Critic’s Notebook: Bruckner 4th on the Organ. A Mistake.

Also reviewed for DiePresse: Ein Warnschuss des Brucknerwahnsinns

Bruckner symphonies on the organ. Obvious pursuit or dubious pleasure? An evening at the Konzerthaus suggested strongly one over the other.

It was my own darn fault. I wanted to go hear Bruckner’s Fourth Symphony that Monday, January 22nd, in the Konzerthaus. Played on the organ! Not that it wasn’t promising to hear Hansjörg Albrecht, a fearfully gifted organ virtuoso and long-time director of Munich’s Bach Choir, perform the task at hand and feet. He has, after all, just recorded all (well, 10 of 11) of Bruckner’s Symphonies in transcriptions, each on a different organ in the various cities Bruckner used to operate in. (I even wrote the liner notes for the first couple of releases, so I still feel slightly invested in that daring project.) Also, just the idea of hearing a well-known work from a different angle has its attractions. That’s why I am such a sucker for transcriptions, in the first place. And that’s why I found myself in the Great –meagerly filled – Hall, for it is one of the great ironies of the organ concert that the space a grand instrument demands is in inverse proportion to the space it takes to seat those who are willing to hear it. Generally, that’s a pity – and the Konzerthaus is to be lauded for treating its instrument to a subscription cycle of concerts, when it would make more economic sense to simply rent out the hall on those nights, instead.

A.Bruckner Symphony No.4 (Organ) Hansjörg Albrecht Oehms Classics

As it were, there were things working against the evening being as enjoyable as I had – naively – hoped. There’s the nature of the beast to consider. Why hear Bruckner’s symphonies performed on an instrument for which they were decidedly not meant in the first place? Bruckner, fine organist though he was, and despite several features in his treatment of the orchestra that remind us of the organ, wrote his symphonies for the orchestra in the secular setting of a concert hall. Had he wanted to write for the organ, he might have produced more than five, six middling, incidental works for it. Yes, given those parallels and failing the survival of Bruckner’s grand improvisations, it’s tempting to hear what Bruckner’s compositions sound like on ‘his’ instrument. But can those inherent difficulties be overcome to provide for unfettered entertainment?

Not on the 1913 Rieger Organ of the Konzerthaus, at least. Yes, with its 116 stops it’s the largest of its (mechanical) kind and the largest organ Rieger has ever built, until Helsinki’s Musiikkitalo will be completed, later this year. It’s been recently overhauled. It’s tantamount to a national monument among concert organs. But I have never been able to enjoy it, except, perhaps, in an accompanying role, no matter which organist has performed on it – Olivier Vernet, Cameron Carpenter, or now Albrecht. It’s a finicky thing, keys seem to respond just by looking at them, the slightest slip of the finger sounds like a major mishap, and the relatively short reverb of the hall does not help to give any glory to its ungainly sound. It’s either hushed or blaringly loud, but never glorious, sumptuous. And the more one tries to be true to the very complexity of Bruckner’s Fourth Symphony on the organ, the less organic – literally and metaphorically speaking – the result at hand becomes. The instrument sounds positively overwhelmed, lines are broken, and dense passages sound like clutter to which the mechanical noise only adds its own desultory note. A disappointment then, and the first warning shot of the Bruckner Year 2024, which threatens with Anton-Overkill.

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Photo © Hansjörg Albrecht

Best Recordings of 2020

After a hiatus last year, it is time for a list of classical CDs that were outstanding this year. This is the ionarts list of the Best Classical Recordings of the Year:

Preamble

I’ve been doing some form of “Best of the Year” list since 2004. 2019 was the first time I slipped. Here’s my attempt at redemption. Granted, my overview of new releases is no longer quite what it was in the days I worked at Tower Records. But the idea of a “Best of the Year” list, if one clings too literally to the idea of “Best” is daft even under the most ideal of situations. It’s of course just short for: “These are a few of the things that I liked” and used, as I’ve been fond of writing in past iterations of this list, because “10 CDs that, all caveats duly noted, I consider to have been outstanding this year” just doesn’t roll off the tongue as easily. Because I skipped 2019, I will include some releases from that year on this list. If you are looking for past lists, here they are:

