Bruckner: Symphonies

On this CD:

1. Symphony No. 3 in D Minor (Wagner) (First Definitive Version; Schalk version; Final version), WAB 103
Composed by Anton Bruckner

Conducted by Hans Knappertsbusch

2. Symphony No. 4 in E flat (Romantic) (Original; Vienna; Karlsruhe; New York; Schalk & Löwe versions), WAB 104
Composed by Anton Bruckner
Performed by Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra
Conducted by Hans Knappertsbusch

3. Symphony No. 5 in B flat (Tragic; Church of Faith; Pizzicato) (Original version; Schalk version), WAB 105
Composed by Anton Bruckner

Conducted by Hans Knappertsbusch

4. Symphony No. 7 in E major (Lyric), WAB 107
Composed by Anton Bruckner

Conducted by Hans Knappertsbusch

5. Symphony No. 8 in C Minor (Apocalyptic; The German Michel) (First Definitive version; Schalk version), WAB 108
Composed by Anton Bruckner

Conducted by Hans Knappertsbusch

6. Symphony No. 9 in D Minor (Unfinished) (Löwe version; Carragan version), WAB 109
Composed by Anton Bruckner
Performed by Munich Bavarian State Orchestra
Conducted by Hans Knappertsbusch

Tracks:

Sym No.1 in c: I. Allegro
Sym No.1 in c: II. Adagio
Sym No.1 in c: III. Scherzo: Schnell
Sym No.1 in c: IV. Finale: Bewegt, Feurig

Tracks:

Sym No.2 in c: I. Moderato
Sym No.2 in c: II. Andante
Sym No.2 in c: III. Scherzo: Massig Schnell
Sym No.2 in c: IV. Finale: Mehr Schnell

Tracks:

Sym No.3 in d: I. Mehr Langsam, Misterioso
Sym No.3 in d: II. Adagio (Bewegt) Quasi Andante
Sym No.3 in d: III. Ziemlich Bewegt
Sym No.3 in d: IV. Allegro

Tracks:

Sym No.4 in E flat 'Romantic': I. Bewegt, Nicht Zu Schnell
Sym No.4 in E flat 'Romantic': II. Andante Quasi Allegretto
Sym No.4 in E flat 'Romantic': III. Scherzo: Bewegt - Trio: Nicht Zu Schnell
Sym No.4 in E flat 'Romantic': IV. Finale: Bewegt, Doch Nicht Zu Schnell

Tracks:

Sym No.5 in B flat: I. Intro: Adagio - Allegro
Sym No.5 in B flat: II. Adagio - Sehr Langsam
Sym No.5 in B flat: III. Scherzo: Molto Vivace - Schnell
Sym No.5 in B flat: IV. Finale: Allegro Moderato

Tracks:

Sym No.6 in A: I. Maestoso
Sym No.6 in A: II. Adagio: Sehr Feierlich
Sym No.6 in A: III. Scherzo: Nicht Schnell - Trio: Langsam
Sym No.6 in A: IV. Finale: Bewegt, Doch Nicht Zu Schnell

Tracks:

Sym No.7 in E: I. Allegro Moderato
Sym No.7 in E: II. Adagio: Sehr Feierlich Und Sehr Langsam
Sym No.7 in E: III. Scherzo: Sehr Schnell - Trio: Etwas Langsamer
Sym No.7 in E: IV. Finale: Bewegt, Doch Nicht Zu Schnell

Tracks:

Sym No.8 in c: I. Allegro Moderato
Sym No.8 in c: II. Scherzo: Allegro Moderato
Sym No.8 in c: III. Adagio: Fierelich Langsam, Doch Nicht Schleppend
Sym No.8 in c: IV. Finale: Feierlich, Nicht Schnell

Tracks:

Sym No.9 in d: I. Feierlich, Misterioso
Sym No.9 in d: II. Scherzo: Bewegt, Lebhaft - Trio: Schnell
Sym No.9 in d: III. Adagio - Langsam, Feierlich

Amazon.com

Here's a welcome box of all Bruckner's numbered symphonies led by a distinguished specialist renowned during his lifetime for his identification with the composer. Neatly laid out with each symphony on a disc of its own (no annoying midsymphony changeovers) and in top-quality late-1970s sound, this is an irresistible bargain for such superb performances. Jochum's Bruckner was spontaneous-sounding, with generally swift tempos tempered by flexible rhythms and slow movements that squeeze all the juice from this heartfelt music. The Dresden orchestra is a marvelous instrument for these works, with a beefy, warm sound and brass players that can whip up the excitement in the grand climaxes. Individual conductors, whether vintage greats like Furtwängler or more recent Brucknerians such as Wand on RCA and Tintner on Naxos, may equal or better Jochum in individual works, but taken as a complete traversal of these massive scores, Jochum's is second to none. --Dan Davis

Customer Reviews:

One of two Jochum sets of Bruckner.......2007-04-22

The other complete set of Eugen Jochum conducting Bruckner's symphonies, of course, is the series he recorded for DG in stereo between 1958 and 1967 with the Bavarian RSO or (in Symphonies 1, 4, and 7-9) the Berlin Philharmonic, following a number of recordings of individual symphonies he made in the pre-LP days. Although Jochum's basic conceptions remained consistent over the years, that earlier set finds Jochum more consistently alert and a shade more vibrant than in this valedictory go-round with the canonical Bruckner symphonies, taped in the late 1970s. By comparison, the overall impression here is of slightly lower voltage, although the flip side is that this cycle is also just that much more serene, and aptly so (Bruckner's music has been described as "blazing calm").

Even so, this boxed set has a lot to recommend it, whether or not in preference to the DG cycle. There is the burnished and responsive delivery of the great Dresden orchestra, perhaps the oldest in Europe. There is EMI's warm and atmospheric sound, which in this remastering is considerably better focused and more detailed than in the first CD incarnation of this cycle. This cycle's Seventh and Ninth Symphonies arguably make a deeper impression than their counterparts in the DG series--even if the DG cycle compensates with more successful readings of the Fourth and Eighth. Above all, there is Jochum's lifelong identification with Bruckner's music (but NOT, as another reviewer suggested, due to a personal relationship between the conductor and the composer, who had died six years before Jochum was born!). Personal preference will dictate whether you go for the DG or EMI cycle; either way, you will hear Bruckner via one of the last exponents of a more flexible, less "monumental" (and also less stolid) approach to this composer's music.

Bruckner by Jochum.......2005-10-03

These CDs contain performances of the nine Bruckner symphonies.
Of these 3,4,7,8,9 are remarkable, with 4, 8 and 9 being
masterpieces. The performances by Eugen Jocum and the Dresden
Staatskapelle orchsetra are well-designed, and played at tempi
that seem to represent the composer's intentions. The recording
quality is good, except for dynamics: the sound volume is
on the low side. One needs a high grade system for adequate
reproduction, especially given the wide dynamic range and
timbral subtlety characteristic of Bruckner.

The Best Complete Bruckner Symphonies.......2005-09-25

The reason that this is the best complete symphony recordings of Bruckner is that conductor Eugene Jochum had a close relationship with Bruckner himself and knew the music like the palm of his hand. despite any negative commentary or the fact the preferred editions are conducted by the eminent Herbert Von Karajan, this box set is by far the best. All the symphonie sound great, polished, romantic, idealized, spiritual, energetic, passionate and mysterious, especially the opening movement of the final 9th, which comes in both versions here. This is a true winner for a recording box set. Your other choice should be Karajan though. But Jochum masters the music with great affinity and brilliant technical musicianship. In this recording, particularly impressive are the 7-9th. The early symphonies are German-Romantic Wagner/Mahler style but entirely Bruckner's individualized style. It is music that is heavy, and not music for a beginner to hear. It is deep, highly emotional, music to meditate by. It's slow-moving, dream-like and powerful, horns and brasses sounding fatalistic at times, while the winds and strings evoking either intensity or quietness. Bruckner himself would love this set. He certainly approved of Jochum conducting.

A good, but not great, Bruckner cycle........2005-02-18

Ideally, I wanted to review the DG Jochum cycle, since I actually prefer that one, but it's NLA as of this posting, so I'll just make some comments about both cycles here.

Eugen Jochum may have been the greatest advocate of Bruckner, of the 20th Century. However, I have lived with this cycle, and especially the DG one, for many years now, and I have come to view his Bruckner interpretations as somewhat overrated, even in comparison with his "old school Bruckner" colleagues. Perhaps my opinion is a little skewed by overexposure, but I have other recordings I turn to more frequently that have not started to "wear" on me as much as some of Jochums. For one example, I am not, by any means, a "Karajan freak" (I have also come to view his last VPO Eighth, over which most people seem to be "ga ga," a bit overrated, as well) but I find his full DG cycle from the 70's and early 80's, for one, to be more consistently satisfying, with the exception of the first, fourth, and sixth, in all of which Jochum is clearly better, imo. I must say I do get tired of the cliches' about Karajan's performances being too "cool, polished, and sterile," and Haitink's being too "light," etc. These preconceptions, often based on preconcieved opinions about the conductors themselves, precludes people from really having to seriously consider their recordings, just as the opposite preconception that Jochum is THE Brucknerian of the century tends to make his recorded preformances somehow beyond reproach.

