Anton Bruckner John Barbirolli Halleacute - Bruckner Symphony No 8 Barbirolli Halle Orchestra (4 tracks) +Album Reviews

Overwhelming recension of the "greatest" symphony

billmacv | Upstate New York | 11/05/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"It was with some reservations that I came to Barbirolli's 1970 live performance of Bruckner's Eighth Symphony, despite the excellent press it received in England (the British tend to be myopically chauvinistic when it comes to their own composers, conductors and performers, and all but canonize Barbirolli). At first the reservations seemed to hold. The sound, though remastered, remains on the harsh side, with a brash glare on the fortissimi (of which there are plenty). Any quiet passage (of which there are no lack, either) offered opportunity for much throat-clearing and hawking from the audience. The performance is on the rough-hewn side, with none of the gleaming polish one has come to expect from state-of-the-art studio recordings, with every note in place and in balance.
None of this matters once Barbirolli's vision of the symphony begins to unfurl. It's a fiercely committed, impassioned performance -- Bruckner's vast Gothic spaces lit by Italianate fire. Not only is this the most emotionally gripping performance of the 8th I've heard, it's one of the most overwhelming performances of anything I've ever come across. There is a vocal minority which considers (pace Beethoven) Bruckner's last completed symphony to be the pinnacle of symphonic literature; Barbirolli's is the performance to help convince skeptics."

The spiritual, humane Brucknerian!

David A. Hollingsworth | Washington, DC USA | 11/27/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"A foretaste to the highly acclaimed Boulez 1996 recording with the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra (VPO) under Deutsche Grammophon (DG)? Perhaps. Like Boulez, Horenstein, and even Jochum (though using the Novak edition), Barbirolli approaches the score with zest and a sense of urgency: a kind of dramatic exhuberence that would compel you to rise up in a hurry and say Halleluja. But are their performances emotionally and spiritually detached from this glorious score? Absolutely not. As with Horenstein, Jochum and Boulez, Barbirolli brings out the humanity of the score and of Bruckner. Since when should we look at his symphonies exclusively as musical cathedrals with its majestic structures? Indeed, the magic of Bohm, Barenboim, Wand, Karajan, Haitink, and Guilini rested in their ability in sustaining the monumental grandeur behind the symphonies. But, Barbirolli along with Jochum and Boulez give us other dimensions of Bruckner that shall equally be cherished. Horenstein approach is a wonderful synthesis of the majestic and the drama. To some extent, so is Barbirolli's.Michael Kennedy states in his sleeve notes that "For some conductors, the architectural splendor of Bruckner is their first consideration. For Barbirolli, it was humanity and spirituality." I agree to an extent, for the architectural splendor of Bruckner is inevitably a spiritual exercise deep in one's soul and subconscious: Wand, Barenboim (with the Chicago Symphony) and Karajan (with the VPO) are proven cases in point. But, Kennedy is absolutely right on Barbirolli. In the first and second movements, Barbirolli approaches them with fiery temperament and drive. His tempi are relentless and energetic, his impulsiveness obvious but never quite austere. His warmth is without question, though. The trio in the scherzo movement is nicely sustained and going to the Adagio, third movement, that sense of warmth is even more apparent. But, believe it or not, there is something of the architectural splendor in Barbirolli's approach. The dramatic edge of the first two movements and the finale are largely absent here. However, the passion accompanies the warmth admirably going into and beyond the glorious climax remarkably well-rendered here. The finale is exhuberently and idiomatically performed; it's well paced and dramatic and the ending lacks that Wagnerian grandeur that you'll see in Karajan's recording with the Vienna Philharmonic The performance of Barbirolli's Halle Orchestra is not entirely without flaws. The strings were not gifted with the sonority and the richness of the Vienna Philharmonic or the Concertgebouw. The brass is not particularly well-polished: a few crack notes prop up from time to time. But, the performance has fluency and commitment, especially given the fact that it was to be Barbirolli's last. The performance is not perfect. However, the insight behind it is special and Barbirolli gave us pure Bruckner without the Mahlerianism. A hyme of praise no question now or ever, no matter who you're asking."

An eloquent tribute to Barbirolli's artistry -- one of his b

Santa Fe Listener | Santa Fe, NM USA | 04/12/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This recording has attracted eloquent and perceptive reviews (I wish Amazon would give us more from Andrew Green, who seems more sensible and astute than their usual run). The basic facts have been well laid out already: Barbirolli is urgent, adopts speeds fast enough to seem risky, emphasizes the shaping of phrases rather than grand "architecture" (I'm not sure anymore what this overused term actually means, even when I use it!), and defies his mortality with increased energy in this, his final concert before he died.

As to the recorded sound, I don't hear the glare and harshness that another reviewer complains about, just a degree of thinnness. In the general run of broadcasts unearthed by BBC Legends, I'd say that this one belongs in the top quarter. The Halle Orchestra is placed close to the mike, which exposes their lack of technical finesse, but we get few jarring bobbles. Just be aware that the edgy lower strings would nevre be mistaken for the Vienna Phil., or the sometimes catch-as-catch-can brass climaxes. (How many great musicians were willing to live and play in Manchester on a miserably low salary in 1970? We have to be realistic.) For all that, the orchestra must have sensed something, because they play with heartfelt commitment and on the whole surpass themselves.

In all, I can add my voice to the other reviewers who were totally caught up in Barbirolli's eloquence. This is a fitting tribute to him, and perhaps one he consciously carved out, given his precarious medical condition."

