Nikolaus Harnoncourt quite expectedly brings his decades of early music experience to bear on the Fifth, the most baroque-fashioned of Bruckner’s symphonies. The conductor’s lean, bracing style, with its emphasis on structure, rhythm, and especially articulation seems ideally suited to this strange, magnificent work. Among the performance’s most telling aspects is the painstaking care with which Harnoncourt presents not only key motives (such as the rising figure first announced by the brass and strings at the start of the first movement), but also supporting lines, such as the basses’ descending scale in the Adagio’s secondary theme–here played as pulses rather than the usual slur.
This would not be a Harnoncourt performance were there no unusual tempos, and the quickly-paced Adagio certainly falls in this category. Harnoncourt’s stride sounds to be more Andante, which may seem rushed to those used to the heavy tread of Karajan or Solti (or even the relatively moderate Jochum), but this gives the music an intriguingly unsettled air. It’s not unprecedented–Knappertsbusch and Rögner took a similar approach (in fact, Harnoncourt makes reference to the famous conductor’s own Vienna Philharmonic recording on the bonus rehearsal disc)–plus it makes for a stronger proportional relationship with the following, faster scherzo. Speaking of which, the witty trio is vintage Harnoncourt: fleet, fresh, and vibrant.
The finale’s graceful, lyrical second subject gets similar treatment, providing a soothing contrast to the main theme’s lurching rhythms. Harnoncourt also leads a clear path through the double fugue’s thickets. But it’s the closing chorale that holds the symphony’s payoff, and Harnoncourt builds deftly to it–increasing the energy right on through to the climactic peroration, exhorting powerfully sonorous sounds from the Vienna brass.
Needless to say, the Vienna Philharmonic knows this symphony inside-out, and it plays handsomely, cultivating a warmer, richer sound (the brass especially) than it did for Abbado in his blistering live performance. That one was an example of what this orchestra is capable of when pushed, but Harnoncourt’s is more the old-world sound Vienna is famous for. The live recording is nicely spacious, with plenty of depth, presence, and dynamic range. Even in a catalog overrun with Bruckner Fifths (something unimaginable 20 years ago) Harnoncourt’s distinguished and stunningly executed performance demands your consideration. Bravo! [3/18/2005]