2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2008—"Almost" | 2009 | 2009—"Almost" | 2010 | 2010—"Almost" | 2011 | 2011—"Almost" | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018

Pick # 10

L.v.Beethoven, Symphonies 1-9, Adam Fischer, Danish Chamber Orchestra, Naxos 8.505251

L.v.Beethoven, The Symphonies Adam Fischer, Danish Chamber Orchestra, Naxos

I wanted these to be on the aborted 2019 list and they definitively belong on it. Yes, we have way too much Beethoven – and 2020 was one of the worst offenders, with it being the 'Beethoven Year' and every artist with ten fingers or access to a baton bringing out a cycle of the sonatas or the symphonies. In the concert halls, at least, Corona saved us from a Beethoven overkill that would have ruined our appreciation of the composers for decades. But just before all that happened, Adam Fischer and his now privately funded Danish Chamber Orchestra come out with something that stands out from the 178+ other cycles we can choose from. These are unpretentious, lively, quick-witted yet totally sober readings that manage to be free of any exaggeration and superbly exciting at the same time. Fischer situates his Beethoven in the near-ideal middle between the stale routine of playing these damn things over and over again on one side and the interventionist re-inventors of the wheel on the other. This is roughly the space Jukka-Pekke Saraste and his West German Radio Symphony Orchestra occupy (review: Precious Vanilla), or the fairly recent and excellent second Blomstedt cycle with the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra. Except that Fischer’s band is smaller, more nimble, and a touch more alert which – as might be expected – shifts the focus of strengths towards the earlier symphonies. Like Blomstedt and most other conductors these days, Fischer chooses swift tempi. More to the point: Fischer opts for mediating tempi: quicker slow movements and moderately paced fast movements. The result is Beethoven unassuming and disheveled, and very lovable. A more detailed review will follow on ClassicsToday eventually. But it’s definitely the Beethoven Cycle of the Beethoven year!

Pick # 9

R.Schumann, Rare Choral Works, Aapo Hakkinen, Helsinki Baroque Orchestra, Carolyn Sampson et al., Ondine 1312

R.Schumann, Rare Choral Works, Aapo Hakkinen, Helsinki Baroque Orchestra, Carolyn Sampson et al., Ondine

Here’s an all ‘round terrific disc of off-the-beaten-path Schumann from Ondine, coupling his Ballade op.140 for soloists and chorus with the Adventlied and – an intriguing filler in the middle – Schumann’s reworking of the Bach Cantata BWV 105. The Adventlied is, inexplicably, a world premiere recording. Where has it been hiding? It is Schumann at his most Mendelssohnesque. Meanwhile it’s good to know that even Schumann agreed that Bach’s stupendous Cantata BWV 105 is a masterpiece among masterpieces. Creating this performing version he certainly suggested as much. And he didn’t super-juice it: he held back and limited himself to modernizing the instrumentation to suit his players. It’s not adding to Bach but as the imaginative buffer between the two marvelously Schumann pieces is very welcome. With Carolyn Sampson participating, deftly accompanied by the Helsinki Baroque Orchestra and the Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir under Aapo Hakkinen, this disc is a winner that I’ve been wanting to write about for over a year. Consider this the teaser.

Pick # 8

J.S.Bach, Christmas Oratorio , Rudolf Lutz, soloists, Bach Stiftung Orchestra & Chorus, Bach Stiftung B664

J.S.Bach, Christmas Oratorio, Rudolf Lutz, soloists, Bach Stiftung Orchestra & Chorus, Bach Stiftung

Befitting the season, a Christmas Oratorio makes this list. The new release from the St. Gallen Bach Stiftung is perfect in just about every way. Perfection – in a technical sense – isn’t everything, of course, especially when it’s closer to anodyne than riveting. But in this case, the live recording (you’d never know!) has all the spirit of most of this outfit’s releases and absolutely terrific singers starting with alto Elvira Bill (who has appeared on the last three Christmas Oratorios I have reviewed) and tenor Daniel Johannsen who has established himself to the point where neither “young” nor “up and coming” still apply. (I’ve just checked: He’s older now than Werner Güra was when he recorded “Schöne Wiege meiner Leiden”.) A review will follow on ClassicsToday soon and be linked then. By the way: if you haven’t sampled their Cantata-cycle het, but want to, you would do well to start here, with volume 30!

