Page 219 - Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Coverage Book 2023-24

Wagner’s as a megalomaniac antisemite. Yet surely no mainstream classical composer
is more often dismissed as simply “boring” than Austrian symphonist Anton Bruckner.

His symphonies are certainly massive, no matter what you make of the venerable quip
that Bruckner recomposed the same one nine times. Of course, one listener’s longueurs
are another’s immersive epic – and this devoutly Catholic, counterpoint-obsessed
musician also has his superfans. They were out in force for the Big Bruckner Weekend
marking the composer’s 200th anniversary at Gateshead’s Glasshouse International
Centre for Music – one coachload was rumoured to have come all the way from Dorset.
But the five concerts were clearly aimed at agnostics and newcomers as well:
broadcaster John Suchet did double-duty throughout as MC and hype-man.

The RNS Chorus perform in the Glasshouse on Saturday evening

The thing about back-to-back performances of Bruckner’s last three symphonies – plus
his “Great” Mass No 3 and his String Quintet – is that there’s no escaping the
challenges of his music, as well as its pleasures. I don’t just mean its marathon
duration. While these are all pieces from the XXL rail of the classical wardrobe, most of
us would sit for longer through films, plays, operas or sports matches. Unlike any of
those, though, Bruckner’s works don’t have in-built narratives to carry you along.

Like the joke about Bruckner’s beloved Wagner, alas, there were some beautiful
moments in the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra’s opening performance of
the Seventh Symphony but some long half-hours. It was clear when the musicians were
enjoying the broad sweep of Bruckner’s slow-burn melodies and the trumpets were
thrillingly incisive throughout, the tuba a dark shadow across the texture. (The less said
about the tuning of the Wagner tubas in this or most other performances this weekend,