Karl Bohm

[Danny]

Almost bought his Beethoven Ninth (from the early 70's) but passed.

[Danny]

But I do love his majestic Bruckner Fourth from the same period, even if I think the HVK version from a few years before has a better scherzo.

[Choo Choo]

Radio 3 made his Bruckner 7 the best recording! I am not utterely convinced, though I don't own it so will revisit it.

No, I'm not either.  I prefer his earlier '43 recording (also with the VPO.)  But then nowadays I'd also choose his '36 Dresden #4 over the (still superb) '73 VPO to which O Mensch alludes.  These are just personal preferences - and if nothing else, do rather undermine the idea that there's something essentially deficient about the guy's conducting.

His LvB Pastoral (VPO) is a thing of beauty, not to be missed.

[MishaK]

His LvB Pastoral (VPO) is a thing of beauty, not to be missed.

That one, on the other hand, I find way too square.

[Sergeant Rock]

Seems like an odd batch to record!

Between 1960 and 1969 he recorded all the symphonies for DG...so, not odd at all.

Sarge

[Mozart]

I suggest you listen to his Beethoven symphonies from the early seventies.

His 3 shorts and a long are 3 long and...well maybe the 4th never ends!

[PerfectWagnerite]

I think he is overrated myself, but somehow others love him

Almost everything he did that people say are infallible, like Mozart, Schubert, Wagner, I enjoy almost every other recording I have more. His Bruckner 4th is not bad, but hey I have never had a Bruckner 4th that is less than great. His Beethoven is unlistenable, from the same period I much prefer Karajan.

[Choo Choo]

His Beethoven is unlistenable

No, it's old-fashioned.  Not the same thing at all.

[Mozart]

No, it's old-fashioned.  Not the same thing at all.

I dont think this is what Beethoven had in mind.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r32QPNdopVg

[PerfectWagnerite]

No, it's old-fashioned.  Not the same thing at all.

Old fashioned? So is Klemperer, but Klemper's has grandeur and power, with impeccably balanced woodwinds and pounding timpani. Every phrase is carefully juxtaposed against the others to achieve a degree of contrast that Bohm never even comes close. And his Mozart 35-41 symphonies - some say the best out there, aren't even as good as Fricsay's from around the same time with the same BPO. Bohm is such a bore, somewhere between a Colin Davis on a bad day and Claudio Abbado.

[jochanaan]

I once saw a video of Böhm leading Tristan und Isolde with a French orchestra and Birgit Nilsson as Isolde--magnificent!  And I love his 1970s Missa Solemnis with the Margaret Price, Christa Ludwig, Wiecsław Ochmann, Martti Talvela, and the Vienna Philharmonic.  His Mozart is a little heavy for my taste, but his Schubert is lovely.  He's not a heaven-storming conductor, but all the recordings I've heard have been solid and competent, and some even inspired.

[Choo Choo]

Old fashioned? So is Klemperer, but Klemper's has grandeur and power, with impeccably balanced woodwinds and pounding timpani. Every phrase is carefully juxtaposed against the others to achieve a degree of contrast that Bohm never even comes close. And his Mozart 35-41 symphonies - some say the best out there, aren't even as good as Fricsay's from around the same time with the same BPO. Bohm is such a bore, somewhere between a Colin Davis on a bad day and Claudio Abbado.

No no - you still don't get the sense of spaciousness.  It's a Saxon thing.

I was listening to his Dresden Bruckner #5 earlier today, and it's a voice from another age.  If you're used to modern concert performances, yes, you'll hate it.

[dtwilbanks]

Almost bought his Beethoven Ninth (from the early 70's) but passed.

His 9th is the first classical purchase I ever made. The LPs came in a box with a book which was a novelty for me at that time. Then I dropped the ball for almost a decade before I got more seriously into classical.

[PerfectWagnerite]

I was listening to his Dresden Bruckner #5 earlier today, and it's a voice from another age.  If you're used to modern concert performances, yes, you'll hate it.

The greatest Bruckner 5th I have on CD is Furtwangler with the BPO on EMI. No one conducts this work like Furtwangler. The reading is at times frightening, at times serene, and always propulsive. So I don't think I am partial towards modern readings.

His Mozart is a little heavy for my taste, but his Schubert is lovely.  He's not a heaven-storming conductor, but all the recordings I've heard have been solid and competent, and some even inspired.

Yes, he is very professional, very competent, but I never get the sense he is a GREAT conductor. Furtwangler was great, Klemperer was great, Bernstein was great, Bohm was not.

[Choo Choo]

The greatest Bruckner 5th I have on CD is Furtwangler with the BPO on EMI. No one conducts this work like Furtwangler. The reading is at times frightening, at times serene, and always propulsive. So I don't think I am partial towards modern readings.
Yes, he is very professional, very competent, but I never get the sense he is a GREAT conductor. Furtwangler was great, Klemperer was great, Bernstein was great, Bohm was not.

I'm not trying to argue for Böhm's "greatness".  Not only would I not want to try and define that, I don't really consider it relevant to my listening pleasure.  Many of my favourite recordings are by conductors who don't conventionally wear the mantle of "greatness" - Konwitschny, for example:  another one who maybe doesn't stamp his personality all over the music - and sometimes that's no bad thing.  If you like your Beethoven symphonies to sound hectic and intense, then by all means go for e.g. Kleiber/VPO.  If sometimes you'd prefer something a bit more spacious, there's Böhm, or Konwitschny, or a half a dozen others I could name.

The original proposition suggested that Böhm was somehow incompetent on the rostrum, and I think there is ample evidence to the contrary.

I agree with you about the Furtwängler Bruckner #5.  An indispensable recording.  I could also name you about 20 other recordings which I also greatly esteem.  Some are highly individual, and some aren't.

[Bogey]

Came across this shot and thought it kind of cool. Böhm the rock star!

[starrynight]

Back in the 80s I got a cassette from a library that I think had Bohm in the Mozart symphonies 34,26 and 27.  I liked it.

[shell]

Odd. I'm not familiar with his Mozart but his Wagner is electrifying--easily the most exciting, dramatic and thrilling versions of the Ring and Tristan & Isolde I've heard, and also an excellent Meistersinger.

[Que]

Yes, he is very professional, very competent, but I never get the sense he is a GREAT conductor. Furtwangler was great, Klemperer was great, Bernstein was great, Bohm was not.

Echoing the previous post: he indeed was a real great conductor - in Wagner and Richard Strauss operas....not the main stream stuff like Bruckner, Brahms, Schubert or Mozart (opera).

Q