Based on Jochum's reputation, I eagerly awaited the DG cycle, back at a time in the late 80's when I was first getting into Bruckner when there were relatively few Bruckner recordings in print. Even on first listening, there were certain things about his interpretations that didn't sound right to me. Admittedly, at that time, I knew virtually nothing of the "old school," with its more flexible tempi, dynamics, and more dramatic approach, to Bruckner. Since then, I have become very well acquainted with recordings of the "old school" Bruckner conductors such as Schuricht (his 1943 Ninth is one of my ten favorites), Furtwangler (his 1944 Ninth might BE my favorite), Hausegger, Kabasta, Abendroth, Matacic; Walter and Horenstein's mono recordings, etc. etc...and I still don't find many of Jochum's interpretations to compare all that favorably.

One thing you can say with some degree of confidence about Jochum is that most of his interpretations are amazingly consistent over a half century of recordings. Compare his recordings of the Fourth and Seventh from the late 1930's to those from his later DG and EMI cycles, and they are remarkably similar, both in terms of timings, tempos, and phrasing. Two examples of "Jochumisms" that have come to grate on me a bit over time are: 1) As much as I love most of his Fourth, esp. the finale, which I think he "nails" better than any other conductor, I feel that he turns the andante quasi allegretto into an adagio (in general, I can never understand why many conductors insist upon turning this flowing movement into a dirge); 2) The slow tempo he chooses for the lovely "enchanted forest" motif (as I call it) that flows out of the beautiful intro of the Seventh, which ultimately steers the whole first movement toward a slow and stodgy tempo. Jochum's Seventh almost sounds like it starts out with two adagios. His first movement isn't excessively slow in terms of it's total timing (and I've noticed that many listeners pay too much attention to timings anyway), but in terms of it's lack of flexibility and flow: there are readings of this movement a minute of two longer (like Chailly, for example, although I think his Seventh is a bit overrated) that still have a better sense of ebb and flow to them. Some examples of sevenths I prefer to Jochum's are Sinopoli's; Karajan 70's DG; Inbal's; Wand's 70's Cologne recording; Furtwangler's 1951 BPO (Rome); Abendroth's 1956 recording; and Haitink's 70's recording.

Jochum's Fifth was one of the biggest disappointments of my Bruckner collection, esp. after all of the things I had heard about it's legendary status. Although I think his inner movements are just fine (except the slow movement of his 1938 Fifth, which I found a little too slow), I think he is too slow--and even more importantly not flexible enough--in the all important outer movements. But the "Jochumism" that grates on me the most, in ALL of his recordings, is his excessive stretching out of the coda of the finale, made even less convincing by the lack of a strong underpinning of timpani. Karajan (whose DG Fifth was my first, and is still my favorite, followed by Horenstein, Welser-Most, and Gielen) augmented this thrilling coda--Bruckner's best, even better than the Eighth's, if it's done properly--with an extra set of timpani, and very effectively. If any of you are rolling your eyes (esp. you "Karajan-bashers") at Karajan's use of extra timpani, remember that Jocum augmented the brass section for the famous chorale of the Fifth's finale...this is part of what the vanishing art of interpretation is all about. On the subject of timpani, one of the characteristics of the Bruckner "old school" was the ideal that the Bruckner orchestra started from the ground (bass) up, and needed a strong underpinning of timpani (too often missing in recent recordings), esp. in climactic moments: Furtwangler's recordings provided the best example of this; most of Jochum's recordings are surprisingly lacking in powerful timpani, and this is particularly exposed in his somewhat melodramatic lengthening of the Fifth's final coda.

In general, I find Jochum's Eighth and Ninth to be a bit terse, except for his readings of the third movement of the Ninth, which was consistently one of his best movements, esp. his Dresden recording. If his readings of 1-7--except, again, his 1,4, and 6, which I find generally excellent--tended to lack flexibility on the slow side, the outer movements of his Eighth and the first movement of his Ninths tended to lack flexibility on the fast side. One very notable exception, however, is his 1949 Hamburg Eighth, which is my very favorite Jochum recording, and perhaps one of my ten favorite Eighths overall. He gets everything right here, with a good amount of flexibility...which makes it even more puzzling to me that the outer movements of his later recordings of the Eighth were so terse by comparison.

As far as the merits of the DG cycle versus the EMI, again, there is very little to choose as far as interpretations: they are remarkably similar. The only difference that really jumped out at me was that the first movement of the Dresden Ninth was not only a little too terse, but strangely "herky jerky" in terms of some awkward tempo relations, which create more distraction than tension. Although I feel that the adagio of the Dresden Ninth is Jochum's most searching account of this movement, I still like the Ninth from the DG set a bit better.

In terms of recorded sound, again I'd have to give the nod to the DG cycle. The older DG recordings sound more natural to me, whereas the late analog EMI recordings are a bit too brightly lit, almost sounding like early digital in places. The seemingly endless permutations of packaging, repackaging, and recoupling of both of these cycles, and the individual recordings from them, has become a bit absurd, but at least it has made it very easy to pick up most of these recordings in used CD bins.

Outstanding set!.......2004-08-07

To win conducting Bruckner demands from a director several issues . You must have a first order orchestra ; second your rapport with the orchestra ; third Bruckner symphonies are a real challenge they are real difficult works because you have to maintain the sound all along the work ; fourth: the different mood changes and the running time of every symphony demands a serious analysis and commitment with the inspired and rapture melodic lines inmersed ; fifth : to underline and emphasize the sforzandos , the dramatic accents are almost an epic achievement ; sixth : since the undeniable influenc of Wagner in Bruckner you have to keep the balance and obviously to have studied Wagner in every work and consider the fact if Wagner would have lived twenty years more Would it sound in the brucknerian mood? and if all the previous factors were not enough , you have to consider the giant directors in Bruckner : Wilhelm Furtwangler , Hans Knappersbutch , Jasha Horenstein ,Carl Suricht , Horst Stein and obviously Eugene Jochum and the most remarkable Bruckner conductor in the actual times : Daniel Barenboim .
Jochum was a noble man and he had another important point to his favour : the orchestra : placed in the East Germany kept his sound due the isolation in the thirties forties and fifties . I underline this because the character and presence of similar orchestras as the Gewandhaus of Leipzig let obtain a pure sound ; and not a traditional vision .
This set is relevant in your collection because the standard level of every work is very high and often inspired . So it is easier for you to make a musical journey all the way.
I really recommend to you .

Average customer rating:

Musically unsurpassed, but sonically not so great
One of the two great Bruckner symphony sets
If you want all of your Bruckner in one box, this is the one
Overall, a great set of Bruckner performances
superlative

Bruckner: Symphonies 1-9

Manufacturer: Deutsche Grammophon
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B00000E4HD
Release Date: 1990-03-15

Tracks:

Allegro
Adagio
Scherzo. Schnell
Finale. Bewegt, Feurig
Symphonie No. 5 Introduction. Adagio - Allegro
Adagio. Sehr Langsam
Scherzo. Molto Vivace (Schnell)
Finale. Adagio
Mehr Langsam, Misterioso
Adagio, Bewegt, Quasi Andante
Ziemlich Schnell
Allegro
Moderato
Andante
Scherzo. Maessig Schnell
Finale. Merh Schnell
Symphony No. 8, Allegro Moderato
Scherzo. Allegro Moderato - Trio. Langsam
Adagio. Feierlich Langsam, Doch Nicht Schleppend
Finale. Feierlich, Nicht Schnell
Bewegt, Nicht Zu Schnell
Andante Quasi Allegretto
Scherzo. Bewegt - Trio. Nicht Zu Schnell. Keinesfalls Schleppe Nd - Scherzo
Finale. Bewegt, Doch Nicht Zu Schnell
Majestoso
Adagio. Sehr Feierlich
Scherzo. Nicht Schnell -- Trio. Langsam
Finale. Bewegt, Doch Nicht Zu Schnell
Allegro Moderato
Adagio. Sehr Feierlich Und Sehr Langsam
Scherzo. Sehr Schnell
Finale. Bewegt, Doch Nicht Schnell
Feierlich, Misterioso
Scherzo. Bewegt, Lebhaft
Adagio. Langsam, Feierlich

Customer Reviews:

Musically unsurpassed, but sonically not so great.......2005-10-10

Like any die-hard devotee of Bruckner, I could object to the reviewers here who lower Karajan to the status of such workmanlike musicians as Jochum, Wand, and Scrowaczewski. Taste is taste. But there's no denying that Karajan was a master of Bruckner's idiom, perhaps the greatest we have on disc along with Furtwangler, Klempereer, and Giulini. As for living conductors, only Harnoncourt impreses me as being potentially of this rank.

In this colleciton we get great performances of every symphony but #6, which for some reason Karajan found uncongenial. The symphonies he recorded repeatedly are Sym. 7, 8, and 9, so arguably there are greater performances of those than the ones which appear in this box. I have three of each, and find new insights in all of them.

What I really wish is that DG would remaster this set. The sound tends to be steely and congested in loud passages, of which there are many, and the microphones come close to overloading in double and tripple forte climaxes. That's typical of early digital remastering. Altogether, except for the sonic blemishes, I can't imagine anyone not finding this set the best cycle of Bruckner symphonies ever recorded.

One of the two great Bruckner symphony sets.......2005-09-12

Karajan and Skrowaczewski are the only two great Bruckner conductors who've recorded all of the symphonies 1-9, and Skrowaczewski also did numbers 0 and 00, both of which are also great symphonies (0 being, in my opinion, up to the level of numbers 1-6--numbers 8 and 9 were even better, the greatest symphonies ever written).

