Topic: Bruckner's Abbey

[DieNacht]

I guess it´s a combination of local interest from the orchestra (the Classico label here in Denmark for instance has been an example of valuable recordings of rare repertoire etc. as well as many examples of "unnecessary" or poor promotion recital CDs) and that the Membran Label has specialized in cheap budget box sets, often sold in audio supermarkets etc. at a very low price (5-15 Euros). Since these are live recordings, they must have been rather inexpensive to produce. Still, there are some fine moments in the set though, and the sound is impressive. If one has heard a short excerpt of a Bruckner symphony and finds him interesting, this could be an impulse buy.

A record dealer I once worked for said rather regrettingly "Any item can be sold in some quantity" ...

[Dundonnell]

Rattle on the Ninth Symphony, Fourth Movement:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=Z9Jlgh_gpSs

[Sequentia]

A sample of the Finale (as performed by Rattle and the BerlinPhil) can be found here:

http://www.digitalconcerthall.com/en/concert/2516/rattle-bruckner

[Drasko]

http://tower.jp/item/3094799/ブルックナー:-交響曲選集

Japan-only release, but maybe an international one will follow in some foreseeable future.

[Leo K.]

http://tower.jp/item/3094799/ブルックナー:-交響曲選集

Japan-only release, but maybe an international one will follow in some foreseeable future.

I have not heard Sinopoli's Bruckner, thanks for the heads up!

[madaboutmahler]

Rattle on the Ninth Symphony, Fourth Movement:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=Z9Jlgh_gpSs

Really fascinating. I love listening to Sir Simon!
Thanks for sharing, Colin.

I see that this is going to be released in just under a month. I'd certainly be interested in getting it...

[Leo K.]

Really fascinating. I love listening to Sir Simon!
Thanks for sharing, Colin.

I see that this is going to be released in just under a month. I'd certainly be interested in getting it...

I'm really looking forward to this one, just pre-ordered and await with anticipation. I've heard two other finale reconstructions (from 2005 and 2008) from the same team of editors (the law office of Samale/Mazzuca/Phillips/Cohrs ).

Looks as though more changes and revisions were made to the coda. This is real exciting!

I have to say, hearing the music to the Bruckner 9 finale is an absolute revelation. To my mind, the music fits into the sound world of the B9, and is as important to the history of music as the unfinished Mahler 10. Attempts to perform it make sense.

[madaboutmahler]

I'm really looking forward to this one, just pre-ordered and await with anticipation. I've heard two other finale reconstructions (from 2005 and 2008) from the same team of editors (the law office of Samale/Mazzuca/Phillips/Cohrs ).

Looks as though more changes and revisions were made to the coda. This is real exciting!

I haven't heard any of the finale reconstructions yet, so am very excited as well!

[Lisztianwagner]

Very nice.....Bruckners Abtei.

Anton Bruckner is one of my favourite Austrian composers, along with Mahler, Mozart and J. Strauss. His music is very passionate and thrilling, extremely impressive; it expresses deep beauty and great intensity, with a rich harmonic language, a splendid, powerful orchestration, an excellent counterpoint texture and beautiful, surprising timbric variations. I have always appreciated the expressive strenght Bruckner's pieces are full of.
Bruckner's characteristic use of the false climaxes in the symphonies is absolutely brilliant, I adore those powerfully emotional crescendi which sound flowing into great finali whereas the phrase ends with a pianissimo, a pause or a fast diminuendo; absolutely beautiful and striking.

It goes without saying that my favourite Bruckner interpreter is Herbert von Karajan; his recording of the symphonies is the best I've ever heard, really outstanding. Same speech for the Te Deum, which is very solemn and evocative.

[Jeffrey Smith]

Very nice.....Bruckners Abtei.

Anton Bruckner is one of my favourite Austrian composers, along with Mahler, Mozart and J. Strauss. His music is very passionate and thrilling, extremely impressive; it expresses deep beauty and great intensity, with a rich harmonic language, a splendid, powerful orchestration, an excellent counterpoint texture and beautiful, surprising timbric variations. I have always appreciated the expressive strenght Bruckner's pieces are full of.
Bruckner's characteristic use of the false climaxes in the symphonies is absolutely brilliant, I adore those powerfully emotional crescendi which sound flowing into great finali whereas the phrase ends with a pianissimo, a pause or a fast diminuendo; absolutely beautiful and striking.

It goes without saying that my favourite Bruckner interpreter is Herbert von Karajan; his recording of the symphonies is the best I've ever heard, really outstanding. Same speech for the Te Deum, which is very solemn and evocative.

Hmm,  you just made me realize that, while I tend to prefer other approaches than Karajan's,  he might indeed be just the ticket for Bruckner. The very elements of his style that usually don't appeal to me are the ones that probably work best here.   Any particular Karajan Bruckner recording you would suggest as appreciably superior to his others?  Or is it safe to just plop one on at random?

ETA:  your post on the Listening thread provided the answer.  The box set is cheap enough I'll be ordering before too long.

