With interests as broad as mine, it is inevitable that I will overlook certain composers for a time; Bruckner is in this category. While I have encountered (and liked) a few of his works in the past, I haven't gotten around to a deeper exploration... at least until now. The expansive style of late-Romanticism has always appealed to me; for years, I have had a strong interest in Wagner, Mahler, and R. Strauss, and I have recently added Elgar to that list. Bruckner seemed like a good choice to add to this, so when I saw it in a store, I decided to buy this set of Jochum's classic recordings for DG:
This set contains all of the symphonies except Nos. 0 and 00, which I'll have to find somewhere else (possibly in another set).
I was going to start a thread to talk about my impressions of his symphonies as I listen to them, but I saw this thread and chose to add to it instead.
Yesterday, I listened to Symphony No. 1, and I posted my first impressions in the "Purchases Today" thread. What I found was a stormy work with great power and energy, punctuated by a nice interlude in the form of a lovely slow movement. I was especially amazed at the scherzo; seldom have I heard one with such power. Considering that this is an early work, and not generally considered the best of his output, I will be interested to hear the others. I am listening to them in order, so I'll be posting something about No. 2 before long.
I would be interested to hear the thoughts of others about No. 1, and about the others as I move on to them. Also, recommendations for a second Bruckner cycle would be useful; these seem like symphonies that I should have more than one performance of. Also, perhaps when I'm done with these I will move on to some of his other music. Any thoughts on his masses?
See... there are women who like Bruckner!
Heather
