venzago has clearly given his interpretations much
> thought and communicated them to the orchestra. Of the two, I prefer
> the Fourth. The phrasing is quite different from the smooth style that
> has prevailed in much Bruckner playing since the mid-70s. Definitely
> worth checking out. I have the next volume of this cycle-to-be on
> order from JPC (Symphonies 0 and 1).

I found a review of that volume here:

http://www.classicstodayfrance.com/review.asp?ReviewNum=4102

[Christopher Howell]

On 13 Nov, 10:30, "Gerard" <g-nospam_hendrik...@hotmail.com> wrote:
> What does the booklet say about Mengelberg?
> I see in another review:
> "Cela dit, Venzago a peut être fumé lui aussi, puisque dans ledit paragraphe il
> s'extasie sur les différences entre les enregistrements de Furtwängler,
> Mengelberg, Jochum et Wand. J'envie beaucoup Mr Venzago, qui tire des leçons
> interprétatives des enregistrements brucknériens d'un chef (Mengelberg) qui n'a
> jamais enregistré UNE SEULE note de Bruckner en disque ou concert."
>
> (http://www.classicstodayfrance.com/review.asp?ReviewNum=4035)

Yes, Venzago refers in the booklet to the "stunningly different
readings" of those four and the Mengelberg reference certainly raised
my eyebrows, as did quite a number of other of Venzago's statements,
but the actual performances make me feel that he must be one of those
conductors who is a bit dotty off the podium but delivers the goods
when on it. Ideally, CPO should encourage him not to write notes for
future volumes
Chris Howell

[Gerard]

Thanks. A little bit dotty is not much to worry about as long as noboy gets
wounded ;)

[Lena]

Has anyone heard the other Bruckner that Christophe Huss raves about
on Classics Today France (got there through the link in Gerard's
post)?

(Gerd Schaller and the Philharmonia Festiva.)

Lena

[maready]

Hi Lena --- yes I've heard that one as well --- I bought it at the
same time as the Venzago 4/7. When I got the CDs home, I listened to
the the Schaller Fourth first and liked it very much, but immediately
followed it with Venzago's Fourth and became so caught up with the
latter that that I've forgotten the Schaller details now! Very
positive first impressions of the Schaller 4/7/9; his general approach
is somewhat similar to Venzago's: anti-monumental, quick, beautifully-
phrased, transparent. With both Venzago and Schaller, to be glib, you
get a 'Schubertian' rather than a 'Wagnerian' Bruckner. If you're
interested, I'll give the Schaller recordings another listen this
weekend and email you some details. (Be forewarned that the Schaller
includes the latest of Carragan's completions of the Finale. Not that
I have anything against it, and certainly respect Carragan, but I have
ignored both the Bruckner 9 'finale' and the Mahler 10 (other than the
Adagio) for so long that I can't imagine taking the plunge at this
point ...... )

By the way, the Venzago Bruckner 0/1 set with the Tapiola Sinfonietta
arrived and I had no reason to be worried. Exciting, at times
ferocious recordings, once again with the composer's Schubertian and
Beethovian roots to the fore --- the Allegros and Scherzos are a
blast. Some have complained about Venzago's lengthy and somewhat
kookoo liner notes, but I enjoy them very much (up to the point when
he lays out his 'personal skeleton key' to the religious meanings of
each symphony.)

[M forever]

You should check out the Harnoncourt recording of the 9th with the
lecture concert about the surviving sketches for the finale. There is
quite a bit of material there actually, and it is highly interesting.
I haven't found a completion attempt that I think is successful
either, but I think the Cohrs is not too bad if you want to get a
rough impression of what it might have been like. I see it as kind of
being in an archaological site, say a Roman amphitheatre, where they
pull in supports to make up for the missing parts so the rest doesn't
fall down, so it's notthe same as the complete original, but at least
you can see what's there...

> By the way, the Venzago Bruckner 0/1 set with the Tapiola Sinfonietta
> arrived and I had no reason to be worried. Exciting, at times
> ferocious recordings, once again with the composer's Schubertian and
> Beethovian roots to the fore --- the Allegros and Scherzos are a
> blast. Some have complained about Venzago's lengthy and somewhat
> kookoo liner notes, but I enjoy them very much (up to the point when
> he lays out his 'personal skeleton key' to the religious meanings of
> each symphony.)

The symphonies don't have particular "meanings". The proportions and
musical content of the symphonies is the "meanings". It's Bruckner's
world view encapsulated in music. He was a composer, not a theological
writer.