From the desk of James Reel on Tuesday, September 9th 2008 at 6:59

LAST WORDS

Here are reviews I wrote for Fanfare of recordings of the last, incomplete works of two prominent Austrian composers ...

BRUCKNER Symphony No. 9 * Marek Janowski, cond; Suisse Romande O * PENTATONE PTC 5186 303 (hybrid multichannel SACD: 62:01)

In order to appreciate this release, it’s necessary to put some prejudices aside. First, the Suisse Romande playing Bruckner? Well, this is not the sour, scrappy band it was 50 years ago under Ansermet, and today it is fully capable of producing a sufficiently dense, rich Bruckner sound. Second, there’s Marek Janowski, a conductor with a great many ho-hum recorded performances on disc, mostly operas (including some rarities, by the likes of Krenek and Hindemith). Janowski’s Ring cycle many years ago was hopelessly dull from the orchestral standpoint, so the prospect of Janowski taking on Bruckner, Wagner’s ultimate acolyte, wouldn’t seem promising.

Forget all that, though, and what can be heard in this new surround-sound disc is a mostly effective Bruckner Ninth, even if it doesn’t rise to the level of the finest Bruckner Ninth performances (Furtwängler, Giulini, Jochum, and Wand, among others). The best work comes right at the beginning. The opening minutes don’t sound as disjointed as usual, the sudden contrasts now cohering into a unified statement before dying away to be replaced by the drawn-out, lyrical second theme. Other moments later in the symphony stand out: the ominous urgency of the second movement’s Trio, not as incongruously light-hearted as it sometimes comes across; the carefully shaped crisis-climax in the third movement. In between, conductor and orchestra coast along, never at a less than professional level, but without maintaining the focus they display in the most effective passages.

Typically of PentaTone, the DSD recorded sound is vibrant and precise. The sonic image reflects exactly what’s shown in a booklet photo, with brass and timpani positioned far in the back. I also imagine that I can hear them coming from the higher elevation shown in the photo, but that’s probably just the power of suggestion.

If you must have a surround-sound Bruckner Ninth, this is an honorable choice, but it’s not the last word on the symphony. James Reel

MOZART Requiem * Colin Davis, cond; Marie Arnet (sop); Anna Stéphany (ms); Andrew Kennedy (ten); Darren Jeffery (bs); London SO; London S Cho *LSO 0627 (hybrid multichannel SACD: 50:35) TEXT (live performance: 9-10/2007)

Colin Davis has already recorded the Süssmayr edition of Mozart’s Requiem for Philips and RCA, and done so well. This new production doesn’t amplify the conductor’s conception of the work, so the only real selling point is its DSD surround sound. Sonically, this is one of LSO Live’s better efforts, less acoustically claustrophobic than many of its Barbican recordings, yet not swallowed up in reverberation.

Generally, this is a satisfying performance. With a chorus of 89 and an orchestra of 62, it has heft, but Davis keeps things from turning sluggish. The Dies Irae, for example, is notably fast and turbulent, with an incisiveness frankly missing from his treatment of the score’s opening pages. On the other hand, the final, fugal Cum sanctus tuis is comparatively short of drama and fervor. As will happen in concert, some of the (choral) ensemble work is slightly imprecise, and there are a few very brief and minor intonation lapses from a soloist or two. And the heavily trilled R at the beginning of every “Rex” just sounds silly.

I seem to have been concentrating on flaws, but obviously most of them are quite minor, and all in all this is an intelligent, well-balanced mainstream performance. Still, if you’re shopping for a modern-instrument Mozart Requiem, a better choice would be Runnicles on Telarc (it’s the Levin edition). That performance is more consistently ominous and theatrical, partly because of the fuller bass in the chorus and the recording itself, and also because of the conductor’s more detailed dynamic shaping. James Reel

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