Pick # 7

Hans Zender, Winterreise Re-Composed, Ensemble Modern, Blochwitz, Ensemble Modern 043/44

H.Zender, Winterreise Re-Composed, Ensemble Modern, Blochwitz Ensemble Modern

This year I am not splitting the list up into new and re-releases. But as a nod to the tradition, I must include this re-release of a classic recording which I am so glad to have back in the catalogue: The premiere (and still best) recording of Hans Zender’s Winterreise with Ensemble Modern. My review for ClassicsToday here: Best Remembrance Of Hans Zender

Pick # 6

Richard Strauss, Enoch Arden, Bruno Ganz, Kirill Gerstein, Myrios MYR025

Richard Strauss, Enoch Arden, Bruno Ganz, Kirill Gerstein Myros

When Swiss actor Bruno Ganz and Kirill Gerstein performed Enoch Arden at Vienna’s Konzerthaus in late 2014, it was a quiet high-point of the season. The disc is about as good. Granted, the text of Strauss’ monodrama is quite important, so English-speakers not inclined to read along in the booklet will probably want to look to Glenn Gould and Claude Rains version for Sony. But for the rest: they’ve got a new reference version. The declamation of Ganz is worth hearing even just for how its musical and dramatic qualities, senza parole so to say. A fitting musical memorial for Ganz, who passed away in early 2019. My ClassicsToday review here: Granitic Enoch Arden From Bruno Ganz And Kirill Gerstein.

Pick # 5

Ossesso, Ratas del Viejo Mundo, Floris De Rycker, Ramée RAM1808

Ossesso, Ratas del Viejo Mundo, Floris De Rycker, Ramée

Here’s another album that scores on memorability over perfection. It’s over the top, in some ways, and fabulous for it. Ancient music keeps it grounded; the wild acoustic makes it ring in your head like you’re in a grand gothic cathedral. Or a well. Depending on your mindset. What the Old-World Rats (what a name!) deliver here, singing a variety of Italian Madrigals belaboring the subjects of Love and Affliction, is glorious and just the right touch of weird. “The inflection of notes, the tuning, the character of old instruments like psaltery and kanklės… it all contributes to a sense of gentle alienation. Is this Orlando di Lasso, Vincenczo Galilei, Friulian traditional music (sung in the old language) or are we already on to Arab or even African shores? You could let yourself be distracted by any numbers of unorthodoxies on the album “Ossesso” but it’s much easier and more gratifying to sit back and indulge.” To quote my review at ClassicsToday: Obsessed Rats—Wondrous Voices from Olden Times.

Pick # 4

J.S.Bach, Keyboard Works and Transcriptions, Víkingur Ólafsson, DG 4835022

J.S.Bach, A Recital, Víkingur Ólafsson, DG

Like the Beethoven Symphonies , this is a release that would have been on last year’s list, also… and it’s too good and memorable to miss out on. It’s really just a supremely tasteful Bach recital by a wonderfully talented pianist who is just as satisfying in recital as he is on disc. But that’s enough. As I’ve said in my ClassicsToday review (Icelandic Bach With Heart and Panache): “It’s taken 13 years for a Bach-on-piano recital disc to have come along to match Alexandre Tharaud’s.” That is the hightest praise I can give. As a bonus, not that this need matter for your purely musical enjoyment: Víkingur Ólafsson won’t annoy you on Twitter, if you follow him, which you should at @VikingurMusic.

