Bruckner: Symphony No. 4.(Sound recording review)

Bruckner: Symphony No. 4. Simon Rattle, Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra. EM10946 3 84723 2.

Like most conductors and record companies, Sir Simon Rattle and EMI continue to record most of their new material live. I suppose it has to do with finances, studio time being so expensive these days, although the artists would probably claim it has to do with capturing the spirit of the moment and all. Maybe, but you can't blame the companies involved for wanting to get live audiences to subsidize their recorded performances.

Oh, well, it does no serious harm. The sound is still all right, and you don't hear a noise from the listeners. EMI have even edited out the applause at the end, thankfully. Still, I couldn't help feeling that multiple run-throughs in the studio and subsequent judicious edits might have resulted in a more satisfying performance.

Anton Bruckner's Fourth Symphony was his first really successful big-scale work, but it didn't come easy. His first three symphonies were greeted with a lukewarm response, and it took him over half a dozen years to revise and work out the Fourth. Fortunately, when he did finally premiere it 1881, the public loved it, as listeners have loved it ever since. Bruckner himself nicknamed it "Romantic," and it became Bruckner's only program symphony. The composer tells us what each movement is supposed to represent, from knights riding out of a medieval castle at dawn to the sounds of the forest and birds, to a hunt, complete with horn calls, finally culminating in brilliant summary. The symphony easily communicates a grandeur and ...