Bruckner's Abbey

[Cato]

Would you include the String Quintet in its string orchestra version as a quasi-symphony? 

I am listening to it right now via YouTube.

I have not yet heard the complete orchestration by Gerd Schaller: any comments from those who have heard it?

[asin]B07FCS4XR9[/asin]

My mind just made a connection!   





Coincidence?  Should we be worried?     

[Cato]

Would you include the String Quintet in its string orchestra version as a quasi-symphony? 

I am listening to it right now via YouTube.

I have not yet heard the complete orchestration by Gerd Schaller: any comments from those who have heard it?

[asin]B07FCS4XR9[/asin]

My mind just made a connection!   





Coincidence?  Should we be worried?     

Schaller's orchestration is available on YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/v/5w6OLLqvNac&list=OLAK5uy_mRiA4eI-g_eILh0sMqo98xhDDMxmURY2I

[Cato]

I revisited the slow movement today, and intend to hear the entire work again:

Symphony "00" in F minor.  More than a "study symphony"!


https://www.youtube.com/v/eNlbYSgzDkQ

[Leo K.]

My mind just made a connection!   





Coincidence?  Should we be worried?     

That is awesome beyond words!

[Cato]

That is awesome beyond words!

In case anyone missed it...

[asin]B07FCS4XR9[/asin]

My mind just made a connection!   





Coincidence?  Should we be worried?     

On a somewhat deeper level...Gerd Schaller's completion of the Ninth Symphony is available on a DVD: I have neither seen nor heard it.  Two opinions on Amazon give the completion a 5-star and a 4-star, with the 5-star saying it is a spiritual experience and the 4-star saying it is a "not a Christian" finale as Bruckner would have composed.

Any thoughts?

https://www.abruckner.com/store/dvdsbruckner/symphony-no-9-with-schaller-finale-gerd-schaller--/

[André]

In case anyone missed it...

On a somewhat deeper level...Gerd Schaller's completion of the Ninth Symphony is available on a DVD: I have neither seen nor heard it.  Two opinions on Amazon give the completion a 5-star and a 4-star, with the 5-star saying it is a spiritual experience and the 4-star saying it is a "not a Christian" finale as Bruckner would have composed.

Any thoughts?

I have the Profil box and listened to the Schaller completion once, about a year ago. As I am proceeding chronologically and slowly, it might take another year before I get there again. My first thoughts were that Schaller went into overdrive recycling themes from earlier in the work and from previous symphonies. Neither positive nor negative, just an impression. It might fall into place more naturally upon further acquaintance.

[PerfectWagnerite]

I have the Profil box and listened to the Schaller completion once, about a year ago. As I am proceeding chronologically and slowly, it might take another year before I get there again. My first thoughts were that Schaller went into overdrive recycling themes from earlier in the work and from previous symphonies. Neither positive nor negative, just an impression. It might fall into place more naturally upon further acquaintance.

How is that box by the way? I see it for pretty cheap here:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Anton-Bruckner-Complete-Symphonies-18-CD-Brand-New-Sealed-Package-Ships-Next-Day/323585993317?_trkparms=aid%3D111001%26algo%3DREC.SEED%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D20160908105057%26meid%3D37ddaac12f644d2fa78266e703bffa27%26pid%3D100675%26rk%3D2%26rkt%3D15%26sd%3D283129738516%26itm%3D323585993317&_trksid=p2481888.c100675.m4236&_trkparms=pageci%3Ab9a27a54-1c38-11e9-9e61-74dbd180caf9%7Cparentrq%3A683567541680ac1c5ccd29aefffe43c6%7Ciid%3A1

[André]

How is that box by the way? I see it for pretty cheap here:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Anton-Bruckner-Complete-Symphonies-18-CD-Brand-New-Sealed-Package-Ships-Next-Day/323585993317?_trkparms=aid%3D111001%26algo%3DREC.SEED%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D20160908105057%26meid%3D37ddaac12f644d2fa78266e703bffa27%26pid%3D100675%26rk%3D2%26rkt%3D15%26sd%3D283129738516%26itm%3D323585993317&_trksid=p2481888.c100675.m4236&_trkparms=pageci%3Ab9a27a54-1c38-11e9-9e61-74dbd180caf9%7Cparentrq%3A683567541680ac1c5ccd29aefffe43c6%7Ciid%3A1

I'm about 2/3 of the way through it. So far no cigars. There are 2 recording locations, one very good, the other not (excessive reverberation - a popular idea for Bruckner that fails to work here).  I find the lesser played/recorded symphonies faring better (00,0), and one of the 4ths is very good indeed. I was disappointed with 2, 6 and 7.

One might think it ultra complete at first glance, but it is not. There are 2 versions of no 1 (Linz and Vienna), 2 of no 4 (both using the familiar Nowak version, but one using the 'Volkfest' finale) and 2 of no 9 - both using a completed finale, one by Carragan, one by Schaller. We get early versions of 2, 3, an 'interim' version of 1888 which is neither the 1887 or 1890 versions. IOW it's the chef's choice, with rather jarring inconsistencies (early versions of 2 and 3 only, but no early version of no 4 - why?).