In addition, Sawallisch was just as great a Bruckner conductor as Karajan and Skrowaczewski, but never recorded #'s 2,3, 7 and 8. Bernhard Guller's and Bernhard Klee's Bruckner 9th's are probably the two greatest performances of that work on records, but neither conductor has recorded any other Bruckner.

Specifically as regards the present set, the performances of numbers 1, 2 and 3 are definitive--the greatest ever recorded. However, Bruckner's 1890 version of the 1st is better than the earlier version which Karajan uses here, and I strongly recommend the F. Charles Adler performance of it, which, even though not definitive, is the best yet recorded.

All of Karajan's Bruckner 4ths are good, but none is great--the great ones are Sawallisch, Skrowaczeski and Matacic. Some critics dislike the version that Matacic used, but nonetheless that recording is the greatest of all for any listener who thinks the 4th should be played with ferocious intensity. The opening of the 4th movement in the Matacic sounds like an earthquake--no one else does it that way. The Sawallisch is probably the best all-around for most tastes, nearly as radiant as the Matacic, and yet done in a traditional manner. The Skrowaczewski is the most laid-back of the great Bruckner 4th's--especially the recording he did with the Saarbrucken orchestra, which is in the complete set. (The recording he did with the Halle is a little less laid-back.)

Karajan did a great Bruckner 5th with the Vienna Symphony in 1954, but the performance in the present set is inadequate in the final movement: instead of sounding monumental, it comes across as constricted, especially at the very end, where he races the notes. The other great recording of this symphony, and probably the greatest one done of it, is the one by Sawallisch, which is close to definitive.

The Bruckner 6th still awaits a definitive recorded performance, but this one is probably the best ever recorded. The only movement that's done less than definitively is the symphony's greatest, the first movement.

The 7th is the weakest performance in the set, though good, and none of Karajan's other recordings of it is better. The great one is in the Skrowaczewski set.

This Bruckner 8th is Karajan's most explosive, but his greatest one was its immediate predecessor, the one he did with the same orchestra, the Berlin Phil., on EMI/Angel in 1958--calmer, more selfless, a mystical trance throughout, and perhaps the greatest Bruckner performance ever captured on records. Karajan's worst of this symphony was his last, with the Vienna Phil., recorded near the end of 1988--the performance most widely available. It's the only nervous performance he ever did of this sublimely calm work, and it's by far the least trance-like. The only Bruckner 8th that competes for greatness with Karajan's 1958 recording is Skrowaczewski's, which is very similar to it, but craggier.

The performance here of the 9th is disappointing; it's only good. The great ones are Sawallisch and Skrowaczewski on the fast side, and Guller and Klee on the slow side.

The most over-rated Bruckner conductors are Furtwangler, who brutalizes the music, and so is especially bad in the mystical 8th and 9th, and Celibidache, who plays the music as melodrama and not as drama. Furtwangler's formula for conducting Bruckner was simple: the louder the music got, the faster he played it. Bruckner would have had a heart attack to hear his music butchered so. But most conductors are no better. The ones I've mentioned are the rare exceptions.

Close behind in the overrated category was Giulini, who seems to have been out of touch with the mystical aspect of the music, and was on the flaccid side instead of the necessary calm--the difference is subtle but crucial.

Even some of the greatest conductors were not great on Bruckner. Bohm, Klemperer, and Konwitschny, each of whom was superb in some other works, never got into the spirit of his music.

If you want all of your Bruckner in one box, this is the one.......2005-03-23

I normally only add a review if I feel I have something to add to the existing reviews. The other reviewers have pretty well covered it here, but I just wanted to add that, for those who don't want to get into Bruckner collecting mania that "afflicts" some of us, this is the boxed set of Bruckner symphonies to get if you want to have just one. Now, if you find yourself really loving these symphonies, there are individual performances by other conductors that you might want to supplement with, but you can't go wrong with this set as a whole.

When I "clicked on" this set, I was kind of surprised that no "Karajan-bashers" had weighed in on this set. Personally, I feel that Karajan was unquestionably one of the greatest Bruckner conductors of the latter half of the 20th century. However I am of the opinion that there was a noticeable decline in the quality of his recorded performances (as a whole, not just his Bruckner) during the late 1970's. Most of the "too polished, too refined, lacking in 'fire'/passion" commentary is more pertinent to most of the last decade of his life, which happened to roughly coincide with the advent of digital recording technology. In the 1980's, the aging HvK became increasingly focused on sound quality, and many of his later recorded performances suffered from this. Some bugs in the new medium (digital), combined with Karajan's "ear" perhaps not being what it used to be, did indeed make most of his late recordings (esp. the studio ones) sound "too cold and refined." His last Johann Strauss recordings, and his last Beethoven symphonies cycle, are good examples of this. Posthumous remastering of many of these late digital recordings--i.e. the "Karajan Gold" series--has improved some of them.

Fortunately, for Bruckner fans, most of these Bruckner recordings were made prior to the aforementioned "decline," and thankfully, the ones that were made in the "digital era"-- symphonies 1-3--were some of the better recorded performances of his last period.

I don't usually review this way, but doing a breakdown of the individual symphonies in order might be the easiest way to do this...

1) This was the last symphony to be recorded in the series. Karajan's first does have some "early digital glare," and there isn't a lot of space around the orchestral sound, but it is still a good performance, not lacking in fire in the scherzo and outer movements. The brightness and closeness of the recording might actually add some intensity to it. Some recordings that I would put ahead of this one are Jochum's DG, Sawallisch, and Barenboim's CSO recording, but Karajan's is a good one to have if you want them all in one box. Chailly made an excellent recording of the, often unfairly maligned, "Vienna Version" of 1891 of the First that is worth hearing (the more familiar "Linz Version" of 1866 is the one that Karajan, and most other conductors, have rightfully used).

2) The second to last to be recorded in the series, and a really good Second, despite the "early digital" sound. This would easily fall into my top five Bruckner seconds. Karajan was generally a "Haas man," as am I (I'm not going to go down that winding road of the "versions" of Bruckner symphonies here, but his Haas allegiance is one of the things that gives the "Karajan-bashers" one more thing not to like about his Bruckner), but the version he uses here is a "hybrid:" i.e. the codas of the first and last movements have "two waves," the first of which were excised in the later version of the score. Karajan's version removes the first wave of the coda from the first movement, but leaves in the first wave of the finale's coda. This is the kind of editing that might make some Bruckner buffs say, "Hey, wait a minute!"--but Karajan manages it very convincingly, pacing his first movement coda, accordingly, so that it brings to mind the coda of the first movement of Beethoven's Ninth. As a side note, personally, I admire conductors who pick and choose from the versions of the Bruckner symphonies rather than rigidly adhering to either Haas or Nowak.

The sound here is less close and bright than the recording of the First Symphony, and the adagio (which is actually my favorite adagio of the first five numbered symphonies) is beautiful, with some glorious horn sound. My favorite Second is one by Hans Zender with The SWDRSO Baden Baden on the Amati label, which is unfortunately out-of-print and hard to find. The one in the Haitink Concertgebouw box is my next favorite. Barenboim's CSO recording (unfortunately, also only available in a box) is also very good, as is Wand's Cologne recording. I find most other recordings of this work too slow.

3) The third to last to be recorded in this set, this Third has my very favorite reading of the first movement, well-paced; and with blazing brass sound, esp. in the majestic climax. Unfortunately, Karajan chooses the 1889 version of the Third with its big cuts in the finale, but for better or worse this version was the choice of most conductors of his generation and before (incl. Jochum). Not only was this the first digital recording in this set, but having been made in late 1980, it was among the first generation of digital recordings. The sound is not w/o it's "early digital" glare and closeness, but it is not as uncomfortable to listen to as some early digital recordings, and as in the First Symphony, the brightness somehow seems to add to the intensity of the performance. For a recording of an earlier version, w/o the chopped-up finale, Sinopoli on DG is my favorite...although I must admit that I prefer the first movement of the 1889 version, mainly because it has a better climax, imo.

4) The Fourth and Seventh were recorded in 1975, and were the second and third recordings to be made in this series. Imo, this Fourth would be just about perfect if HvK had chosen the Nowak edition, which brings back the symphony's opening horn call in the coda of the finale. The pacing of all of the movements is excellent and the analog sound has plenty of atmosphere. As I mentioned above, I am generally a "Haas man" but the Fourth is the one symphony in which I think Nowak scores over Haas by bringing back that all-important horn call. Imo w/o the horn call in the coda of the finale, this is one of the symphonies in which Bruckner's first movement coda outshines the coda to his finale. Other conductors whose otherwise great recordings are marred by the missing horn call, imo, are Wand and Walter; while Jochum, whose Fourth might be my overall favorite despite his dirge-like slow movement, and Bohm are examples of conductors who brought back the "Nowak horn call" (as I call it) in the finale. Btw, this recording of the Fourth is much better than the one Karajan made for EMI/Angel, imo.

5) The Fifth was, appropriately enough, the fifth recording in this series, late in 1976. This was the first Fifth I ever heard, and it is still my favorite. I picked up a somewhat scratchy two-LP set of it in a used record store, and I still remember how excited I was the day that it was issued on CD (coupled with the First). There are versions with more flexible tempi, but none that are more majestic, and Karajan scores by using two sets of timpani in the codas of the first movement and finale, making the latter in particular, an even more thrilling conclusion than usual. You can easliy hear the second set of timpani, but a friend of mine who saw Karajan conduct a thrilling account of the Fifth live in Vienna confirmed that this was a trademark of his Bruckner Fifth. As with the Fourth, the sound has a nice sense of space which gives plenty of room for the majestic brass passages, incl. the all-important chorale of the finale, to resonate. Karajan-bashers, and purists, before you get your aquiline noses out of joint about the extra set of timpani, remember that Jocum augmented the chorale of the finale with extra brass (which may have been sanctioned by one of Bruckner's well-meaning "editors," such as the Schalks and Lowe, but was not officially sanctioned by the composer): such alterations are part of the vanishing art of interpretation.

