Bruckner++ From Simon Rattle and the LSO

One week from today the “house label” of the London Symphony Orchestra (LSO) will release what may fairly be called a “scholarly” account of Anton Bruckner’s fourth “Romantic” symphony in E-flat major. Simon Rattle leads the LSO in a performance based on the Urtext Edition of this composition, prepared by Bruckner scholar Benjamin-Gunnar Cohrs. Some readers may recall that Cohrs had previously contributed to preparing the performance version of a full four-movement account of Bruckner’s ninth symphony in D minor, first performed by Rattle conducting the Berlin Philharmonic. As usual, Amazon.com has created a Web page to process pre-order both the CD and the MP3 download of the album tracks.

Bruckner completed the first version of his fourth symphony in 1874. He then worked on revising the score between 1878 and 1881. During that period he discarded the Scherzo movement, replacing it with an entirely new movement, still in Scherzo form. Similarly, he composed a new Finale in 1880. Finally, as Cohrs put it in the booklet notes, the symphony “underwent a whole series of corrections for or after performances in 1880 and 1881, which Bruckner himself and his copyists made in the autograph score, its copies and orchestral parts, thus establishing various ‘work phases’ (two of the first three movements; three of the Finale).” The result was a new score prepared in 1881 by the Viennese copyist Giovanni Noll incorporating “the last word” on all of Bruckner’s revisions.

The “physical” version of the new album consists of two CDs. The first of these is the performance of the 1881 score in its entirety. The second CD then amounts to what may be called a “scholarly appendix.” It includes the two movements that Bruckner had discarded, both the Scherzo and the Finale. There is also an unabridged account of the new Finale, which Bruckner then scaled down in the score he provided to Noll. Finally, there is an “extended initial version” of the Andante quasi Allegretto, which Bruckner had composed in 1878. Like the Finale, this was subsequently abridged for the “Noll score.”

The content of this second CD brings to mind a very old slogan that The New York Times used to promote its massive Sunday edition: “You don’t have to read it all, but it’s good to know it’s all there.” My guess is that most listeners will be perfectly content to listen only to the “complete” account of that 1881 score on the first CD. Nevertheless, given the rich extent of content in the booklet notes, I would not be surprised if the more enthusiastic Bruckner listeners will be tempted to check out the four tracks on the second CD. Personally, my own curiosity will lead me to see if I can find a nearby library with a copy of Cohrs Urtext Edition.