Pick # 3

L.v.Beethoven et al., Works for Mandolin, Julien Martinean, Vanessa Benelli Mosell et al., Naïve 7083

L.v.Beethoven et al., Works for Mandolin, Julien Martinean, Vanessa Benelli Mosell et al., Naïve

This is a recording I don’t think I’ll ever forget – and if it’s for the mandolin variant of that 1970s Hot 100 smash hit of Walter Murphey’s: A Fifth of Beethoven (also known for its notable appearance in Saturday Night Fever). But no, actually, this is good and memorable all around, elevating some of Beethoven’s B-Music to A-levels. And a recording that memorable deserves a high entry on this list, even if it isn’t perfect. My review at ClassicsToday here: Beethoven for the Mandolin.

Pick # 2

H.G.Stölzel, Ein Lämmlein geht und trägt die Schuld (Passion oratorio 1731), Purcell Choir, Orfeo Orchestra, Glossa 924006

H.G.Stölzel, Passion oratorio, Purcell Choir, Orfeo Orchestra, Glossa

This is such terrific music and so sympathetically performed and well recorded that it is bound to be the first of many Heinrich Gottfried Stölzel works you will want to hear. If, in fact, this is your first one. There is no (baroque) composer other than Bach that wrote no weak pieces. But at their best the Telemanns and Hasses and Zelenkas can be as good and, for being different, offer some extra enjoyment. And the same goes for Stölzel and this Passion oratorio in particular. Listen to “Ein Lämmlein geht und trägt die Schuld”. Treat yourself! My review at ClassicsToday here: Good Enough for Bach, Good Enough for Us.

Pick # 1

Antonio Vivaldi, Il Tamerlano, Accademia Bizantina, Ottavio Dantone, naïve 7080

Antonio Vivaldi, Il Tamerlano, Accademia Bizantina, Ottavio Dantone, naïve

Vivaldi operas have lagged behind those of Handel’s in appreciation and Il Tamerlano a.k.a. Bajazet (RV 703) perhaps even more, because its pasticcio composition style did not fit in with the Urtext and unity-of-the-artwork type of musicological purity that reigned in the last few decades. This perception might have begun to change, slowly, after Fabio Biondi’s fabulous 2005 recording came out. It turns out that it’s a masterpiece and the custom of stitching an opera together from previous hits of his own, newly written music, and arias from other composers – mainly Hasse and Giacomelli – doesn’t hold it back, it aids this work! Vivaldi giving his music, in the Venetian style, to the good guys but his colleagues’ more flashy Neapolitan-style music to the baddies adds welcome variety. Vivaldi’s intended point about the superiority of the former is, alas, undermined by the Red Priest having been too fair and using the finest that his rivals’ had on offer: two of the absolute show-stealing arias aren’t his. But we don’t care, the music is great and this new recording of the Accademia Bizantina under Ottavio Dantone is just what the opera deserves; rivalling (or complementing) Biondi’s, easily. A must-listen for 2021, if you haven’t yet. Review forthcoming.


OK, let’s cheat. Or make up for the lost year of 2019. I simply have to mention a few more recordings, now that I’ve started. Here they are:

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On ClassicsToday: Italian Decca Reissues Peter Hurford's Bright and Glorious Bach

Back in Print: Peter Hurford’s Seminal Bach Survey On Argo/Decca

Review by: Jens F. Laurson

Artistic Quality: ?

Sound Quality: ?

Peter Hurford’s traversal of Bach’s complete organ works has been out of print for years. As a result, all that I had to go by, for assessing Hurford’s take on that oeuvre—which, outside the cantatas, best shows Bach at his essence—was a well-loved, much-played best-selling Double Decca of “Bach: Great Organ Works”. It was among the earliest Bach organ recordings I owned, next to some splendid Karl Richter, and it made quite an impression. But that was a long time ago and I had moved on, accumulating some two dozen sets in the meantime. Now Italian Decca has re-issued the set and I finally took the chance to check out the rest of Hurford. It turns out, that Twofer really is a very good primer for things to come: Hurford’s Bach is glorious, organistic, and initiation-friendly. [continue reading / insider content]

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See also: A Survey of Bach Organ Cycles. Audio samples below:

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Dip Your Ears No. 231 (Ben van Osten’s Compleat César Franck)

César Franck, The Organ Works Ben van Osten MDG

Ben van Oosten has recorded just about all the important romantic French organ literature – except that of the arguably most famous (or least organ-niche bound) one, César Franck. This empty spot on the escutcheon has now been filled in, with Oosten not only drawing on his wealth of interpretative and recording-experience but also on the majestic, newly restored Cavaillé-Coll organ of Saint-Ouen in Rouen.