6) This was the sixth recording to be made in the series, the last one of the '70's, and the last analog one. As others have commented, this is indeed the "acchiles heel" of this set. It is not a bad performance, but it does sound a bit cool and indifferent compared to the great recordings of this piece. However, if you only want one "in a box" you needn't feel bad about having this one. Jochum's DG Sixth is still probably my favorite, along with Haitink's, and Barenboim's CSO (DG) recording. Some people think the Sawallisch is the one to have, but I think his first movement is just too fast. The majority of Bruckner fans seem to like the Klemperer, but I think his first movement and scherzo are too slow, and his slow movement is too fast (of performances with a similar profile, I prefer the Keilberth BPO recording on Teldec, but it is out of print, and has become a bit of a rarity; although it occasionally turns up in a used CD bin).

7) This is a really good Seventh, recorded in 1975 within a month of the Fourth. The sound is a little more dry than the Fourth or Fifth, but still has a good sense of atmosphere. Karajan's pacing is very satisfying in all movements. Imo, this is his best recording of the Seventh, even better than his last (live) recording with the VPO, which is marred by sound that is too bright and harsh.

8) The Bruckner Eighth was one of Karajan's specialties, so it is perhaps not surprising that it was recorded first in this series, in early 1975. Even among people who greatly admire Karajan's Bruckner Eighths, I am probably in the minority when I say that this--and not his acclaimed final VPO Eighth--is my favorite of his recordings of this "Everest among symphonies," as it has rightly been called. The recording has plenty of presence and ambience, and the Berlin brass sounds great. Karajan's tempi have never had much of the flexibility that you will hear from great "old school" Bruckner conductors such as Furtwangler and Schuricht, but he never lets his tempos drag, like many of the latterday Bruckner conductors do. His reading combines granite-like grandeur with spirituality. I have more than 40 recordings of the Eighth (and have heard many more), and this one easily falls into my top ten.

9) This Ninth was recorded fourth in the series, in late 1975. The Ninth is my favorite symphony, by ANY composer, and I have, let's just say, "too many" recordings of it. Karajan's Ninth is more "tough," unflinching, and perhaps you could say "hard-nosed," than spiritual; an impression that is solidified by a recording that is not ideally atmospheric or transparent. I prefer performances that emphasize the mysterious, spiritual, ethereal, other-worldly aspects of this piece a bit more, but Karajan's granitic reading is still a very good one, and is satisfying on its own terms. HvK also recorded a Ninth for DG in the early 1960's; and there's a live VPO version from '76 that appeared in the VPO anniversary series, several years ago; but I don't think those performances are better than this one.

Since the Ninth is "my baby," I'll conclude with my five favorite Ninths: Furtwangler's 10/7/44 BPO; Haitink's 1980's CO recording; Barenboim/BPO (Teldec); Giulini/VPO (DG)...Wand's 1994 NDRSO Hamburg (not his '98 BPO) recording (BMG), and Skrowaczewski's Minnesota (not the Saarbrucken one) recording (Reference) vie for the Fifth spot. If you get into Bruckner enough that you want to supplement this set with individual recordings, you should know that the Furtwangler, classic though it is, will probably not be your first choice because the sound quality of the wartime recording made for German radio is not ideal. If I had to choose just one first choice for someone just getting into Bruckner, it would probably be the Haitink (the digital one, not the analog one from his boxed set). Unfortunately (and mindlessly--c'mon Philips and Teldec!), the Haitink and Barenboim are currently out of print, but not that hard to find in used CD bins. If you live in the L.A. area, I recently saw two copies of the Haitink in a used bin at the Amoeba in Hollywood.

Overall, a great set of Bruckner performances.......2004-12-19

There may never be a set of Bruckner performances that are consistently good across the board, but Herbert von Karajan's set of the nine is the closest to consistent satisfaction that I've heard.

Karajan's Bruckner style stands in stark contrast to Eugen Jochum's: while the latter is flexible tempo-wise and spontaneous-sounding, Karajan focuses more on maintaining steady tempos and preserving a sense of the symphonic whole. Jochum's more obviously Romantic approach to Bruckner works more often than it fails---his 1958 DG Fifth is a personal favorite among recordings of the Fifth---but, while it does bring a human warmth to some of the music, it could be argued that his sometimes excessive tempo fluctuations lose the sense of symphonic wholeness that Karajan is able to bring to them. And, while there are those who (sometimes rightfully) admonish Karajan for his obssessive attention to beauty of sound, his DG Bruckner performances certainly do not lack in moments of power and emotion. The performance of Bruckner's beautiful Seventh Symphony that is a part of this set is remarkable in this regard.

So, some thoughts on the individual performances:

No. 1: An energetic, intense performance of a relatively early work (he was about 40 when he wrote it). Perhaps could use a little more lightness of touch (the Finale does sound rather overweight); but an imposing performance nevertheless, with a lyrical slow movement.

No. 2: Another good performance of a highly underrated symphonic work. Karajan treats the second movement Andante as an Adagio, and makes it sound rather self-indulgent and draggy in spots; but the rest is right-on, both lyrical and anguished by turns. The finale, especially, is fiery and dramatic even at a fairly steady tempo. (Pity about the dropped Scherzo repeats, though.)

No. 3: The 1889 revision of Bruckner's troubled Third Symphony is not the best of the three existing versions of the work (Bruckner's original 1873 score is probably the best overall, with the 1877 version a serviceable compromise between the wild original and the 1889 bludgeoning), but Karajan and the Berlin Philharmonic make the best of it. In fact, they do more than that. This is an electrifying performance from start to finish, played with power by the BPO (especially those glorious trumpets). Blazing stuff!

No. 4: On its own, this 1976 DG remake is basically fine---I like its driven, dramatic thrust, appropriate to one of Bruckner's "lighter" symphonic works. But Karajan's broader 1970 EMI recording with the same orchestra is much more memorable, and in slightly better sound too.

No. 5: 3/4s of a great performance. The Adagio is quite moving at a very slow tempo; the Finale culminates in a concluding chorale that is as awesome-sounding as any great performance should be. I have misgivings about Karajan's reading of the first movement, though; as magnificently as the BPO plays it, it still seems a bit too slow and monolithic for its own good (it's virtually at one very moderate tempo, which is not what Bruckner indicates in the score). A notable performance, nonetheless, with great orchestral playing throughout.

No. 6: The one misfire of the set. Karajan still shows a structural grip on the symphony, but the BPO playing simply sounds uninvolved in parts. The slow movement is a particular disappointment; the playing is so bland that it sounds merely slow-moving rather than transcendant. Not the worst performance of this underrated symphony, but hardly the best.

No. 7: A beautiful performance, with a particularly sublime slow movement. His 1989 recording with the Vienna Philharmonic has better recorded sound, though.

No. 8: This was Karajan's favorite symphony among the nine, and his 1988 recording of this work with the Vienna Philharmonic remains one of the best. The 1976 DG recording that is part of this set is no slouch either: it's quicker overall (which I rather prefer), and it has great authority. (That said, the VPO's orchestral playing---especially the brass playing---outclasses the BPO in spots.)

No. 9: The cycle culminates in a worthy performance of what could have Bruckner's greatest symphony, had he not died before finishing the Finale. Carlo Maria Giulini's grand 1988 Vienna Philharmonic recording will always be a personal favorite among Ninths, but Karajan's less extreme interpretation is almost as powerful. The Adagio here may not be as "final" as other interpretations make it, but it is touching nevertheless.

In the end, I would not recommend just getting one set of Bruckner symphonies, since Bruckner's Nine covers such a wide range of musical environments that inevitably some conductors will respond to some symphonies better than others. Still, all in all, this Karajan set will satisfy if you are looking to buy all the Bruckner symphonies in one purchase. As a whole cycle, this is one of the most consistently terrific sets around, and will serve as a fine introduction to the musical world of Anton Bruckner, one of the most touching figures in music history. Recommended.

superlative.......2004-11-21

I can't add any further to the reviews already mentioned except to say these are some of the most enjoyable musical experiences I have ever had!

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The Glorious Reissue Game

Bruckner: Symphonies [Complete]
Eugen Jochum , Stanislaw Skrowaczewski , Anton Bruckner , and Dresden Staatskapelle
Manufacturer: Brilliant Classics
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music

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Mahler: The Complete Symphonies (Box Set)
Gustav Mahler: Symphonies 1-10 / Das Lied von der Erde - Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra / Eliahu Inbal
Mahler: Symphonies 1-10; Das Lied von der Erde
Dvorák: The Masterworks [Box Set]
Complete Symphonies (Box)

ASIN: B000BLI3LQ
Release Date: 2005-10-25

Customer Reviews:

The Glorious Reissue Game.......2005-11-21

As the previous review stated correctly, this is indeed the EMI set of Jochum (his second, with the Dresden Staatskapelle) - and for good meassure BRILLIANT threw in the "Nullte" (0) with Skrowaczewski. That being established, it gets a hearty recommendation because you get an additional (and very well performed) Bruckner symphony for less money. Jochum's Bruckner is nothing if not very good and reliable... ever consistent (there is little give or take between this and the earlier Munich/Berlin cycle on DG) and respectful to Bruckner. Jochum's is the safest of recommendations in complete Bruckner sets - and that's not damning with faint praise, either. I may prefer Guenter Wand or Celibidache (an extroverted choice if you haven't already come well acquainted with Bruckner) but I never mind returning to Jochum.

