Bruckner: Symphony No.8
Yutaka Sado / Tonkünstler Orchestra (Tonkünstler Orchestra)
(scroll down for English review)
這隊「下奧地利音樂家樂團」是另一隊維也納（及周邊地區）樂隊，現任音樂總監為日本指揮佐渡裕。幾個月前才出了一張蒂利文指揮維也納愛樂的布魯克納八，這張也是在黃金廳錄音。
別以為日本指揮一定不夠大師來，這個錄音比蒂利文那個有趣得多，一字記之曰：力。並不是單純音量大，而是音符奏得很結實，很鏗鏘。真正令我開始專心聽的是第二樂章的三重奏部份，我一時想不出哪位指揮會像佐渡裕把這段所謂冷場，奏得這麼痛心。
之後的慢板，也是用這種力度去奏，不去營造默想、而是外露地展示悲情，不過高潮不算震撼。還擔心佐渡裕這種奏法只適合慢板，還好只是過慮，這樂章緩慢深情的地方多的是，快速響亮的地方，亦奏得拳拳到肉，定音鼓像大槌猛打。用日本人誇張的樂評／推銷語句，應該又是「炸裂」了。
This Tonkünstler Orchestra of Lower Austria is yet another Viennese orchestra, now with a Japanese music director Yutaka Sado. Just a couple of months saw a Thielemann recording of the same work with the Vienna Philharmonic, this one by Sado isn’t just a contender, to me it’s more interesting than Thielemann/WP.
Of course WP is a better orchestra, but Sado and his Tonkünstler (which means musician in German) gave a very powerful performance. It’s not just the volume of the sound but the notes were played with a forceful articulation. What really made me sit uptight was the Trio of the 2nd movement. I don’t recall any conductor having played it with such pathos, the norm is to play it as a relaxed counterpart to the scherzo.
Sado carried that force to the Adagio. He seemed not interested in shaping this long movement as a soulful introspection, but an explicit elegy. The Finale has a lot of slower sections so the same can be expected. But the louder sections were thunderous, especially the timpani who smashed and hammered. Explosive indeed.