The result is profoundly impressive. In the smaller works, he sets the standard either by default or with ease; in the grand works, he easily hangs with the best of them—whether Olivier Latry or Marie-Claire Alain. One might quibble with the decision to split the Six Pièces (opp.16 through 21) across two discs, but at van Oosten’s tempi, they would not have fit by a sliver. And if they had, that would still be nitpicky.

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Dip Your Ears, No. 226 (Marie-Claire Alain's First Bach Cycle)

J.S.Bach, Organ Works M-C.Alain Warner/Erato

Marie-Claire Alain (1926—2013) is the only organist to have recorded the complete* organ works of Bach’s thrice and have all those cycles appear on CD. She didn’t live to see it, whereas Lionel Rogg, who has recorded three cycles but had only one appear on CD as of yet, still has chance, seeing that he is still very much alive. On the ionarts Bach Organ Cycle Survey, her Second (on three favorite organs of hers) and Third cycles (on historical instruments) are given a rare ionarts’ choice recommendation: The first for being an excellent introductory / generalist cycle and the second for being performed with the same consummate skill but with a more interesting, individualistic organ landscape. There’s something about French organists when they get it right in Bach: Sensuality married to structure. Other favorites of mine include André Isoir and Alain-student Olivier Vernet. (Equally, when they get it wrong, they can turn out the absolute worst in Bach… and by “they” I actually only mean the very recently deceased Jean Guillou – a genius on the instrument in so many ways – but a real-time train-wreck in Bach.)

Marie-Claire Alain’s first traversal doesn’t quite make my top-recommendation list, but it is good to have around for the completist and inveterate Bach and organ-music lover. The cycle is centered on a series of modern Danish Marcussen & Sons organs that had all just been built around the time she recorded them. The result is a clear and fairly bright sound throughout with a lot of diversity within that (admittedly narrow) spectrum. It undusted an organ sound in Bach, that had, at the time, become thick and dark and crusted like a medieval painting where the grime and dirt of centuries had been taken for a characteristic of the real thing. Jed Distler, who reviewed this set for ClassicsToday (where the other two Alain cycles are also given reference status), is right in pointing out the still greater clarity (in recorded sound, instrument character, and playing) this set features over Alain’s subsequent takes. That’s perhaps most surprising when it comes to the recording quality, which is, with very minor exceptions (a few cases of extraneous noise; one off-kilter note that wasn’t re-recorded), exceptional – certainly a lot better than either of Helmut Walcha’s roughly contemporaneous cycles.

While Alain herself has apparently called these her “most instinctive” interpretations, they are actually rather straight-laced, linear readings without quirks or youthful liberties (Alain was 33 when she got started on them) and, if anything, understated. One neat aspect of this cycle is that it rigorously included all the works then assigned to Bach, even those that weren’t by Bach: A virtual survey of the Bachwerkeverzeichniss of the 60s. How nice to see that Warner/Erato’s re-issuing extends far beyond the most obvious classics in their (now huge) back catalogue. Nicer still: That a budget release such as this got excellent liner notes (the original ones from Marie-Claire Alain) in three languages.

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A Survey of Bach Organ Cycles

An Index of ionarts Discographies

Like the Beethoven Piano Sonata Cycle Survey, the Sibelius Symphony Cycle Survey, the Bruckner Cycle Survey, and the Dvořák Symphony Cycle Survey this is a mere inventory of what has been recorded and whether it is still available. Favorites are denoted with the “ionarts’ choice” graphic. There are few cycles that I don't love or like or wouldn’t find a reason to recommend (the most charming Berlin Classics set for its use of different Gottfried Silbermann organs, for example, or the Weinberger set for its total, exhaustive, scholarly completeness). To restrict the wild throwing about of recommendations somewhat, they are limited to sets that are decidedly in print.