The EMI set can easily be had for less than $81 dollars, taking the edge of this set's price advantage... then again, you should soon enough see this set for far less than $62, too. We can only assume that these recordings have been licensed from EMI (why would EMI do that, when their set is still on the market?) - if not, grab it now before they win another lawsuite (as in the case they settled with Naxos, causing Naxos to withdraw all their recordings based on 50+ year old EMI/Polygram recordings)

Don't be afraid of this set's low price - it's not "so cheap, it can't be good". This is - as often (if not always) with Brilliant - some of the finest that there is to offer and no one would regret the purchase. Those who have thought about getting the EMI cycle on top of the DG cycle have now 21 more arguments to do so, too.

Orchestral Excerpts for Bass Trombone, Tenore Tuba, Bass Trumpet

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Good, but not the best methods for bass trombonists
Mulcahy Rocks, Reynolds is Hilarious!
Very Helpful
A perfecrt resource...almost!

Orchestral Excerpts for Bass Trombone, Tenore Tuba, Bass Trumpet

Manufacturer: Summit(Classical)
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Orchestral Excerpts for Tuba
Orchestral Excerpts for Trombone
Charles Vernon, Bass Trombone
Orchestral Excerpts For Trumpet
Orchestral Excerpts For Horn

ASIN: B0000038JV
Release Date: 1995-07-18

Tracks:

Bass Trbn: Sarabande in c - Jeffrey Reynolds/Los Angeles Phil
Bass Trbn: Till Eulenspeigel, Zarathustra, Ein Heldenleben - Jeffrey Reynolds/Los Angeles Phil
Bass Trbn: Miraculous Mandarin/Sym No.9/Vn Con - Jeffrey Reynolds/Los Angeles Phil
Bass Trbn: Hungarian March, Rome And Juliet - Jeffrey Reynolds/Los Angeles Phil
Bass Trbn: Sym No.1 - Jeffrey Reynolds/Los Angeles Phil
Bass Trbn: Sym No.7/Sym in d - Jeffrey Reynolds/Los Angeles Phil
Bass Trbn: The Creation/Hary Janos - Jeffrey Reynolds/Los Angeles Phil
Bass Trbn: Syms No.5, 6, 7, 9 - Jeffrey Reynolds/Los Angeles Phil
Bass Trbn: Pictures/Romeo And Juliet/Pines Of Rome/Gazza Ladra - Jeffrey Reynolds/Los Angeles Phil
Bass Trbn: Sym No.3 - Jeffrey Reynolds/Los Angeles Phil
Bass Trbn: Sym No.5 - Jeffrey Reynolds/Los Angeles Phil
Bass Trbn: Lohengrin, Ride Of Valkyries - Jeffrey Reynolds/Los Angeles Phil
Bass Tpt: Intro - Michael Mulcahy/Chicago Sym
Bass Tpt: Das Rheingold - Michael Mulcahy/Chicago Sym
Bass Tpt: Die Walkure - Michael Mulcahy/Chicago Sym
Bass Tpt: Siegfried - Michael Mulcahy/Chicago Sym
Bass Tpt: Die Gotterdammerung - Michael Mulcahy/Chicago Sym
Tenor Tuba: Bydlo - Michael Mulcahy/Chicago Sym
Tenor Tuba: Sym No.7 - Michael Mulcahy/Chicago Sym
Tenor Tuba: Don Quixote - Michael Mulcahy/Chicago Sym
Tenor Tuba: Ein Heldenleben - Michael Mulcahy/Chicago Sym
Tenor Tuba: The Planets - Michael Mulcahy/Chicago Sym

Customer Reviews:

Good, but not the best methods for bass trombonists.......2007-07-05

After listening to the excerpts, I recognized Jeffrey Reynolds' perspective. He is an experienced player, but some of his advice is not as practical as it seems. For the Franck excerpt, common orchestral practice is to play the f-sharp as written: it is an applicable range study and should be kept intact. The Schumann excerpt is not played as written also, and should be taken literally in the context that it was written. Mr. Reynolds' approach to Wagner is interesting, especially to Die Walkure. It's not for everyone, but it may be beneficial to some. The Kodaly is well presented, as well as the Mahler, Berg, and Strauss excerpts. All things considered, it is a decent aide for study, but should not be seen as a "this is how it must be done" collection of excerpts.

Mulcahy Rocks, Reynolds is Hilarious!.......2006-10-26

Okay, for anyone seriously interested in what NOT to do in an audition, make sure to listen to Reynolds on this disc. There's a reason this CD is infamous, and he's the reason. Even his advice is pretty awful. Take part of the D Major down an octave because the commitee won't notice? Hah! That kills me every time.

Mulcahy rocks on this, though. Just listen to the VAlhalla theme and tell me he's not a monster.

Then, go back and listen to Reynolds play Ein Heldenleben with 'oblique intonation' and 'questionable sound' and roll on the floor for a while.

Very Helpful.......2006-05-27

This CD was very helpful for me, a student bass trombonist. The CD enables you to not only hear the exerpt, but also listen to what the performer says about it and how it should be played. Mr. Reynolds, as well as Mr. Mulcahy played the exerpts beautifully.

A perfecrt resource...almost!.......2000-08-02

The Orchestra Pro series are a very useful tool to student musicians trying to get a grasp on how the major symphonic excerpts should be played. More useful, however is the spoken commentary, which resembles a one on one lesson with the performer. The bass trumpet and tenor tuba excerpts are played beautifully by Mulcahy. The bass trombone playing or Reynolds often leaves the listener wondering if he could not have done a slightly better job on some of the excerpts. All in all this CD is a great resource for those trying to get their foot in the door of the orchestral music scene.

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Jochum Set a Welcome Addition to My Collection
First few are great, but...
A Classic
A Hierarchy of Bruckner Symphony Cycles
The very finest set Ever!!!

Symphonies 1-9
Bruckner , and Jochum
Manufacturer: Deutsche Grammophon
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music

Deutsche Grammophon: Music | Specialty Stores | Music
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Bruckner: Symphony No. 8
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Bruckner: Te Deum, Motets, Psalm 150 / Jochum, Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra
Wagner: Der Ring des Nibelungen

ASIN: B00006YXOX
Release Date: 2003-04-08

Customer Reviews:

Jochum Set a Welcome Addition to My Collection.......2007-05-17

I was happy to acquire the Bruckner/Jochum cycle many years after having owned Bruckner's 7th & 8th on a 3-cassette(!) DG set during my college days. This was where I first heard these two symphonies and grew to love them. So there is some nostalgia here for me. Hearing these once again felt a little like a home-coming. Thanks to Amazon, I was able to acquire this set on an amazing deal.

I am not going to debate the other reviewers' opinions on the merits or shortcomings of this set versus others. I have the Solti/CSO set, the Inbal set with the original versions of several symphonies, as well as some of Barenboim's, Boulez's, Chailly's, and Karajan's, not to mention Klemperer's recording of the 6th, which continues to be re-issued. While some of the pure digital recordings may have sonics that surpass this set, the performances and the warmth of that late 50's/early 60's sound will surely prove enjoyable. (I am writing this not having heard all nine symphonies yet.)

The compact packaging of envelope-clad 9 CDs in a simple cardboard box (with a booklet) avoids the risk of hearing your CDs bouncing and scraping in the jewel box set upon shipment, so there is less anxiety about receiving a scratched CD and wondering whether it will play.

One of the features of this set that I appreciated was the booklet. It features Jochum's own essay on performing the symphonies, which I found insightful. Too seldom do the conductors these days take the time to document their intent and approach for us listeners. This essay reinforced for me that this really was a body of work, not just a collection of nine recorded symphonies. There is another essay, examining the symphonies from a musical historical perspective.

For listeners looking to take the plunge on a Bruckner set, but without a lot of cash, this set is a good value. For serious Bruckner fans, this is the first full cycle recorded, and has never been out of the DG catalog; that certainly says something about it. Bruckner was not so much in vogue in the late 50's/early 60's, or so I have read, so these recordings may have had a hand in the revival that has put more Bruckner performances in concert halls today.

First few are great, but..........2006-09-09

Bruckner is my favorite composer. I have multiple recordings of all of his symphonies, three of his 3rd, 4th, and 7th, and four of his 5th and 8th. If you are looking for one set of Bruckner's symphonies that will give you an idea of what each symphony has to offer, I would recommend Karajan's cycle (which I have), not this one. The strengths of this (Jochum's) set are the first three symphonies, which are played with amazing energy which I have yet to hear bested by any other recording - Karajan's certainly comes more than close enough to give you the full idea, though. The real weaknesses of this set are the poor recording quality (it was recorded in the 50s and 60s after all, so one cannot expect much in this department) and the later symphonies. Jochum's style with Bruckner is characterized by bombastic playing in the scherzos and such, and just yada-yadaing through the slower parts to get back to the bombastic stuff. This works spectacularly well in the earlier symphonies, but not so well in the later symphonies, as the highlights of the later symphonies are the slower parts, which Karajan does extremely well (many people, in fact, complain that Karajan's too focused on these aspects of classical music). As for the recording quality, if you are just ripping the music to mp3 files on your computer or mp3 player and playing it on the standard soundcard/headphones, the recording quality will probably be good enough (that's the way I listened to it when I first got it, and I was satisfied with the recording quality), but if you will be playing it on anything at all better than average, there is a good chance that these recordings will show their age. FWIW, as far as recordings of individual symphonies, these are the ones that, to me, are almost certainly about as good as it can get:

3- Tintner (this one sounds startlingly different from any other interpretation of this symphony, because it's Bruckner's first version, which was vastly different from the highly edited version most play)
5- Harnoncourt & the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra
7- Karajan & the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra
8- Karajan & the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra
9- Harnoncourt & the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra

A Classic.......2006-09-07

Bruckner's music has been a taste that I have been able to acquire only slowly over many decades. After initial enthusiasm for the 3rd, von Karajan's final 7th really opened my eyes for Anton's qualities. When the 8th, 5th and 4th joined the list, I thought it was high time for the complete set and an offer by an Amazon affiliate, who offered this box new for less than $30 delivered at home, sealed the deal.

