Anton Bruckner (1824-1896)
Zehn Symphonien (Ten Symphonies)
Altomonte Orchestra St Florian, Oö. Jugendsinphonienorchester/Rémy Ballot
rec. live, 2013-23, Stiftsbasilika, St Florian, Austria
Gramola 99311 [11 CDs: 782]

Here is the inevitable box set on the Gramola label collecting all eleven CDs of Rémy Ballot’s live recordings of his preferred editions of Bruckner’s ten symphonies – so no “Study Symphony” – made over the last decade in the Stiftsbasilika, St Florian during the annual Brucknertage festivals. They have all been previously released on individual CDs, apart from the only new addition here, the recent recording of “Die Nullte”. Otherwise, they have all already been reviewed here on MusicWeb by me and my colleagues and those reviews indicate that Ballot’s concept of Bruckner is all of a piece: grand, patient – and very slow, in the Celibidache school. Brucknerians will know by now if they respond to his manner, whereas neophytes are advised to sample his style before committing to a purchase. Personally, I do admire and esteem these accounts, even if I would not necessarily make most of them the first introduction to Bruckner’s symphonies or recommend this as a core set; however, I certainly want them as an adjunct or supplement to favourite versions as per my shortlist of preferred recordings – although Ballot’s account of the 1872 “First concept version” of the Symphony no. 2 does indeed appear there as a prime recommendation.

I refer you those reviews linked below. Our responses are generally very positive; indeed Mark Bridle nominated the Fifth as one of his Recordings of the Year in 2018 and we are broadly in agreement that these performances demand to be heard even if their expansiveness is sometimes controversial.

As I mention above, Ballot’s new recording of WAB100, which completes the cycle, was recorded only last August as I write, so its inclusion in this set enabled my first acquaintance of it and I am here reviewing it for the first time as opposed to referencing previously posted reviews. My favourite recording of it hitherto has been Gerd Schaller’s live, 2015 performance of the Nowak edition (review); unsurprisingly, Ballot, here using a new critical edition by musicologist David N. Chapman, is nine minutes slower overall, so differences in the timings of individual movements appear substantial, especially in the first two – but bear in mind that they include fairly extended intervals between movements, so perhaps the discrepancies are not so great:

Ballot makes the opening of the first movement a stern trudge and I have to say that I like its sense of purpose – although where the marking “Allegro” ever features I would be hard pressed to say; Schaller lends the music a much more propulsive, almost scurrying effect such that it remains a quick march and we reach both the downward falling figure for the strings and brass and the reprise of opening march theme respectively a minute and two minutes sooner than Ballot. Under these two conductors, this sounds like a completely different piece of music – yet both find enormous grandeur in the central brass chorale passage and Ballot is assisted by the reverberance of his recording venue, whereas Schaller was on this occasion recording not in the Abteikirche in Ebrach but in the Regentenbau, Bad Kissingen. Both skilfully gauge the characteristically Brucknerian pause before the climax – although Ballot typically extends it further – and the coda in both is mightily impressive; I very much like the serenity of Ballot’s ending.

The Andante under Ballot has more of “Adagio” about it but does not drag, and it is richly, nobly executed; the sonority of the Altomonte lower strings is especially beautiful, but the whole orchestra is virtuosic. The Scherzo, already identifiably uniquely Brucknerian in character succeeds admirably, as do all Bruckner’s essays in that classic form; the Trio is nicely bucolic and melodious, its long phrases caressed and played through. I remarked of Schaller’s account of the finale that it is “grand but slightly stilted and disjointed”, but for some reason, I find Ballot’s cautious rendering of the tentative introduction, then his whole-hearted assault upon the trumpet-led main theme, very convincing and compelling, even though I still feel as if Bruckner gets a bit lost in the development section, deploying rather empty gestures. However, Schaller makes the introduction of that main theme more energised and exciting, and on balance I think his pressing forward sustains a more cohesive sense than Ballot achieves – not that there is much in it.

As with all these recordings, the sound is ideal as long as its spaciousness appeals and I hear only very occasionally the faintest suggestion of a cough from the audience.

The booklet in German and English contains many attractive colour photographs, notes and biographies, a transcript of the speech made by Clemens Hellsberg on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the Brucknertage in 2017, both an overview of the project and discussion of the individual symphonies by Executive Producer/Brucknertage Director and pianist Klaus Laczika, a brief history of the Altomonte Orchestra by Director Thomas Wal and a personal reflection on his involvement in these recordings by conductor Rémy Ballot.

Ralph Moore 

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Contents
Symphony in D Minor, WAB 100 “Die Annullierte/Nullified” (1869, ed. David Chapman 2023)
rec. 19 & 20 August 2023, Stiftsbasilika, St Florian
Symphony No. 1 in C Minor, WAB 101 (1891 Vienna version) [ed. G. Brosche] (review)
Symphony No. 2 in C minor “Pausensinfonie” (Original version 1872, ed. Carragan 2005) (review)
Symphony No. 3 in D minor. WAB 103 ‘Wagner Symphony’ (first version, 1873) (review)
Symphony No. 4 in E-Flat Major, WAB 104 “Romantic” (1888 version, Korstvedt Edition) (review)
Symphony No. 5 in B flat major, WAB 105 (1878 Version ed. Nowak) (review ~ review)
Symphony No. 6 in A major, WAB 106 (1881 version, ed. Benjamin-Gunnar Cohrs) (review)
Symphony No. 7 in E Major WAB 107 (1883 version, ed. Nowak) (review)
Symphony No. 8 in C minor, WAB 108 (version 1890, Nowak) (review)
Bruckner: Symphony No. 9 in D Minor, WAB109 (version 1896, ed. Nowak 1951) (review ~ review)

6 & 8: Oö. Jugendsinphonienorchester