27 March 2010

Marek Janowski -- a Brucknerian name to conjure with

Marek Janowski, of Polish descent, is a conductor with extensive training and experience in Germany. The mention of his name to experienced classical music buffs will usually make them recall his Wagner Ring cycle recorded in Dresden. His credentials as a Brucknerian, however, have yet to establish, given the sparsity of his Bruckner recordings: the 4th and 6th before his recent 6th, 9th and now 5th. But what expectations they create in the mind of this humble listener!



This new B5 is rather special in my listening experience -- the more I listen to it, the more I like it. When I first listened to it on 19 Mar, my impressions were just lukewarm. I said to myself, "Nothing special, just yet another B5." But when I returned to it a couple of days later, albeit in movements, my fondness for it increased. Finally I set aside another 70+ minutes and listened to it once more on 23 Mar, my appreciation peaked. It is not the usual epic or monumental interpretation that some people cry for, but rather it is infused with a rare sense of calmness.

This CD is well-recorded at least in stereo as I'm a cave-man in multichannel surround. The sonority of the orchestra is not that of French orchestras that we're used to in the past. It just shows that modern orchestras are becoming more and more alike, and unfortunately in this regard, have become faceless. But here I can still discern some minor "characteristics" of the sonority of this orchestra.

I've always taken the first few minutes of B5 as very important in my overall impression and appreciation of this symphony. The pizzicato of the cellos and double basses, and the sustained notes in the upper strings in the opening can give me an idea of the string sound, the captured acoustics of the venue, and the overall recording sound as well. The orchestral palette is shown a little further on from bar 15 when the first fortissimo tutti begins, then only the brass section from bars 19-21, and then only the trumpets in bar 26. Here in the first tutti, the tubas of the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande stand out, a lovely touch that I quite like. The overall brass section and in particular the trumpets are so rounded, warm and polite. Even Celi's Munich brass sound more strident in comparison. In bar 31 where Bewegt is marked, a sudden change of gear to a good allegro is made by Janowski, quite out of expectation, but it never sounds forced. So in just 30 bars, I can anticipate what the grand chorale at the end of the symphony will be like, and Janowski here gives me quite a great expectation. This pre-taste, however, may not work in the hands of the "old-styled" Brucknerians like Eugen Jochum who would employ the extra "11 Apostles" to add to the brass section in the final chorale. The woodwinds are beautiful and Janowski has ensured that their dialogue is transparent and lovely.

The musical flow is smooth. The tempo control is not rigid but flexible yet not loose. If I have to use just one word to describe my impression it is "integration". The all 4 movements are made to sound as integral parts of the whole symphony, and the overall effect under Janowski's treatment is a natural and solemn calmness, even in the Adagio where suffering and anger are often very enthusiastically portrayed by other conductors, like in the recording by Benjamin Zander. You can say that Janowski is too subdued, underpowered or even bland here. But I'd say calmness is different from impersonal blandness. Even so, those who want excitement and grandeur and what not in B5 are forewarned here -- Janowski's reading may simply be not your cup of tea.

At the end of the day, I'm happy and grateful that I can get to know so many lovely but different renditions of B5 in my experience, and it all boils down to the magical fact that Bruckner's music can transcend so many different, some even polarised, interpretations and still remains dear to the listener's heart. Thank you Professor Bruckner.

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