While it may not be the ultimate word in Bruckner, this set is a clear first choice in a survey of Bruckner's numbered symphonies. The recordings may be dated and not up to today's highest standards, but they are highly acceptable. In all, a set for the ages.

Jochum's approach to Bruckner can be described as synthetic. He chooses a fluid approach to the tempos, he avoids harsh clashes of conflicting themes and advocates the composer through some of the weaker sections. Throughout these nine symphonies, the result of this approach varies from excellent to the every best. To me numbers 1,2,5,6 and 9 belong in the latter category, while 3,4,7 and 8 belong to the former.

There is little that I can add to the comments of other reviewers on Jochum at his best. Especially 5 and the lesser known 6 -I have no idea why this work is no more popular- get unsurpassed performances. When it comes to the others, slightly preferable versions may be available, both because of performance and choice of edition.

In the 3rd Jochum goes a little too far in smoothening the sharp edges. This was in line with the common perception at the time that the recording was made that the "Wagner" Symphony was ambitious, but ultimately flawed. To me Haitink's second recording with the VPO is to be preferred. In the "Romantic" fourth, things are a bit too mellow for my taste. Since this must be Bruckner's most recorded Symphony, many alternatives come to mind. In the 7th Jochum falls a little short of the landmark set by von Karajan in his final recording. The latter was helped by a superior recording and a VPO that set a new high mark for "string sound". In the 8th Jochum's choice of Nowak is a clear no, no. Interesting alternatives are the "cool" Boulez, who slowly builds up the work towards an earth shattering finale. There are strong recordings by Haitink and von Karajan. Moreover, there is the fellow Nowak by Guilini that is both infinitely long, out of any kind of proportion, yet at times breathtakingly beautiful.

Despite these minor criticisms I can give this set an easy full endorsement. While Bruckner may be a taste that takes some time to acquire, this medieval mystical Wagner worshipper deserves inclusion on any short list of great symphony composers.

A Hierarchy of Bruckner Symphony Cycles.......2006-07-16

I own the following Brucker cycles and will rank them according to my personal preference, best first:

1. Eugen Jochum, DG - This cycle is overall the best. Sound is better than claimed by professional critics.

2. Eugen Jochum, EMI/Brilliant Classics - A very close second.
Sound quality is oddly dry compared to other EMI recordings from the same time period...brass sounds great though.

3. Skrowaczewski, Oehms - Superb sound with swift tempi.

4. Tintner, Naxos - Sometimes too slow but a few great performances here. Uses unique editions of the score. Great sound.

There are other extremely fine perfomances by Bohm (3,4,8) and Klemperer (4,6) which deserve note but unfortunately they did not record complete cycles.

On this DG box set Jochum is in top form and like his EMI version leads the orchestra with a raw, old world style sound which has since been lost in many a professional orchestra. It is quite wonderful to hear. Soon this set might demand collector's market prices if it goes OOP so get it while ye may!!!

The very finest set Ever!!!.......2006-06-07

The DG set is crowned with the finest 9th ever put to disc...the recording is also very good through all the symphonies in spite of different recording venues.

Sadly, Jochum has been neglected by history...

We have come to a certain point where the entire Bruckner style is going to be lost with a blasty unorganic orchestral style so epitomized by the Tintner reading on Naxos..

As to interpretations the entire cycle is played very well..the early symphonies are all played and strongly thought out... without ever sounding hard or dull...the Jochum 3rd clearly outshines Tintner in matters of exression....ensemble in the brass is very good with super work from the timpanist in both ensembles...woodwinds are very fine and at times wonderfully caught by the DG engineers...

I am a very big proponent of the Jochum/Walter camp in these works...some rubato in certain moments is welcome...

George Tintner is so deadpan as to invoke sleep...but of course he did not have the Vienna or Berlin Philharmonic for his recordings...

So there you have a great conductor doing Bruckner superbly... get this over the Naxos set!!!

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Orchestral Excerpts for Trombone

Manufacturer: Summit(Classical)
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

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ASIN: B0000038JF
Release Date: 1994-05-31

Tracks:

Requiem
Hungarian March/Sym Fantastique
Con
Sym No.9
Prld Act III, Lohengrin/Ride Of The Valkyries/Tannhauser Ov
Bolero
Sym No.3
Sym No.3
Sym No.1 & 2
Sym No.5
William Tell/La Gazza Ladra
Sym No.3
Sym No.6
Firebird Ste/Petrouchka
Russian Easter/Scheherazade
Till Eulenspiegel/Ein Heldenleben/Sprach Zarathustra
Sym No.4 & 7
Mathis Der Maler/Symphonic Metamorphosis

Average customer rating:

Celibidache's most 'normal' Bruckner is full of inspiration
Celibidache: Great Bruckner conductor, or cult figure?
Karaoke with Celi

Bruckner: Symphonies Nos. 3-5, 7-9

Manufacturer: Deutsche Grammophon
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B0002IRY0O
Release Date: 2004-11-09

Customer Reviews:

Celibidache's most 'normal' Bruckner is full of inspiration.......2006-09-02

If you are used to thinking of Celibidache as an enigmatic, glacially slow conductor, this box of Bruckner performances from DG will be an eye-opener. It dates from the Seventies, before the maestro's more eccentric inclinations set in completely--his tempos are anywhere from 2 to almost 10 min. faster in various movements. (In some places, such as the finael of Sym. #7, the tempo may actually be faster than the norm.) The Stockholm and Stuttgart orchestras aren't as proficient as his own Munich ensemble, but they sound fine, as does DG's good FM radio sound.

Measuring Celi by the metronome isn't fair. The real question is what he offers musically, and there's no doubt that he is closely attuned to Bruckner. Long passages of sound are carved like marble; the atomosphere is full of mystery and poetry; sonorities are built on a massive scale and then alternate with intervals of lovely serenity. This is music made alive on the page. Compared to Karajan, another great Brucknerian, Celibidache is more organic and relaxed. One can quibble with things here and there, but then an entire stretch of music, such as the opening of Sym. #3, will emerge as a magnificent whole.

I'm not sure I can erect an altar to Celibidache's entire career, but these Bruckner recordings seem great to me.

Celibidache: Great Bruckner conductor, or cult figure?.......2005-02-19

The first time I ever heard the name Celibidache was back in the late '80's when he was on tour with the Munich Philharmonic. The word among my Bruckner fan friends was that he was on the road with a Bruckner Fourth like no other. Hmmmm...how different could it be? I didn't get to go to the performance while he was in town, but word was that it was one of those things you either loved or hated.

The next time I encountered him was while sitting around one night with some Bruckner (and Furtwangler) fans watching "music videos"...but not exactly the MTV or VH1 kind. I saw two videos of Celibidache. The first clip was of a dashing young matinee-idol looking Celibidache, with a wild swath of hair hanging down on his forehead, conducting the BPO in a fiery reading of Beethoven's Egmont Overture. In the second video, shot about two generations after the first, a kindly, grandfatherly looking, Celibidache, in a cozy sweater, conducted a superbly controlled Munich Philharmonic from a stool, in an impossibly expansive and majestic reading of the first movement of the Bruckner Eighth (this was from the Sony release of the entire Eighth). The latter performance was so slow, when compared with any other recording you've ever heard, that it had no business sounding so good, but somehow it did.

The Celibidache phenomenon, and his superbly drilled Munich Philharmonic, must've created a bit of a stir, for, on the heels of Sony's video releases of Celibidache's performances of Bruckner's Symphonies #6-8, EMI embarked on a project of releasing recordings of Bruckner's Symphonies #3-9, as well as recordings of works by other composers. These recordings were released in 1999, three years after the conductor's death. At that time I was what you could call a "Bruckner Ninth completist," and I already owned one of his recordings of the Bruckner Ninth: one of those "quirky Italian" labels that speicalizes in poorly packaged--and often premium-priced--pressings of "historical recordings" had released a few Celibidache live recordings of Bruckner symphonies from the '70's and '80's (it's pretty common knowledge that the enigmatic conductor, like Furtwangler whom he had succeeded as director of the BPO in 1945, hated making studio recordings).

This two-disc set turned out to be a good indicator of the enigma that was Celibidache. The second disc was a recording of the Ninth Symphony with the MPO from 1981. It was a very good performance, and I felt fortunate to have it in my collection, because it was also a good quality live recording; and it was with Munich (most of his live recordings from that period were with the RSO Stuttgart, a good orchestra but not as good as the MPO). The Ninth was a bit on the slow side, and there were moments when I was a bit too aware of the conductor caressing a phrase, but overall it was a worthy addition to the collection.

