A happy discovery!

[Karafan]

Hello everyone,
A board newbie here - and I must say I am very glad to have stumbled on this board.  I visit quite a few online classical music forums but this one looks a humdinger and I am sure I shall enjoy membership of it. 

As a Bruckner fan especially (but not exclusively, as my groaning shelves wearily testify!) I find the "Abbey" thread engrossing and illuminating but I am sure I will be tempted to join in many others too.

Anyway, that's my intro out of the way - and I am looking forward to making the acquaintance of a few of you I hope!

Best wishes

Karafan

[Brahmsian]

Welcome to GMG, Karafan! 

I am a huge Bruckner fan also, and there are many more on GMG!

This is a great place, with a lot of knowledgeable people.  I hope you enjoy it here.

Ray

[bhodges]

Hello, Karafan, from another Bruckner fan.  (The Eighth is one of my favorite works of all time.) 

I've been chatting with a friend in San Diego lately, who is getting ready to go to a "Brucknerthon" next month, held every year in a nearby town.  The hosts invite you to bring some of "Bruckner's favorite beverage" (i.e., beer  ), and they spend the day playing all of the symphonies in chronological order, using rare recordings and air-checks.  I've never been but would like to at some point.  My friend went last year and said it was quite fun.

Anyway, welcome!

--Bruce

[Hollywood]

Greetings from Vienna, Austria Karafan. Welcome to the forum. 

[knight66]

Welcome indeed. A quick question for you. I have Bruckner 9ths by.....Giulini, Furtwangler Davis and Wildner. Can you recommend a 9th with good sound that you put into the top bracket?

I will be hearing it live next week at the Proms.

Bruce: what are 'air-checks'?

Mike

[Que]

Most welcome!

I find the combination of a portrait of Wilhelm Furtwängler and a nickname referring to his rival Herbert von Karjan a nice touch!

Q

[Karafan]

Glad that paradox wasn't lost on you!  Thanks for your warm welcomes everyone.

Probably the wrong spot to go into this, but as I was asked for my favourite Bruckner 9s: well, for a great reading in stupendously good sound go for Barenboim with the BPO on Teldec (a cheapy box set no self respecting Brucknerian should be without IMHO!); for a searing, seething, cauldron of a performance:Furtwängler in October 1944 with the BPO (the sound is excellent for its age and the performance hors concours – just don't plan on doing anything in its immediate aftermath, you need to spend some time in quiet reflection: it's that moving an experience).

There are other very worthy contenders too (Haitink's recording with the Concertgebouw - 1979 version, mind - springs to mind quite readily), of course, as my enormous Bruckner collection testifies.  If you want a great modern take in SACD sound then the burnished tones of the Staatskapelle Dresden under Fabio Luisi (Sony) takes some beating.  Passionate and deeply thought-through, it is a very worthy addition to anyone's lauded B9s.

Best for now,

Karafan

[MN Dave]

Howdy.

[knight66]

Ditto. 

We should compare notes.

Karafan, Thanks. I have pondered that Baremboim set, available for about the price of some single full price disc. I might well plump for it, though the Luisi I recall having good reviews and sounding interesting.

I have the Furtwangler and agree, it is a dark journey and no mistake.

Mike

[Que]

Hello everyone,
A board newbie here - and I must say I am very glad to have stumbled on this board. 

We really should advertise our forum more....

Q

[Sergeant Rock]

I was asked for my favourite Bruckner 9s: well, for a great reading in stupendously good sound go for Barenboim with the BPO on Teldec (a cheapy box set no self respecting Brucknerian should be without IMHO!)...There are other very worthy contenders too (Haitink's recording with the Concertgebouw - 1979 version, mind - springs to mind quite readily)

Both picks come with Sgt Rock's Seal of Approval



Welcome aboard.

Sarge

[bhodges]

Bruce: what are 'air-checks'?

Mike

Hi Mike, they are recordings made from radio broadcasts, often rare (at least, that's my experience), and highly desirable for those who like live recordings.  The quality can be quite good, depending on who did them. 

(PS, may be more properly spelled "aircheck," without the hyphen.  )

--Bruce

[knight66]

Thanks Bruce.

Mike

[Mirror Image]

Welcome fellow Brucknerian! 

I'm a huge Bruckner fan like many here. I own every Bruckner symphony cycle available and almost every single release outside of the these cycles. My favorite Bruckner conductors are: Wand, Chailly, Giulini, and Bohm, but I do appreciate Barenboim, Jochum, and Karajan as well.

Anyway, I look forward to hearing more from you.

[PaulThomas]

Welcome to the boards, try not to take it all too seriously...

Ill be at Bruckner 9 at the Proms next week as well as Knight, looking forward to it, will have heard 4,7,8,9 live by then, all at the Proms -I think the RAH is acoustically quite good for Bruckner.

Anyhoo, I see that you reside in 'God's own county' - I live in Sheffield right now, so you have at least one fellow Yorkshire resident here.

[Lethevich]

Welcome! Great to have a new member, and don't be scared off by the occasional arguments - it's just the same people going at each other on new terrain every time

[knight66]

Yes and it is old terrain that go on going over. So, easy to sidestep.

Mike

[DavidRoss]

Welcome, Karafan, from a fan of Karajan's Bruckner.   

[Karafan]

Thanks everyone - including my fellow Yorkshireman! - very much looking forward to joining in!