Dramatic Last-Minute Second Listen and Vote Change!! Because Greg Doesn't Hate Me Yet, and I Feel Like He Totally ShouldF3. Huh. The first movement is less impressive on this listen-through, for several reasons: 1. cheap, crappy work headphones; 2. that super slow opening really IS a nuisance; and 3. that jerk Neal
alerted me to the prolific technical issues in the orchestral playing, and he's totally right. To some extent I am willing to overlook those flaws given the often remarkable touches and unique highlights (like the trombones at 12:33 in the first movement, or the Wagnerian heroism of the French horn soloist in the coda).
Slow movement feels a little fast at times, but not too much. Parts flow gorgeously. The funeral march, with the plunk-plunk bass, gets kinda repetitive. Terrific scherzo. And now I even kind of agree with Cato about the finale: at 8:40 the whole thing moves into a higher gear.
Huh. My second impression is not like the first. I still like the performance a lot, and it helps to end on a high note. Oh, and I hope it's okay that I'm listening to it on Naxos Music Library instead of the blind files.
F1. When I listened to the first 30 seconds of each of these, at the very beginning of the finals, I thought F3 was You-Know-Who. Of course, this one is You-Know-Who. The beginning is faster, but the movement as a whole is slower because it's more consistent. It's not an extraordinary performance, and there are places where a bit more energy could have been useful, but it's also free of major issues. Wish the final chord was not so long. The adagio is still perfect; I'm okay with what someone (amw?) called "sacrificing" the funeral march in order to achieve the divine perfection of the last 5 minutes.
Although the finale still is a little less energized than it should be, I think on this listen the piece hangs together more successfully than before. That is, the balance is better. I didn't get the initial sense that the adagio was outshining everything else. Maybe a slower, weightier finale helps with distribution of power.
Again, listening on NML.
F2. One thing that sticks out a little sorely, in the otherwise excellent first few minutes, is some recording congestion at the big climaxes. Maybe it's these headphones. The brass players seem slightly more reticent than their colleagues in F1, and a LOT more reticent than the guys in F3 (not to mention the pedal/metal bombast of F4). What's amazing to me is that, while the loud bits are loud and fast and fun, the quiet bits do not
seem noticeably faster than F1 because of F1's inherent fascination. There's something much lighter about this reading. In the final coda, know what I'm bothered by? That moment right before the final outburst, when the horn's by myself. It seems calculated - I like the final outburst to come by surprise, not to be prepared for.
The adagio is perfect. I said that about F1, but this one is too. It might, overall, be the best in the competition. Gorgeous oboe playing. Wow, I didn't remember the scherzo being so fast! I do remember the crackling trombones at 2:28ish. I didn't remember the finale STARTING slowly, just middling out slowly. But it does begin slowly. Already at 1:35 it's starting to get hard to take. Where was the excellence of the two middle movements? At 4:10, which is unbearably tense from me wanting it to be faster, I paused and went back to F1. F2 is slower. And not just a little slower. A
shitload slower.
This SHOULD be on NML but they haven't uploaded it yet.
F4. I always start off skeptical, then slowly grow accustomed. Didn't Bruckner say the symphony was supposed to be saucy? This is saucy alright, and naughty. The brass section feels like a heady indulgence, like dumping foie gras on top of your baked beans. Oh so wrong, but oh so right.
Um. Not that I have tried dumping foie gras on baked beans. Not recommended. But if you do, let us know.
Y'all know it's all about contrast for me, right? I am a contrast junkie. Fast fast stuff, slow slow stuff. If I were conducting B6, my tempos would probably something like this:
16'
19'
8:30
14'
You may also be interested in my hypothetical mental Schumann Fantasie, which is approx. 12', 7', 14'.All of which is to say that by the time 10:15 comes up on the adagio, this is too darn fast. At least the ending still works OK.
And then it's off to the James Bond Derby with the second half. So I think I'm changing F1 to first place. But who will take second?
F1
+ GREAT adagio
+ weighty outer movements
+ excellent phrasing all around
- really could have done a bit more energy
- scherzo lacking character vs. F4
F2
+ GREAT adagio
+ other momentary bits of goodness
+ superfast scherzo
- superfast scherzo (not sure how I feel)
- boring finale spoils the broth
- shy brass compared to F3, F4
F3
+ overall excellent structural take after the first five minutes
+ totally thrilling finish
+ orchestra strong in spirit...
- ...though not always execution
- that slow opening
F4
+ thrill ride, saucy, exciting
+ relentless rhythmic control
- the adagio
- what about the score?
Updated, not too terribly dramatic vote changeF1
F3
F4
F2
