Bruckner: Symphony No. 5 in B-flat major
Cleveland Orchestra DVD / Franz Welser-Möst, Conductor
EuroArts

This first DVD by The Cleveland Orchestra and Music Director Franz Welser- Möst should definitely not be the last. Inside the DVD case EuroArts lists other classical music DVDs available under the slogan ‘Listen with your eyes’. They got that right! This is a feast for eyes—and ears...

If you’ve ever wondered what it’s like to sit in the midst of a working orchestra (maybe not even one as splendid as this one) here’s your opportunity. I think that at some point during the music, every orchestra member is shown somewhat ‘up close and personal’. It’s marvelous to see these talented musicians expressing their emotions and passions as they perform. The attention devoted to the instrument, their music and their conductor is intense to put it mildly. They’re just totally involved!

The concerts from which this performance was taken were part of the European tour in September, 2006, when they played at the St. Florian Basilica in Linz, Austria. It is not coincidental that this was the home church of Anton Bruckner, the composer, as well as being his burial site. The edifice is not only visually gorgeous but acoustically, as well.

This symphony has been likened to the sound of a great pipe organ, which makes sense when one knows that Bruckner was first and foremost a church organist. Great organs have been in existence since long before the orchestra as we know it was conceived, but the sound they produce is not at all dissimilar.

Bruckner goes from one extreme to the other in volume – very, very hushed, to very, very loud; as well as in tempi -- from very slow to frantic – in a virtual heartbeat, and Mr. Welser- Möst commands his great orchestra exactly and accurately. It’s a marvel! But then, Linz is also Mr. Welser- Möst’s hometown, and this music is in his very soul.

The sound reproduction as well as the visuals are fabulous. You get the next best thing to a personal guided tour of the beautiful ecclesiastical artworks throughout the Basilica accompanied musically by the Cleveland Orchestra. What could possibly be better?

There is a bonus consisting of a chat with Mr. Welser-Möst about his love for the music of Bruckner. He also talks about the tradition of the Cleveland Orchestra’s European sound—more evenly-blended brass and strings than the other American orchestras. Although he speaks in German, there are subtitles in English, French and Spanish.

Anyone who loves great music should treasure this DVD, which also functions as a CD. There are informative liner notes in three languages, written by Werner Pfister. The booklet also includes several photos of the orchestra in action, plus a glorious sweeping full-color shot of the orchestra at work taken from an eagle’s nest high up in the balcony atop the narthex, overlooking the nave. (At least it looks like that was the vantage point!)

This is a fantastic production in every way, and should surely be the start of -- or welcome addition to -- anyone’s DVD collection!

From Cool Cleveland contributor Kelly Ferjutz artswriterATadelphia.net (:divend:)