The sets are listed in (roughly) chronological order. If you can add or correct information, you are most welcome to do so. Where known, the organs used are added in ‘mouseover’ text on the set’s image.

The idea of “complete” Bach organ works, meanwhile, is a concept open to considerable interpretation. One can, in all genuineness, define Bach’s organ works in such a restrictive way, that they fill some 12 CDs. But one can throw in miscellany, transcriptions, concertos, and apocryphal works to reach (depending on spacing and speed) well over 20. Unless a Bach organ cycle sets out to be über-complete as a matter of principle, editorial decisions have to be made as to what gets included and what not.

Updated: 8/10/2023: David Goode's cycle on Signum has come out as a set in 2020.

Updated: 02/14/2019: I have dug a little, to see if I can't find out more about the alleged two sets of Lionel Rogg's that never appeared on CD. Turns out, firstly, that the man is very much alive, busily composing and performing at that! Secondly that he has a very nifty website. And thirdly very generous explaining the somewhat convoluted history of those three cycles, upon query. I am including those two cycles, unavailable though they are, below, for completeness' sake.

Updated: 02/10/2019: André Isoir has been re-issued again, this time the terrific La Dolce Volta label has included the Art of the Fugue, bringing the set to 17 CDs. Marie-Claire Alain's first cycle, hitherto never available on CDs, has been re-issued by Warner. Now all her three cycles are available from the label. Stefano Molardi snuck a complete cycle by me which exists on its own right and as part of a super-set of the complete organ works of the Bach family (Brilliant). Furthermore we have new cycles under way by David Goode (Signum; on vol.10) and Benjamin Alard (Harmonia Mundi - including all cross-platform keyboard works; on vol.2).

Updated: 03/15/2018: Hurford's cycle has been re-issued on Decca Italy!

Updated: 11/11/2017: Benjamin Alard is slated to record the complete organ works and the complete other keyboard works for Harmonia Mundi, with the first release coming out in 2018. If anyone can provide information about Anton Heiller's cycle (perhaps recorded for Amadeo? And was it ever issued as a set on LP? It seems never to have made it into the CD age...), that would be much appreciated.

Updated: 08/26/2017: Happily, Olivier Vernet's Bach cycle (a favorite cycle of many Bach organ lovers I know) has been re-issued by Ligia and is available as a CD-set (so far) from Amazon.de and .fr. and digitally elsewhere. It contains 15 discs omitting the four bonus discs of the original release that included "Clavier-Übung 0", the Concertos for 2, 3 & 4 organs, the disc with transcriptions and a Bach-Vernet CD which I've forgotten the contents of). The concerto disc is available seperately now; the box includes a coupon for this disc!

Kay Johannsen has a set available - if "available" is the right word, since it can only be bought at the info-point of the Stiftskirche in Stuttgart. Jacques van Oortmerssen died just before he could finish his cycle. Nine individual releases are available from his estate directly.

New sets are currently underway by David Goode (on the Trinity College Chapel Cambridge; Signum, 4 volumes), and Kei Koito (Claves, 5 volumes) which I like a lot, so far. (Special thanks to Karsten Unverricht, who seems to know absolutely everything about Bach organ cycles both ongoing and past.)

Updated: 04/24/2016: André Isoir and the Hänssler cycle have been put into chronological order on this list. The details of the organs used (on mouse-over, depending on your browser) are now included for Koopman, Alain III, Weinberger, Foccroulle and (partly) Phillips.

Updated: 01/25/2015: André Isoir has been re-issued by the terrific La Dolce Volta label and included below.