[Mirror Image]

How is that box by the way? I see it for pretty cheap here:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Anton-Bruckner-Complete-Symphonies-18-CD-Brand-New-Sealed-Package-Ships-Next-Day/323585993317?_trkparms=aid%3D111001%26algo%3DREC.SEED%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D20160908105057%26meid%3D37ddaac12f644d2fa78266e703bffa27%26pid%3D100675%26rk%3D2%26rkt%3D15%26sd%3D283129738516%26itm%3D323585993317&_trksid=p2481888.c100675.m4236&_trkparms=pageci%3Ab9a27a54-1c38-11e9-9e61-74dbd180caf9%7Cparentrq%3A683567541680ac1c5ccd29aefffe43c6%7Ciid%3A1

You didn't ask me, but I own Schaller's set of Symphonies Nos. 4, 7, & 9 and didn't think the performances were anything special. I'll freely admit that I'm rather spoilt by performances that have come well before Schaller, so he's up against some stiff competition.

[Kna]

Hello gentlemen,

I had the pleasure to attend the concerts in Ebrach where G.Schaller and the Philharmonia Festiva played the 9th with the Finale by the maestro, once in 2016 and once in 2018 (slightly revised). And indeed, for me it was a kind of spiritual experience, something unforgettable. Regarding the Wiener Fassung of the 1st symphony, they will play it (and probably record it) this year in may in Bad-Kissingen.

[André]

Hi Kna, pleased to meet you. One of my internet buddies had the same experience as you with the Ebrach concerts - I recall him writing about the 2016 9th.

[Cato]

Hello gentlemen,

I had the pleasure to attend the concerts in Ebrach where G.Schaller and the Philharmonia Festiva played the 9th with the Finale by the maestro, once in 2016 and once in 2018 (slightly revised). And indeed, for me it was a kind of spiritual experience, something unforgettable. Regarding the Wiener Fassung of the 1st symphony, they will play it (and probably record it) this year in may in Bad-Kissingen.

Greetings, Kna(ppertsbusch ? )!

Many thanks for your comments! 

[Cato]

A Bruckner website on FaceBook offered this recently:

https://www.youtube.com/v/6J4IDfajZHw&feature=share

I was wondering about the designation as "Recording of the Century."  Is it the opinion of the YouTube publisher, or does anyone here know if the recording received such an award from a record magazine, or a group of musicologists, or...?

[PerfectWagnerite]

A Bruckner website on FaceBook offered this recently:

https://www.youtube.com/v/6J4IDfajZHw&feature=share

I was wondering about the designation as "Recording of the Century."  Is it the opinion of the YouTube publisher, or does anyone here know if the recording received such an award from a record magazine, or a group of musicologists, or...?

This is the cd on my shelf:
[asin]B000051YD8[/asin]
Looks like part of the Philips 50 Great Recordings series.

[merlin]

The one with the RCO, recorded by Tahra, is from December 1986, and is far superior to the Philips.  It is one of the best B5s I have heard.  One reason is that it does not have the overly reverberant sonics of the abbey in which the Philips version was recorded.

[Cato]

The one with the RCO, recorded by Tahra, is from December 1986, and is far superior to the Philips.  It is one of the best B5s I have heard.  One reason is that it does not have the overly reverberant sonics of the abbey in which the Philips version was recorded.

Many thanks for the review!

I found an announcement that Christian Thielemann will perform all* the Bruckner symphonies in European cathedrals in a 5-year project with the Vienna Philharmonic.

See:

https://slippedisc.com/2019/01/vienna-phil-signs-thielemann-for-5-year-bruckner-cycle/


* Whether that includes the F minor Study Symphony and Die Nullte is unclear.

[André]

The one with the RCO, recorded by Tahra, is from December 1986, and is far superior to the Philips.  It is one of the best B5s I have heard.  One reason is that it does not have the overly reverberant sonics of the abbey in which the Philips version was recorded.

+ 1

Indeed, it's one of the greatest Bruckner performances ever made - along with 8 an 9 from the same decade.

[Cato]

The one with the RCO, recorded by Tahra, is from December 1986, and is far superior to the Philips.  It is one of the best B5s I have heard.  One reason is that it does not have the overly reverberant sonics of the abbey in which the Philips version was recorded.

+ 1

Indeed, it's one of the greatest Bruckner performances ever made - along with 8 an 9 from the same decade.

As I wrote under What Are You Listening To, yes, I heard this performance today.  I discovered that my downloading service offered it, and WOW!!!

Am goettlichsten!!!   0:)

[André]

My experience with Jochum has been mixed. His early recordings in Hamburg and Munich (nos 8 and 9 on DGG) are formidable, among the best from the mono era. His stereo cycle on DG is mostly excellent, but a bit light of gait and rather contrived in symphonies 4 and 9. His second cycle in Dresden has never appealed to me. I find the sound shrill and unfocused, and the performances unsettled. Nos 3, 6 and 8 are quite good nevertheless.

Then in the 1980s he started revisiting his favourites, symphonies 5,7, 8 and 9. We have recordings from Amsterdam (5 and 8 ), Munich (7 and 9, with the Philharmonic, not the BRSO) and Bamberg (8, 2 different performances). In those, Jochum seems to have found that elusive ideal: magisterial grandeur, hugely dramatic vistas and a well of emotion that is rarely found in Bruckner. The Amsterdam 5th, Bamberg 8th and Munich 9th are in a class of their own. The others are almost as great.

[merlin]

Very well stated, André, and I wholeheartedly concur.  I have not yet heard his later B7 with MPO, but the ones you mention are at the very top. 

IIRC, one of the Bamberg B8s was recorded in Tokyo and the other at St. Florian, and his daughter selected the MPO B9 as her dad's best performance.