[Scion7]

Karajan and Haitink.  Haitink did a fine job on Te Deum btw.

[eyeresist]

Any particular Karajan Bruckner recording you would suggest as appreciably superior to his others?  Or is it safe to just plop one on at random?

No. The essential Bruckner recordings of Karajan are symphonies 4 and 7 - on EMI, not Deutche Grammophon. His complete cycle is inconsistent, but I value 1 and 3 from that set. I haven't heard his recording of the Te Deum, but have a performance on DVD (along with symphonies 8 and 9) which is excellent.

[Jeffrey Smith]

No. The essential Bruckner recordings of Karajan are symphonies 4 and 7 - on EMI, not Deutche Grammophon. His complete cycle is inconsistent, but I value 1 and 3 from that set. I haven't heard his recording of the Te Deum, but have a performance on DVD (along with symphonies 8 and 9) which is excellent.

Well, 4 and 7 are the ones that seem to bring out the best in any conductor, and certainly the ones of which I have the most individual recordings.   I went ahead and ordered the set--it's cheap enough, especially compared to most other Bruckner cycles, and the ones you mention from the DG set are the ones I like the least (well, along with the Second), so perhaps K. will break them open for me.

[calyptorhynchus]

Heard this joke recently at a musical gathering.

"What your favourite Schumann symphony?"
"Bruckner 00!"

[eyeresist]

Well, 4 and 7 are the ones that seem to bring out the best in any conductor, and certainly the ones of which I have the most individual recordings.   I went ahead and ordered the set--it's cheap enough, especially compared to most other Bruckner cycles, and the ones you mention from the DG set are the ones I like the least (well, along with the Second), so perhaps K. will break them open for me.

May I ask, what recordings of 1-3 have you heard so far?

[Jeffrey Smith]

 I have as individual recordings only the Tintner on Naxos for the first three symphonies (I could swear there's at least one more of the Third, but I can't remember what it is), and two complete sets--Jochum on EMI and Wand-Cologne WDR. 

[Mirror Image]

For me, it's hard to beat Wand, Chailly, Bohm, and Giulini in Bruckner. Never liked Jochum or Karajan.

[eyeresist]

I have as individual recordings only the Tintner on Naxos for the first three symphonies (I could swear there's at least one more of the Third, but I can't remember what it is), and two complete sets--Jochum on EMI and Wand-Cologne WDR.

Without having heard them, I'd say I would expect something interesting from Wand's early recordings (in my experience, he got increasingly stolid with age, though the Hanssler concert releases may be more lively).
I dislike Jochum's EMI set, and found Tintner mostly a bore - except for a lively 0 and 00.
The Furtwangler set on Music & Arts is well worth hearing, if you can tolerate the antique sound.
Skrowaczewski has been mentioned as very solid and idiomatic (plus he does the Nowak ed. of the 4th!), and is on my wishlist (though I was disappointed by his 0).

That Karajan DVD I mentioned is with the VPO, BTW, rather than the BPO with whom he did his studio recordings.

[Lisztianwagner]

Hmm,  you just made me realize that, while I tend to prefer other approaches than Karajan's,  he might indeed be just the ticket for Bruckner. The very elements of his style that usually don't appeal to me are the ones that probably work best here.   Any particular Karajan Bruckner recording you would suggest as appreciably superior to his others?  Or is it safe to just plop one on at random?

ETA:  your post on the Listening thread provided the answer.  The box set is cheap enough I'll be ordering before too long.

Yes, I think it's rather hard to beat Karajan's recordings, he had a very special gift to interpret german/austrian music, and Bruckner's works don't make an exception to the rule at all. Karajan's Bruckner symphonies are absolutely worth buying, that set-box is so beautiful, powerful.
Anyway, he did an excellent job with the Wiener Philharmoniker as well, with which he recorded No.7 and No.8.

[Scion7]

Bohm/Vienna Philharmonic - Symphony No.3
Barenboim/Chicago Symphony-Symphony No.4
Haitink/Concertgebouw-Symphony 7 & Te Deum
Haitink/Concertgebouw-Symphony 8
Karajan/Berlin Philharmonic-Symphony 9  - all these on LP and like very much

I've got all the symphonies and masses on digital downloads -

Symphony No.1, No.4 & No.7 - Karajan/BPO
Symphony No."0" - Solti/CSO
Symphony No.2 - Giulini/Vienna Philharmonic
Symphony No.3 - Tinter, Royal Scottish National Orch
Symphony No.5 - Sinopoli, Staatskapelle Dresden
Symphony No.6 - Eichorn, Bruckner Orchester Linz
Symphony No.7 - Karajan, BPO
Symphony No.8 - Sinopoli, Staatskapelle Dresden
Symphony No.9 - Karajan, BPO

Te Deum - Haitink, Concertgebouw
3 Masses - Jochum, Bavarian Radio Symphony & Choir

String Quintet - Melos Quartet + Santiago

Piano works - Brunner, Schopper - nice disc from CPO