Review of Paavo Järvi's Bruckner Seventh -- enthusiasm rejuvenated

When my friend asked me to review a new Bruckner 7th recording recently, I had a moment of hesitation. The disadvantage of listening to countless recorded versions of the same symphony is that one can become numb to the piece and also infected with the proverbial familiarity breeding contempt. The other side of the coin is that only the extraordinary will stand out and get the attention of the tired and wearied judge in the audition.

I make no excuse to the fact that music appreciation and enjoyment is a very subjective thing however much objective element is involved. So with the exception of my old favourites (Furtwängler’s, Wand’s BPO, Karajan’s last with VPO, Giulini’s, Celibidache’s 1971 with Stuttgart RSO, etc), only 2 discs come to mind at this moment as “special” in the last few years’ of listening. One is the eloquent and light-weight Philippe Herreweghe’s (Harmonia Mundi), and the other is the delectable and beautiful reading by Kurt Sanderling with the SWR RSO (Hänssler).

Paavo Järvi is a new Brucknerian, at least as far as recording goes. I remember many years ago when he came to guest-conduct the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra on Estonian pieces by Arvo Pärt and Erkki-Sven Tüür, we had a brief interview with him in a hotel café one evening. He was charismatic and polite. When we asked him whether he would conduct Bruckner’s symphonies, he frankly answered that it was not yet time but he would consider it later. Now the time comes. Heading an orchestra with a Bruckner tradition so to speak (Inbal has recorded a cycle pioneering some early versions with this orchestra), he is now planning to record all Bruckner symphonies. Let’s see how his first installment fares.

His reading is a very romantic one. The orchestral sonority is excellent, with mesmerizing woodwinds, beautiful horns (so important in Bruckner’s symphonic world), and pleasing cavernous basses. One can say that the basses are not deep enough as compared with the Munich or Berlin Philharmonic, but one is really carping here. The recording has a nice warm acoustics with much space and “air” around each instrument, particularly the woodwinds.

I was stunned by my own reaction to the opening cello melody: I was moved, a feeling that eluded me for so many instances in my past contact with this symphony, both live and recorded. The flow of the music just carried you along. Note how well he makes the ritardando in the transition into the coda, which starts at 18’18 (bar 391, letter W) with the drum roll before the violas and cellos join in one bar later (but at 18’26) repeating the opening melody. And what a beautiful coda.

In the Adagio, note how graceful he moulds the second theme (starting 4’22, bar 37, letter D), and the heavenly flute playing in the second part of the second theme (5’25-5’50, bars 53-59, starting letter F). The cymbal crash, triangle roll, and tympani are there at the climax (17’24, bar 177, letter W), but the build up to this climax is a deft point he makes. Again his hands are gentle in the transition into the coda (18’09) where the flute plays to the pizzicato of the violins before the coda starts at 18’26 (bar 185, letter X). These transitions are important, at least to me, in joining blocks of sounds in Bruckner’s musical architecture, without which the whole building will just fall apart.

The scherzo is animated. The Trio (starting 3’33) is simply beautiful with very nice string legato. It is a lively finale, with exquisite woodwind playing. He plays a good conclusion to the whole symphony. The good thing about his reading is that although it sounds and feels very romantic, it never appears over-indulgent.

It is an excellent start to his planned cycle. I just can’t wait for his next disc, Bruckner 9th, which has been released locally in Japan.