The accompanying recording of the Fourth with the RSO Stuttgart from 1973 was another story. Everything was fine through the first three (and three-quarters) movements. It was a spacious account of the fourth, but no slower than, say, Bohm's 1973 VPO recording. But, then, toward the end of the finale something happened: a very self-conscious slowing down of the coda--which is plenty majestic enough w/o an unnatural slowing down. This slowing progressed until the beat was subdivided, the violins sounded like they were literally "sawing away" on their ostinatos, and the orchestra almost ground to a screeching halt before the final chord mercifully stopped sounding. At that point, I almost made a frisbee out of the disc, but I decided it still made a good conversation piece (or at least a coaster). It was the most bizarre thing I had ever heard in a recording of "classical" music. In retrospect, the interesting thing is that such extremely protracted tempos are more often associated with the performances of his last fifteen years, but this recording was made 23 years before his death: it somewhat staggers the Brucknerian imagination to think that 20 years later he made a recording of the Fourth with Munich in which the Finale was actually more than five minutes longer, actually breaking the half-hour mark, presumably for the first and last time in the annals of this work.

[I've been trying to write shorter reviews, but apparently that's not going to happen here.]

When the EMI recordings came out, I was much too curious about the Eighth and Ninth to allow the bizarre timings to scare me away: when I first picked up the Eighth, I thought that the timings of the last two movements--35:04 and 32:08, respectively--must've been misprints...the finale was actually more than 12 minutes--or 60%--longer than Jochum's terse 1964 BPO recording! But I still found things to admire in these recordings, none the least of which was the superbly controlled and patient playing of the orchestra, all of whom I thought must've been practically "Zen masters" (and endurance athletes), to play a Bruckner Eighth that was longer than many recordings of the six-movement Mahler Third!

[Really, my intent is NOT to write a review that is the verbal equivalent of a late Celibidache Bruckner recording!]

So, when DG came out with their Celibidache recordings of Bruckner's Symphonies #3-5&7-9, at first released in two absurdly expensive boxed sets--and the people who purchased those have every right to be perturbed at DG eventually releasing them in a much more reasonably-priced single box--I looked at the set with a certain suspicious curiousity. Could these be anything more than shabby old radio recordings, released to "coat-tail" the EMI and Sony releases, and the conductor's death?

Well, the answer is a defininte, yes, they are much more than that. Any set of Celibidache Bruckner recordings is bound to be a bit of a "mixed bag," and, as the other reviewer pointed out, this set is...but there is much more to admire and enjoy here than I expected. I smiled at the other reviewer's apt comment about the "Karaoke Third;" and while the Fourth is not as annoying as the Third, in this respect, their is still more "Sing along with Serge" than I can take, esp. in the finale. It is one of my pet peeves when conductors hum and stomp their way through a performance (you can probably imagine that I don't much care for Glenn Gould's recordings): one of the Bruckner Ninths that I dumped from my "completist days" was by a conductor named Vladimir Delman, who didn't shut up for more than five seconds during the entire recording (and it wasn't even a very good Ninth even w/o the vocal accompaniment)!
In the case of this Celibidache Fourth, it's too bad about the vocalizing, because the tempo of the finale's coda is much more tolerable than the '73 Stuttgart one I described above.

But, fear not, for the Fifth, Seventh, Eighth, and Ninth, are all very good, and the recording quality exceeded my expectations, including strong, clear horns, so important in Bruckner; and a full, warm, bass resonance. Also, Celibidache is definitely a conductor who understands the importance of good strong timpani in Bruckner, and the timpani are very well recorded throughout this set, nearly as thunderous as Karajan's, in the finale of the Fifth (HvK used an extra set of timpani in the Fifth). Yes, the tempos are on the slow side, but during this period--which I'm now thinking was a vintage period for Celibidache's Bruckner--they had not become too extreme yet. He manages to pull off the most spacious Fifth Symphony slow movement I've ever heard, with surprising success (even if this almost climax-less movement begins to get a bit monotonous, by the end; but then again, brisker readings of this movement can get a bit tedious, too).

This was the first Celibidache Bruckner Seventh I've ever heard, and it was a very pleasant surprise, with a beautiful, but not excessively slow, adagio; and a nice, flowing, first movement. It was a pleasant surprise to hear him use a nice flowing tempo for the lovely "enchanted forest" theme (as I call it) that flows out of the majestic intro, and launches the movement proper.

The Eighth was also very satisfying, and certainly no slower than Gunter Wand's final--and excellent--recording of the work; or Karajan's 1957 recording, for that matter.

I still prefer Celibidache's aforementioned 1981 MPO recording of the Ninth, which is noticeably more expanisve in the outer movements than the recording included in the DG set; but both performances are evidence that Celibidache was very much in touch with the rarefied spiritual world of this (my favorite) symphony.

If you are a Bruckner fanatic (or a "Brucknerd," as I have sometimes called us), esp. one who likes Celibidache, who has been putting off buying this set, you need hesitate no more. Was Celibidache one of the Great Bruckner Conductors, or just an enigmatic pheonom with a cult following? I feel that this set reveals him as a great Bruckner conductor, even if like many of us, he went on to get a bit "eccentric" in his later years.

Karaoke with Celi.......2005-01-21

This set is a mixed bag. It contains Celibidache's live Bruckner recordings with SWR Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra (symphonies 3,5,7, 8 and 9) and Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra (the 4th). As is well known, Celi hated studio recordings.

Celi was a great Bruckner conductor, no doubt about that, although he earned this reputation late in his career. But it is indeed painful to hear his karaoke behavior: Celi yells often loudly while conducting, frequently just before a climax, sometimes even with more lungpower than the brass, it seems. Worse than having a coughing audience, I think! This is especially the case in the third symphony, but his characteristic shouts are audible elsewhere too. But don't get me wrong: the interpretations are very fine. And the third, fourth and seventh are among the best available.

Thus these recordings are welcome additions to the Bruckner catalogue. Comparing this bargain DG collector's edition set with the very expensive EMI set, where Celi is conducting Munich Philharmonic, the speeds are swifter. This is especially the case with the eight symphony, which Celi takes extremely slow in Munich. Here are the differences for each movement:

EMI: 20'56 ; 16'05 ; 35'04 ; 32'08

DG : 16'16 ; 13'52 ; 27'08 ; 26'04

I think the earlier DG account in the present set is preferable. The Munich take is too slow, even if the attention to detail is remarkable. Similar judgements are applicable for the rest of the set as well, though the time differences are less dramatic. For example, the account of the fourth is ten minutes faster here. Comparing with Jochum, however, all Celi's speeds are very slow throughout the whole set.

SWR Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra and Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra are not famous for their Bruckner playing. In this respect, they do not outshine, say, Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, Staatskapelle Dresden, and Concertgebouw. But minor orchestras can surprise with a good conductor, as they do here.

Sound is good but not in upper demonstration class.

Average customer rating:

Go for the DG cycle if you want to hear a better Seventh
A sampling of Jochum's loggy, uninspired Bruckner

Bruckner: Symphonies 3 & 7

Manufacturer: EMI Records [All429]
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music

Tracks:

Symphony No. 3 In D Minor: I. Mehr langsam, misterioso
Symphony No. 3 In D Minor: II. Adagio (Bewegt) quasi andante
Symphony No. 3 In D Minor: III. Ziemlich bewegt
Symphony No. 3 In D Minor: IV: Allegro

Tracks:

Symphony No. 7 In E: I. Allegro moderato
Symphony No. 7 In E: II. Adagio (Sehr feierlich und sehr langsam)
Symphony No. 7 In E: III. Scherzo (Sehr schnell) - Trio (Etwas langsamer)
Symphony No. 7 In E: IV. Finale (Bewegt, doch nicht zu schnell)

Amazon.com essential recording

These two performances are taken from Eugen Jochum's second complete Bruckner cycle, which is slowly reappearing two symphonies at a time in budget- priced repackaging. The performances are almost uniformly wonderful (only the Eighth was disappointing this second time around, mostly for sonic reasons), and these are two of the best. The Seventh Symphony, in particular, has a luminous quality to the long string melodies and a glowing sound to the brass that gives the music that special, spiritual aspect unique to Bruckner. The famous Adagio second movement has never sounded more solemn or serene, with a stunning midmovement climax. A great bargain. --David Hurwitz

Customer Reviews:

Go for the DG cycle if you want to hear a better Seventh.......2007-05-01

I kind of agree with "Santa Fe Listener" when he described this as crude. Compared to the DG cycle of the symphonies by Jochum, this EMI twofer does sound rougher and cruder, especially, in the Seventh Symphony. Buy the DG box set, and I'm sure you'll love the much smoother and spiritual Seventh on it. Sometimes the brass does come through as crude and pungent but sometimes it can be to good effect. In the DG cycle he is conducting the great Berlin Philharmonic, but this time around it's the lesser Dresden State Orchestra, so just go out and buy the DG boxed set and you'll be quite happy with that purchase.

A sampling of Jochum's loggy, uninspired Bruckner.......2006-05-25

To my ears, these Bruckner readings of Sym. #3 and #7 fall far short of the accolade "wonderful" as bestowed by the Amazon reviewer. Jochum's Third starts off mysteriously enough, until a blast of crude brass entries breaks the mood. There's a lot more brash, crude playing to come. Throughout the first and last movement Bruckner's energizing ostinato rhythms sound leaden instead of invigorating.