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#morninglistening: My First Bach

#morninglistening to #Bach Organ Works w/Stockmeier on Arts & Music; my first complete suc… https://t.co/BW7rQHGGfE pic.twitter.com/DQ5yEQqVzb

— Jens F. Laurson (@ClassicalCritic) November 8, 2015

Organ Works w/Stockmeier on Arts & Music; my first complete such set, picked up at Tower Records in DC back in the old days.
RIP Tower Records: The Tower That Fell (Forbes.com)

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#morninglistening: Out of Print Bach Organ Goodness

#morninglistening glorious#Bach. Trio Sonatas with Lionel Rogg on the #Arlesheim Silberman… http://t.co/68YkFe1x8h pic.twitter.com/DmnwLC07Bl

— Jens F. Laurson (@ClassicalCritic) March 9, 2015

-> A Survey of Bach Organ Cycles

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#morninglistening: Weckmann, Complete!

#morninglistening Matthias Weckmann w/B.#Foccroulle @OuthereMusic #EarlyMusic #Organ #Rice… http://t.co/cLHeFe2vZM pic.twitter.com/5Q5Pkjd3k1

— Jens F. Laurson (@ClassicalCritic) February 7, 2015

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Best Recordings of 2014 (#7)

Time for a review of classical CDs that were outstanding in 2014 (published in whole on Forbes.com). My lists for the previous years: 2013, 2012, 2011, (2011 – “Almost”), 2010, (2010 – “Almost”), 2009, (2009 – “Almost”), 2008, (2008 - "Almost") 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004.

# 7 - New Release

Franz Schubert, Symphonies 3 - 5, Swedish Chamber Orchestra, Thomas Dausgaard (conductor), BIS SACD 1786

F.Schubert, Symphonies 3 - 5 T.Dausgaard / Swedish CO (BIS SACD)

Non-Violent Machine Gun Fire

Early Schubert symphonies are just a soupçon of tedium away from being boring. Wildness, youthful jubilance, brilliance and a good timpani thwacking are all necessary ingredients and it’s not surprising that (early) Schubert is being well served by early music and chamber ensembles: they are tuned to vitality and happy to go for the jugular. The Freiburg Baroque Orchestra (with Pablo Heras-Casado, Harmonia Mundi) tackles the Third and Fourth in their typical top-notch style (see Charles' review here), punching holes in the score, though perhaps even overdoing the drive in the Third: Frans Brüggen and the Orchestra of the 18th Century (Philips) had shown in the 90s that excitement is not necessarily about conducting faster—although they then proceed to be faster and more exciting in the Fourth Symphony. Honors among recent, very successful Schubert releases must be Thomas Dausgaard and his Swedish Chamber Orchestra, though. They have the best sound of the lot and perhaps the most deft hand at these works, too: Wherever slow, Dausgaard never drags, wherever fast, he never hurries. Punch and zest, yes, but not outright violence. The drum-roll opening of the Fourth shoots out like a salvo of (non-violent) machine gun fire, the darkness of the strings mourns passionately… The Fifth of Schubert, a personal favorite, can be a sunny masterpiece. Günter Wand in his last recording delivered something near genial perfection (NDRSO, RCA), but in his snappier way, Dausgaard rather matches him. That’s reason enough to declare the @SWCOrchestra’s disc one of the finds of the year!

# 7 – Reissue

Josef Rheinberger, Organ Works, Rudolf Innig (organ), M|DG 3171864

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Dip Your Ears, No. 176 (Pachelbel and the Organ)

J.Pachelbel, Complete Organ Works, volume 1 Christian Schmitt, Jürgen Essl, James David Christie, Michael Belotti CPO SACDs

Not the Canon in D

Known primarily for that lovely but hideously overplayed Canon in D, the considerable output of Johann Pachelbel (1653—1706) has been obscured from all but specialist-view. Listening to Pachelbel isn’t listening to a prequel of Johann Sebastian Bach’s Organ Works (who was more influenced by Buxtehude and Frescobaldi); instead it is a shifted parallel kind of enjoyment, lessened by subconscious comparison to Bach, but movingly enjoyable once the ears take that hurdle and let the “Catechism Songs”—Pachelbel’s choral settings—work their own subtle magic. Coupled with the hitherto sole Pachelbel recording of Wolfgang Rübsam (Naxos), this CPO box is a terrific start for the committed Baroque- and organ-maven!