Such frailty from Zubin Mehta: aged 87, a lone figure walking tentatively towards the stage, belying the magnitude of the work before him – Bruckner’s immense Eighth Symphony. Safely seated and conducting the Staatskapelle Berlin from memory, this Good Friday performance as part of the Philharmonie's Festtage seemed like the most natural thing in the world.
The Eighth, the last completed symphony from a composer who started his career as a village schoolmaster before rising to become one of the most revered organists in Europe, is the pinnacle of a symphonic language which sought to mirror Wagnerian forces. Scored for eight horns (including four Wagner tubas), triple winds, many strings and three harps, the 1950 Nowak version performed tonight was the culmination of a number of revisions, both from well-intentioned friends and academic scholars.
Unlike many other composers of his time, Bruckner honed his compositional skills early in life but did not publish his first symphony until in his 40s. As a result, many of the stylistic features found in his earlier symphonies – sequential repetition of material, endless looming climaxes, duplet/triplet rhythms – are ever present in the Eighth. Having played Bruckner's symphonies often with Daniel Barenboim, this is a work the Staatskapelle Berlin knows well and this performance enjoyed emotionally charged playing and a high degree of musicianship from the conductor.
In an opening, reminiscent of Beethoven’s Ninth, the violins crept in. A stunning pianissimo followed as the Wagner tuba and oboes parleyed fragments atop shimmering strings. It is so rare to see attention lavished on the violas and second violins, but Bruckner understood the important role these oft-neglected instruments play in the orchestral texture. Mehta duly encouraged them to wallow in the limelight, nowhere more so than the second movement where, in response to the harps’ rising arpeggios (conjuring images of a musical box and dancing ballerina), the violas (this time with the cellos) took centre stage producing a surprisingly warm and welcome resonance. Again in the third movement, throbbing and unrelenting lower strings set the scene, cushioning the yearning and doom-laden violins before the harps garnered the light. The poignancy of cellos, clarinet and solo violin pierced the heart. Here was an orchestra with a deep understanding of the musical language and a conductor who let the musicians shine.
However, the evening undoubtably belonged to the magnificence and grandeur of the brass. From horn chorales with the Wagner tubas speaking as one to the crystal-clear tone of Principal Horn Hanno Westphal, these Staatskapelle players would surely have softened even the harshest Bruckner critic's heart.
The double basses’ rising sequences propelled us towards the fourth movement. Thundering trombones, tuba and rampant timpani did not disappoint. If only the trumpets could have maintained their precision. Mehta built the climaxes skilfully, never pushing yet always asserting a sense of urgency, allowing the woodwinds at last to shine. Alternating horn and trombone chorales peppered the texture, beautifully punctuated by piercing oboe and trembling harps. A concert to remember.
