Day 63
Bruckner String quintet in F major
Raphael Quartet with Prunella Pacey
I discovered Bruckner when I was still at school. I remember having a recording of the 4th symphony and I certainly knew the scherzo from the 8th symphony. One of my great musical experiences was playing the 7th symphony. The bassoon parts per se in the symphony are very unimportant - indeed for most of the time it would hardly make a difference if they were not there - but the experience of bring in the middle of that wonderful sound - particularly that incredibly satisfying C sharp major chord at the end of the long slow movement or the wonderful release of tension into the coda of the finale - will remain with me for a very long time.
Last year was the Bruckner centenary and I made a determined effort to hear all of the symphonies in all of the versions but I didn't get round to this quintet so it can form part of this project. It is Bruckner's only mature chamber work and has a complex history. It took over a decade from the initial thoughts to its completion and was first performed without the finale - there are also two versions of the second movement.
It is unmistakably Brucknerian in style - you could never mistake it for anybody else. All of the characters of Bruckner's symphonic style are here but it is only on occasionally that you feel he was frustrated at only having 5 players to write for and wanted a full orchestral sound. The slow movement is, like so often in Bruckner, at the heart of the piece, and is a wonderful example of the composer's mature style and ability to pace a movement over a long arc. Perhaps only the finale disappointed. Some of it is very attractive but Bruckner the contrapuntalist got in the way in places and rather broke up the flow of the music. The very end did stretch the ensemble almost to breaking point and it must have been a real effort to sustain such energetic and loud music for such a long stretch.
Bruckner will always be an acquired taste and, looking back, I am surprised that my teenage self found so much in the music. But for me he is one of the supreme masters and the 7th and 8th symphonies should be on anybody's list of the greatest of all symphonies.
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