Viva Bruckner
The 6th of March 2014 proved to be a very enjoyable evening. The Bruckner 9 concert by the Budapest Festival Orchestra conducted by Ivan Fischer was hailed by many of my friends as great and unforgettable. With due respect, I’d take my feeling as a qualified concurrence.
The most interesting thing about this concert is the orchestral layout. Fischer places the entire French horn/Wagner tuba section directly in front of him so leaving the strings sections flanking it on both sides. The positive side of this placement is a very clear horn choir in many of the horn passages and particularly in the tuttis, but the downside is a lack of the very important misterioso in the opening movement.
The conductor’s and the players’ tireless dedicated effort in this symphony is almost palpable, but there are times when I was left with the impression that Fischer tends to treat it as an orchestral showpiece in certain passages. No, he doesn’t spice it with heavy pathos, nor does he temper it with funny ritenuto or accelerando; in fact it is quite a “conventional” reading. However, despite the very beautiful and exact playing in the Scherzo and Trio, the way Fischer wears his jovial heart on his sleeve in this movement is a little incongruous in this context. When the symphony ends, what filled my heart with gratitude is Anton Bruckner the composer per se and not Ivan Fischer the conductor, but if you look at it from another angle, the conductor has done an excellent and admirable job in conducting Bruckner’s electricity to the audience and not standing in the way as a resistor or nonconductor for that matter.
Bravo Professor Bruckner!
The 6th of March 2014 proved to be a very enjoyable evening. The Bruckner 9 concert by the Budapest Festival Orchestra conducted by Ivan Fischer was hailed by many of my friends as great and unforgettable. With due respect, I’d take my feeling as a qualified concurrence.
The most interesting thing about this concert is the orchestral layout. Fischer places the entire French horn/Wagner tuba section directly in front of him so leaving the strings sections flanking it on both sides. The positive side of this placement is a very clear horn choir in many of the horn passages and particularly in the tuttis, but the downside is a lack of the very important misterioso in the opening movement.
The conductor’s and the players’ tireless dedicated effort in this symphony is almost palpable, but there are times when I was left with the impression that Fischer tends to treat it as an orchestral showpiece in certain passages. No, he doesn’t spice it with heavy pathos, nor does he temper it with funny ritenuto or accelerando; in fact it is quite a “conventional” reading. However, despite the very beautiful and exact playing in the Scherzo and Trio, the way Fischer wears his jovial heart on his sleeve in this movement is a little incongruous in this context. When the symphony ends, what filled my heart with gratitude is Anton Bruckner the composer per se and not Ivan Fischer the conductor, but if you look at it from another angle, the conductor has done an excellent and admirable job in conducting Bruckner’s electricity to the audience and not standing in the way as a resistor or nonconductor for that matter.
Bravo Professor Bruckner!
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