The Seventh is a far greater work, and therefore Jochum's pedestrian reading, mostly slow and slack in every movement but particularly lugubrious in the Andante, has farther to fall. The Dresden Staatskapelle plays with no particular distinction, and EMI's sound is average for Seventies analog. In sum, the only reason to acquire this bargain two-fer is to find out if Jochum is your cup of tea, and then you can proceed to other installments or even invest in the whole set (which is quite cheap on the used market).

Average customer rating:

Bruckner: Symphonies Nos. 2 & 4

Manufacturer: EMI Classics
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music

Tracks:

Sym No.2: I. Moderato
Sym No.2: II. Andante
Sym No.2: III. Scherzo (Massig Schnell)
Sym No.2: IV. Finale (Mehr Schnell)

Tracks:

Sym No.4 'Romantic': I. Bewegt, Nicht Zu Schnell
Sym No.4 'Romantic': II. Andante Quasi Allegretto
Sym No.4 'Romantic': III. Scherzo (Bewegt) - Trio (Nicht Zu Schnell)
Sym No.4 'Romantic': IV. Finale (Bewegt, Doch Nicht Zu Schnell)

Average customer rating:

Some of the best Bruckner on disc
Solti's Sine Qua Non of Brucker Ninths
It's that superb brass
Bruckner will not get any better than this!
4.5 stars- A great and vividly recorded Bruckner boxed set

Anton Bruckner: The Symphonies

Manufacturer: Polygram Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music

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ASIN: B0000042ED
Release Date: 1996-07-08

Tracks:

I. Allegro
II. Andante
III. Scherzo: Presto
IV. Finale: Moderato

Tracks:

I. Allegro
II. Adagio
III. Scherzo: Schnell - Trio: Langsamer
IV. Finale: Bewegt, Feurig

Tracks:

I. Moderato
II. Andante: Feierlich, Etwas Bewegt
III. Scherzo: Massig Schnell
IV. Finale: Mehr Schnell
I. Adagio - Allegro

Tracks:

II. Adagio, Sehr Langsam
III. Scherzo: Molto Vivace (Schnell)
IV. Finale: Adagio - Allegro Moderato

Tracks:

I. Gemassigt, Mehr Bewegt, Misterioso
II. Andante: Bewegt, Feierlich, Quasi Adagio
III. Scherzo: Ziemlich Schnell
IV. Finale: Allegro

Tracks:

I. Bewegt, Nicht Zu Schnell
II. Andante Quasi Allegretto
III.Scherzo: Bewegt
IV. Finale: Bewegt, Doch Nicht Zu Schnell

Tracks:

I. Majestoso
II. Adagio: Sehr Feierlich
III. Scherzo: Nicht Schnell - Trio: Langsam
IV. Finale: Bewegt, Doch Nicht Zu Schnell

Tracks:

I. Allegro Moderato
II. Adagio: Sehr Feierlich Und Sehr Langsam
III. Scherzo: Sehr Schnell - Trio: Etwas Langsamer
IV. Finale: Bewegt, Doch Nicht Zu Schnell

Tracks:

I. Allegro Moderato
II. Scherzo: Allegro Moderato - Trio: Langsam
III. Adagio: Feierlich Langsam, Doch Nicht Schleppend
IV. Finale: Feierlich, Nicht Schnell

Tracks:

I. Feierlich, Misterioso
II. Scherzo: Bewegt, Lebhaft - Trio: Schnell
III. Adagio: Langsam, Feierlich

Customer Reviews:

Some of the best Bruckner on disc.......2007-05-31

Anton Bruckner was as organist all his life. He so loved the instrument that he actually requested to be buried under the instrument on which he served the longest tenure. No better description can be given to his music other than "organ-like". Listen to the symphonies and youll understand why. These works, espeically the later ones (4-9) contain some of the most emotionally charged, thrilling, sonic passages you will ever hear an orchestra play. Fast changes from loud to soft, thick orchestrations and beautiful chords and harmonies make these symphonies the epitome of romanticism. Bruckner was writing music that was well advanced for his time (the adagio of the 7th symphony is a music theory student's nightmare!), many would have considered his pieces "daring" or "strange" when they were written. The CSO and Solti definately capture the essence of these pieces, and with one of the world's greatest brass sections playing some of the most brass-heavy symphonies, how could you go wrong?

Solti's Sine Qua Non of Brucker Ninths.......2006-05-18

Let me state very succinctly and unequivocally that there is no other Bruckner 9th on earth I can listen to with such rapt, undiminished joy as Solti's.

The overpowering (almost terrifying) coda of the first movement hits the listener like some inexorable, demonic force of Nature, thanks exclusively to Solti's stealth-like tempo and slow-mounting crescendo, where the CSO's thundering brass suddenly takes on a life and will of its own. Once you experience (and survive) the impact of this near-cosmic cataclysm -- sorry, I tend to wax hyperbolical with this particular work -- no other recording will ever satisfy. (Psst! -- and just wait until God Himself throws open the Celestial Gates (TWICE!) in the third movement.)

Although Solti is by no means my favorite Bruckner conductor -- consider Knappertsbusch's underrated, yet unparalleled, SCHALK VERSION! for the Fifth; Haitink and the Concertgebouw for the Third; Anton Nanut and the Ljubljana for the Eighth; Erich Leinsdorf and the Boston Symphony (LP only) for the Fourth; Sawallisch and the Bavarian State Orchestra for the Sixth -- I nonetheless award 5 generous stars to this boxed edition, only because life, for this listener, would lose all sense and meaning without Solti's brilliant, never-to-be-equalled interpretation of the heaven-inspired Bruckner Ninth.

By the way, his beguiling (read absolutely perfect!) phrasing of the long melody line at the opening of the Seventh is quite frankly to die for. Though why he chose such a comparatively "sluggish" tempo for the energetic Scherzo is beyond my comprehension.

[..]

It's that superb brass.......2006-01-23

'Bruckner is brass' or at least the brass is much more involved. To hear a good Bruckner the brassplayers of the orchestra needs to be outstanding. Unfortunately many brass sections of top orchestras do not have quality brass. That's different with the Chicago SO under Solti where all brass player were superb (and maybe they still have such brassplayers)

The top European orchestras do not have that extra quality brass one would expect. The Berliner Philharmoniker and the Wiener Philharmoniker even today use trumpets with rotary-valves... I even heard a top British Orchestra with a lead trumpet player using that 'weird' brassband vibrato.

Further the Tuba players in Europe usually are just not good enough and lack tone and power in the low register of the instrument. But here with Solti and the Chicago SO one can enjoy the beauty of Bruckner with bass playing as it should be. Even the famous recordings by Wand are not my choice.

The fact that Solti is directing must be considered as well as he is also extremely convincing directing Wagner, so he does understand (or at least that's my view) the way brass should sound.

If you are looking for a box that you will play over and over again, this is the one and at a fair price.

Bruckner will not get any better than this!.......2006-01-04

Usually when I encounter box sets of classical music ( with the exception of operas and the like) I'm a little wary of it. Many of them, like this recording, span many years and often there are 2-3 years between recordings.

Even though that is true of this set, it sounds like it was recorded successively. With the exception of the 6th which was recorded on analog, there is no discrepancy in either the performances or the quality of the recordings and even the 6th is very well recorded and extremely vivid, I would argue one of the most vivid. The years of the recordings span from 1979 ( the 6th) to 1995 ( no. 0).

It would take much too long to do a review for every single recording so I will just give some highlights.

Of the recording of the 3rd, Penguine guide referred to it as "the one failure, relatively crude and coarse." I don't agree, if anything, it seemed to me that this recording was not only on par with the others, but that the CSO was equally on top of their game with this one as with the others. I found it very moving, clear, precise and powerful.

Moving onto the recording of the 4th I will say the same thing: very moving, clear, precise and powerful. What struck me about this recording was the tension maintained in the outer movements. Often with Bruckner symphonies, tension can easily be lost because of the length. Here the Chicago Symphony nicely maintains the energy with much thanks to their outstanding team of brass players. The gem of this recording, in my opinion and as much as I love the 1st and 4th movements, is the Scherzo. I love Bruckner Scherzi anyway but the Chicago Symphony does a bang-up job on this one. This track can be characterized as simply authoritative, powerful and overwheliming in the best way possible. In the first minute or so, Solti uses the powerful brass to gain thrust and to propel the entire orchestra into the statement of the main theme with the trombones and echoed by the trumpets.

I have already mentioned how pleased I am with the sixth. It is remarkable that it was recorded on analog. It sounds so amazingly vivid. Of course, the brass is nicely ensnared but the sharpness of the timpani deserves attention as well. Besides the excruciatingly exciting outer movements, the quality of the adagio is enough to leave with breathless at the end. When the orchestra finishes it, the listener gets the overwhelming sense of tranquility - very well done. That is the way to do Bruckner adagios.

The recording of the 8th was made while on tour in St. Petersburg Russia in 1990. Another triumph in my opinion. The real tokens of this recording are the adagio and finale. Again, as in the recording of the 6th, this adagio is enough to leave the listener suspended in calmness. I especially like the way the bring out the religious quality of Bruckner's music ( the same could be said of all the recordings of this set) by emphasis on certain tonalities and harmonies which can easily be passed up by the unwary conductor. The finale is of comparable quality. I have never heard a recording of this piece that has as strong a brass soli as is heard at the beginning of this one - utterly amazing. The sound never, ever wavers. It is simply solid tone throughout