This is the fourth Liverpool/Hindoyan release from Onyx. The previous three explored less recorded repertoire, but this new release enters an already overly crowded field (a quick search reveals about 150 readily available recordings). This is perhaps because 2024 is a major Bruckner anniversary, and (to my knowledge) this is the orchestra’s first ever Bruckner recording. Still, one must wonder what these performers can bring to such a competitive field.
First the positives: the playing is first rate in every way. Solo work throughout is sensitively dispatched, especially in the slow movement. String articulation and unanimity is superb even in the most exposed passages. The extended dynamic range is masterfully controlled and Hindoyan shapes the music well, showing his clear sense of each movement’s structure.
This recording, however, lacks the weighty and full-bodied sound typically associated with this piece. This characteristic is often found in recordings by orchestras from Amsterdam, Berlin, Leipzig, and Vienna, as well as several regional German ensembles. Compared to these, the performance here might feel overly straightforward, especially for listeners who appreciate the more meticulously crafted interpretations from conductors like Christian Thielemann (Vienna Philharmonic, Sony), Andris Nelsons (Gewandhaus Orchestra, DG), or Manfred Honeck (Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, Reference).
Related Classical Music Reviews
- Review: Bruckner – Symphony No. 4 – Dausgaard, Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra
- Review: Bruckner – Symphony No. 4 – LSO, Rattle
- Review: Bruckner – Symphony No. 4 – Vienna Philharmonic, Thielemann
I am sure that is purposeful. Hindoyan apparently wants us to hear this music as more folksy than religious, more country than city. Sample the infectious lilt of the first movement’s third theme (3’32”), as if one would whistle the tune walking through the countryside. Yet in this movement and throughout, the consistent leanness of the orchestral sound robs climaxes of presence and power. Bruckner builds his climaxes not just by an increase in volume but also through a continual layering of new colors at various octaves (as if he is adding stops and couplers at the organ). At almost every climax I waited for an overwhelming brass-capped peroration – but it never came. While part of this is due to Hindoyan, a diffuse recording only heightens the problem.
The first movement is beautiful, with everything in its right place and tempos relationships well managed. Yet it all feels too careful, as if the sole focus is dotting every I and crossing every T. The second movement’s lean sound and flowing tempo make the connection to Schubert clear, and listeners will find a more overt sense of nature. Yet I found little sense of spiritual journey. Manfred Honeck, in the liner notes for his recording, argues that in this symphony “Spirituality is to be found only in rare moments and remains not more than hints.” Hindoyan’s seems to see this work the same way. Yet with Honeck there is a sense of worship, even if it is of nature rather than God. With Hindoyan, those hints of spirituality remain just that – hints – ultimately leaving the performance feeling emotionally unfulfilled.
The Scherzo is, on one level, tremendously exciting – Hindoyan pushes the A section music hard, generating particularly thrilling playing. Yet, once again, the brass build-up at the end of the A sections lacks presence. And while the two trios are beautifully shaped, they do not lift us into a new, more mystical plain (these two trios were the strongest element of Rattle’s recent recording). Hindoyan’s structural mastery really comes to the fore in the Finale, which can often seem episodic. Here it has a sweeping vision that makes it the strongest part of this performance.
This is a reading that seeks to stress a different side of the composer, and it is certainly a valid viewpoint. Dausgaard’s recent recording in Bergen takes a similar view, but it is more consistently convincing, and the BIS Super Audio recording is far superior. Previous Liverpool/Hindoyan albums have impressed me, and I wonder if my reaction would have been different if they had chosen to record one of the earlier (less recorded) symphonies. Despite many fine things, this release does not match the overall excellence of Blomstedt in Leipzig (Accentus), Honeck in Pittsburgh or Dausgaard in Bergen (BIS).
Bruckner – Symphony No. 4, WAB 104 ‘Romantic’ (1878/80 Nowak 2nd edition)
Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra
Domingo Hindoyan – Conductor
Onyx, CD ONYX4244
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