Poor playing and inconsistent direction

Larry VanDeSande | Mason, Michigan United States | 05/08/2008

(3 out of 5 stars)

"I can't agree with my peers elsewhere on this page about the unbridled success of this issue, recorded in concert during Barbirolli's final years as director of Mancester's Halle Orchestra. While I agree it contains some of Sir John's personal and emotional involvement, it sounds less to me like Bruckner's walk to heaven and more like an average reading of this symphony, and even one needing a few more rehearsals..

Eshcewing his trademark broad tempi, it seemed to me Sir John was often impatient and perhaps in a hurry to get through the pages of this lengthy and mighty symphony. His approach in the opening movement did not allow the music to spread out and build the grandeur so necessary to success. The second movement is quite rapid by Bruckner standards and he does better in the long Adagio, whose symbol crash near the end is the emotional high point of the score.

Still, I sensed little game plan in this performance, as if Barbirolli and his forces were making it up as they went along. While making allowances for the faults common to live musicmaking, it seems to me this performance lacks the epic grandeur the greatest recordings -- such as Guilini's twofer on DG, Karajan's final recording, and Wand's Lubeck cathedral recording -- all exploit. Those recordings all take two CDs to make their point, losing economy but gaining perspective in the process.

I was also disappointed by claims of Barbirolli's individual approach, that I frankly did not hear. I found his way less effective than the highly personalized recording Pierre Boulez led on DG, recorded from a concert in St. Florian's during the Bruckner festival a few years back. To my ears, the Boulez recording is the premier personal reading of this music from the DDD era.

A final note about the playing of the Halle Orchestra in this issue; it is often ragged, rarely uniform, and the strings are often thin, wiry or both. The recording does the orchestra no favors and is inferior to many BBC recordings I've heard by these forces. Again, I make allowances for the recording venue and the fact that this was made from a concert. Still, I can't fully endorse a Bruckner 8th with so many obvious faults, especially when there are so many more fulfilling recordings available. I'd say this one is for Barbirolli fans only."

That Rarest of all Things a Great, Human performance

Andre Gauthier | 07/14/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"After 3 complete and uninterrupted hearings I like this CD better each time; Sir John Barbirolli's view of Bruckner's eighth symphony is not that of a man who is growing old and will soon be dead. To the contrary, this conductor, who came late in his career to Mahler with unparalleled success, turns his high romantic gaze with equal brilliance in reverse to Mahler's antecedent and idol.

For fun, I'll go backwards. In movement four the opening is paced as though the orchestra's life depended on it. There are moments when the Halle seems as though they might be getting a bit tired, but those are immediately dispelled by the sudden introduction of hidden resources that surprise and demand attention from the listener. The more I listen the more I feel it is a part of Barbirolli's overall vision of the Eighth. All this takes place after what many consider to be Bruckner's greatest Adagio movement. The interpretation is full of many splendid details without ever being ponderous. The inclination of so many conductors to drag this third movement until it no longer works is avoided here, for a good reason. Under Sir John the long, steadily built climaxes are never given the microscopic treatment that is often served up. Instead it moves as a whole, not as a group of disconnected sections. The preceding second movement is turned into a blistering scherzo; it is played at a tempo that puts the Halle on the edge of its chairs. It surely doesn't sound facile or cool to the touch. Instead it sizzles to the point that it sometimes puts the listener right there with the orchestra! The adrenalin is definitely flowing by that point. Barbirolli paints a sonic canvas of the greatest clarity in the first movement; his reading is replete with give and take in tempo and dynamic range. There is never the sense of metronomic obedience to what's on the page. Even in his readings of Mahler, Barbirolli has the same kind of vital shifting of pace and that's what makes his conducting so very special.

One reviewer argues that "wrong" notes make for a second class buy. Without any sense of vitriol I'd like to say that these criteria used to determine the overall success of a performance could only happen because so many of us now rely strictly on recordings, even of live performances, instead of going to them whenever possible. I'm guilty of this at times. I rely instead on one or even twenty recordings to ascertain what the "best" version of a piece might be. There's no harm in making judgments about music in this fashion - the sad fact, at least in New York City, is that concerts usually cost more than they are worth today. Still, if one attends enough one will hear the same sort of minor blemishes that are certainly found in the beginning of the scherzo here. On CD they can be replaced with a `patch' no matter how long or short. Still, I've heard this music baffle even the greatest orchestras and conductors in the concert hall. And not one "wrong" note was played. In the "live, one time only" milieu of that spring day in 1970 slight mishaps represent a tremendous effort put forth by the most committed conductor and players.

The recorded sound is not nearly as good as the average BBC broadcast from later years, but that's because it comes from Royal Festival Hall, one of the worst acoustics in Europe. The orchestra may not be on a par with the best London orchestras, but the sound is not the Halle's fault. I've heard some "live" CDs made there in the last year or two with the very best equipment and the LSO. THOSE sound bad and they cost a lot. It's just a lousy venue. Curiously, the best performance I've ever heard in person of the Bruckner eighth was given in the very same hall in the autumn of 1983 by a magnetic Carlo Maria Giulini and an equally inspired Philharmonia Orchestra. That CD has also been released by BBC recently. Both are surely worth having - not to compare, that would be silly, but to enjoy two honestly unique performances; they're obviously different in oh so many ways, and yet they both arrive at the same place. That is, a place of pure bliss.

Don't miss it!

Andre Gauthier"

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