Search - Bruckner, Von Matacic, Czech Po :: Symphony 7 in E Major

Welcome back: Bruckner 7 by CzechPO & von Matacic

Dan Fee | Berkeley, CA USA | 11/01/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"It is such a warm pleasure to welcome back this performance of the Bruckner 7 Symphony to the active catalogue. Re-released as part of the Supraphon Arkiv series, this pressing has very good sound now. In fact, unless I'm mistaken, this pressing sounds clearer than the earlier one on CD that I remember from years ago. Perhaps the newer high-resolution formats are trickling down even into the remastering arts, as computer workstations transform into all-purpose editing tools. I also cherish an older CD version of von Matacic with the Czech Philharmonic doing the Bruckner 9 Symphony. Maybe it will get more clearly remastered, too.



In any case, one might wonder why Lovro von Matacic didn't have more of a reputation. His musicianship caught the ear of no less a shrewd critic than the late Walter Legge, former head of EMI and renowned for his honed opinions of who made the grade and who didn't. The strong points of von Matacic's Bruckner are all present in this recording. Tempos are rock steady, no slowing, no rushing ahead. Symphony 7 simply unfolds as a panoramic musical landscape, a force of nature that moves and changes according to its own notions of time and virtue. Yes, the brass are hard taxed in a few of the great climaxes; but everybody simply stays the course with von Matacic at the helm, even if passing faults are revealed. The balances among strings, woodwind, and brass are unerringly managed, so that the whole orchestra becomes a rich fabric of sound. The quieter moments are just as true as the great heights in this symphony. Odd apprehensions of solitude hover close to loneliness and melancholy without every completely losing faith. Chorales offer us musical consolation without quite being able to compeltely erase Bruckner's sad, singular fate as a symphonist without stylistic forebears and without progeny. The sheer oddness comes through, tinged with a sense of that nobility which the much-maligned composer sacrificed to the musical manners of his day.



So, yes, you may have other Bruckner 7's on the shelf. Lovro and the Czech band will nevertheless win our affections by their utter dedication to the master's message. Available at midprice from some sources. Highly recommended."