For many music lovers, Kurt Sanderling’s Bruckner means his marvelous but not very well recorded version of the Third Symphony on Berlin Classics. This thrilling live recording of the Seventh only confirms his credentials as a first-rate Brucknerian. Here’s a performance as perceptive, intelligent, spontaneous, and wise as the recent Wand/Berlin Philharmonic issue from RCA, and it’s even better (or at all events more appropriately) played and recorded. Take the symphony’s final peroration and compare: where in Berlin the trumpets dominate, the Stuttgart players offer the full panoply of brass textures; trumpets balance trombones and tubas, with the horns coming out cleanly. This is the true Bruckner sound, and when combined with Sanderling’s expert instrumental balancing (the brass never cover the strings, but their presence is always full and rich), all of the elements are in place for a great performance.
And so it proves. Sanderling understands that the opening movement, while moderate in tempo, has to have the energy of a true Allegro. He manages this by subtle control of dynamics in the arch-like opening theme, by careful articulation of the second subject’s pulsating accompaniment, and by an admirably light and dance-like treatment of the third theme, executing the transitions between them with seamless musical logic. The great adagio (which lasts almost exactly as long as my favorite performance: Jochum’s with the Staatskapelle Dresden on EMI) has any number of memorable moments. There’s the wonderful way Sanderling floats the second subject in the strings, allowing the violins to add just a touch of warm portamento to their phrasing. The second appearance of the opening theme brings a rush of dark tone from the violas and cellos, and Sanderling times the great climax (without the controversial percussion parts) perfectly. The elegiac coda has a chilling intensity that miraculously yields to the consoling final bars.
Most performances of this symphony do well by the rustic Scherzo, and this one is no exception. Sanderling’s conception of the finale, though, is special. He takes a highly contrasted view of the tempo differences between the opening (quick) and second subject (slow), and maintains them as they begin to alternate in ever-quicker succession as the movement proceeds. The result gives that opening theme a mischievous character, realizing the music’s odd blend of humor and solemnity as well (or better) than any other performance I have heard. It’s the kind of experience that makes a jaded listener sit up and take notice, and you’ll come away from it saying to yourself, “So that’s what Bruckner meant!” As already mentioned, the final pages, with their swirling strings thrillingly audible against the full-throated brass, close the work in a blaze of glory. The SWR engineers have captured all of this in exceptionally natural, ideally resonant sound. Now in his mid-80s, Kurt Sanderling has officially retired from conducting. As this 1999 recording proves, his commanding presence will be sorely missed. [3/4/2001]
