Search - Anton Bruckner, Bernard Haitink, Dresden Staatskapelle :: Bruckner: Symphony No. 6

A Sixth That Vies For The Top Spot

J. F. Laurson | Washington, DC United States | 01/14/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I learned to love Bruckner's underrated - or at least less often played and recorded - Sixth Symphony, composed between 1879 and 1881 and dedicated to his landlord, in Sergiu Celibidache's broad-as-can-be recording on EMI. That recording is a little difficult to get but worth every penny for the warmth it conveys and the details that emerge from it. His rendition achieved something that Jochum (DG), Karajan (DG), Wand (RCA) and Klemperer (EMI) have not quite managed. And ever since I've been looking for a recording that can match Celibidache while perhaps offering a tighter first and fourth movement. Kent Nagano's recording was rather good (HMU 901901), but still no match.





That match has now crossed my desk in form of Bernhard Haitink's live recording with the Staatskapelle Dresden on the Profil label's "Edition Staatskapelle Vol.14 disc. Profil is Günter Hänssler's new label and issues live recordings that range between the obscure and definitive collectors' items. (A German (!) Katja Kabanova from 1949 , actually a fine performance in surprisingly good sound represents the former, Günter Wand's performances with the Munich Philharmonic the latter).

With this 2003 Bruckner Sixth, Profil has issued a recording that should enter the mainstream. Taut rhythms in broadly played music, excellent playing, and loving execution make this as engaging a Bruckner Symphony as you could possibly hope to hear.



At 57 minutes Haitink is, if anything, on the brisker side, though he never sounds it. The A-major Majestoso rises in its full might without being ponderous. The Adagio, one of Bruckner's finest next to that of the Seventh, flows gloriously. The Finale is full of the zest that had given rise to Bruckner punning that the Sixth was his coyest (or 'sauciest') symphony ("Die Sechste ist die Keckste"). Excellent sound does its part to make this release a winner."

Spellbinding Bruckner 6th Symphony Courtesy of Bernard Haiti

John Kwok | New York, NY USA | 08/24/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Among the many recordings made by Bernard Haitink, the very few he has made with the venerable Staatskapelle Dresden deserve special mention. His critically acclaimed Beethoven piano concerto cycle with Andras Schiff as soloist still deserves ample recognition as one of the very best set of recordings of Beethoven's piano concertos. To that list we should add this spellbinding account of the Bruckner 6th Symphony in A Major, recorded at the Semperoper Dresden - the orchestra's concert hall - at the very start of the 2003/2004 concert season on November 2, 2003. While this would prove to be the stormy second - and final - season in Haitink's short-lived tenure as the orchestra's principal conductor, this concert still proved to be replete with orchestral magic. Here heoffers a spellbinding account of this work that is relatively lean and swift, in stark comparison to his earlier recordings for Philips, but one that truly takes into account this orchestra's special sound, which one reviewer has noted as "velvety, full string tone, the richly coloured, supple woodwinds, and the impressively powerful brass" and more than one has praised for its uncanny ability to play so exceptionally well, quite softly, as we will hear in this recording.



The 6th Symphony marks a unique departure for Bruckner, simply because he eschewed the choral-like attributes of orchestral architecture that's so typical in his other works, such as the popular 4th and 7th symphonies for a more chamber-like ambience, as though this very piece was really a glorified work for a small chamber ensemble that was re-scored for a full symphony orchestra. This comparison easily comes to mind in the long second movement (Adagio. Sehr feierlich) that starts - almost innocently enough - like some chamber piece composed just for a few strings and winds. The shorter third movement is seemingly in traditional form (Scherzo - Trio), but unlike most symphonies composed at this time, lacks the folk-like Landler dance rhythms, and is marked by extended passages of exquisite string pizzicato playing juxtaposed against horns. Throughout this engrossing account, Haitink and the Staatskapelle Dresden offer a most persuasive interpretation that doesn't sound rushed, but instead, as though it was some internally organic residue of the composer's soul. While fans of Bruckner and Haitink may prefer Haitink's more leisurely, earlier recordings, this is one which should be regarded as memorable not merely for his latest interpretation, but, equally important, for the Staatskapelle Dresden's exquisite playing."

Awesome Bruckner

Carlos Quintero | Caracas, Venezuela | 03/19/2010

(5 out of 5 stars)

"


Bernard Haitink is with no doubt the great Bruckner conductor of our

time. His readings on Bruckner symphonies become more deep, powerful and

intellectual as time passes. This recent 6th during his tenure with the

great Staatskapelle Dresden is a perfect example: perfectly judged with

intellectual approach in tempi, harmonies and rhythms that make an ideal

performance easily matching reference recordings such as Klemperer and

Wand. This is the best 6th taken on record since the famous Wand live

recording with the NDR orchestra. An absolute recommendation."