Bruckner's Abbey

[Lethevich]

Oh Leitner was excellent - I think on Testament or Hanssler or something? I always meant to check Bongartz, if only because of his hilarious name, but I don't think I ever did

I wish I could get as obsessed with Bruckner's other symphonies as I do with the 6th.

[MishaK]

Hopefully this will be more on the level of his Mahler 10.

Alas, comprehension of Mahler does not automatically translate into comprehension of Bruckner. I found his Bruckner 4 recording rather pointless as well, despite the beautiful horn playing.

[Sergeant Rock]

Oh Leitner was excellent - I think on Testament or Hanssler or something?

Hänssler



A good Sixth (especially the last movement); great coupling.

My favorite, going on 4 decades now, is still Klemperer. Love Dohnányi/Cleveland, Stein/Vienna, Norrington/Stuttgart and Sawallisch too.

Sarge

[Brian]

Hanssler

Whoa, what a great coupling. Sign me up.

[Brahmsian]

Test drove the following three Bruckner 7ths:

Giulini/WP - Had heard this one before, and really love it the first time (not as much the 2nd time) - (8.5/10)

Barenboim/CSO - Wicked, REALLY enjoyed it (9.5/10)

Nezet-Seguin/Orchestre Metropolitain du Grand Montreal - Meh....a little too subdued of a performance (6/10)

[Brahmsian]

OK - I need the music experts to help me understand what is going on in Bruckner's 7th Symphony, in the 1st movement.

Specifically, it occurs at around the 3 minute mark of the 1st movement.  It is when the woodwinds introduce a theme.  It's not the theme I'm inquiring about - but the pulsing rhythmic beat you can hear at the same time.  I don't know how to describe it - it sounds like modern, electronica or synthesizer music almost?  So unique.  Sounds ethereal.

Does anyone know what I'm talking about?  If so, what are the instrument(s) causing this 'effect'? 

I apologize, I don't have much education in music - so bear with me. 

Please, and thank you! 

[jlaurson]

Alas, comprehension of Mahler does not automatically translate into comprehension of Bruckner. I found his Bruckner 4 recording rather pointless as well, despite the beautiful horn playing.

Indeed, often the two are at odds; not many conductors do both on a regular basis, very few conductors can do both equally well, and almost no conductors did both (well) at a young age. Sinopoli being one of those exceptions... perhaps a sign of his intelligence / talent?

Hänssler



A good Sixth (especially the last movement); great coupling.

The Leitner is a terrific disc all around... recently put a lot of Sixths to the test... Leitner floated near the top; the Suisse Romande on Pentatone with Janowski sank almost immediately for doing everything properly and getting nothing right.

A favorite alongside Celi/Munich, Haitink/Dresden.

[Sergeant Rock]

Does anyone know what I'm talking about?  If so, what are the instrument(s) causing this 'effect'? 

Clarinet and oboe play the theme; horns and trumpets play the pulsating figures.

Sarge

[Brahmsian]

Clarinet and oboe play the theme; horns and trumpets play the pulsating figures.

Sarge

Thank you, Sarge!  I would not have guessed the horns and trumpets?!  Wow!   

It's an amazing effect.

[Sergeant Rock]

The Leitner is a terrific disc all around... recently put a lot of Sixths to the test... Leitner floated near the top; the Suisse Romande on Pentatone with Janowski sank almost immediately for doing everything properly and getting nothing right.

A favorite alongside Celi/Munich, Haitink/Dresden.

That Haitink gets recommended a lot. Sigh....one more for the pile?

Sarge

[jlaurson]

That Haitink gets recommended a lot. Sigh....one more for the pile?

Sarge

Yes, I'm afraid. T'is a must. http://www.weta.org/fmblog/?p=121

[Sergeant Rock]

Yes, I'm afraid. T'is a must. http://www.weta.org/fmblog/?p=121

I ordered it.

Sarge

[TheGSMoeller]

Ok! Stop with the Bruckner 6th recommendations! My wallet is only so big! 

I'm fairly sure it's o.o.p., but anyone familiar with the Blomstedt/SFO recording of Bruckner 6th?
Also, haven't seen much talk about Norrington's Bruckner discs with Southwest German Radio Symphony Orchestra on these forums, are they not worth mentioning?

[Sergeant Rock]

Also, haven't seen much talk about Norrington's Bruckner discs with Southwest German Radio Symphony Orchestra on these forums, are they not worth mentioning?

I think not many own them. I do. Jens too, I think...at least the Sixth. There was some discussion a year ago, here:

http://www.good-music-guide.com/community/index.php/topic,29.msg415558.html#msg415558


Sarge

[jlaurson]

Ok! Stop with the Bruckner 6th recommendations! My wallet is only so big! 

I'm fairly sure it's o.o.p., but anyone familiar with the Blomstedt/SFO recording of Bruckner 6th?
Also, haven't seen much talk about Norrington's Bruckner discs with Southwest German Radio Symphony Orchestra on these forums, are they not worth mentioning?

Well, you can't ask for no-Bruckner recommendations and then talk Norrington. Incidentally it's his Bruckner Sixth that is really very good: http://ionarts.blogspot.com/2011/01/best-recordings-of-2010-almost-list.html. Different but never "just" interesting... always compelling.

[TheGSMoeller]

Well, you can't ask for no-Bruckner recommendations and then talk Norrington. Incidentally it's his Bruckner Sixth that is really very good: http://ionarts.blogspot.com/2011/01/best-recordings-of-2010-almost-list.html. Different but never "just" interesting... always compelling.

Thanks, Jens. And the sarcasm didn't reveal itself too well there...I should have just been straight about it and said, keep'em coming!

I see Norrington's Mahler 9th made the list, I am extremely fond of that performance.   

[Brahmsian]

I know there are a couple of dedicated threads for a few of the symphonies, but I wish there was a thread for each individual symphony.   

[Renfield]

You know that fellow who used to post here (maybe he still does?) with an unhealthy obsession over Yehudi Menuhin?

"Get the Menuhin!"


Well, get - or at least try - the Eschenbach!



Seriously, I think I praised it a few pages/months back, when I dropped by, but I will say it again: it's pretty great.

You may well raise me the Celi, and claim that it's beyond 'pretty great', and you'd likely be right. But short of a Celibidachean tempo restructuring enterprise, there's hardly anyone who manages to take that score and produce a result that doesn't need to excuse itself for being 'lighter', more muscular, faster, whatever: it's Bruckner, and it sounds exactly what Bruckner would've written around the 4th and 5th, chronologically speaking. The end.

I'm making such a fuss about this because so many of the people who have performed the 6th with above average results have done so via accelerating, point-making, or delineating the symphony, as it were, into coherence. Whereas Eschenbach just plays the damn thing - with rubato, but no Celi business - and it just roars and purrs and whispers.

In other words, it shows itself to be a great Bruckner symphony like any other, that can be likened to a church, that people can obsess over whether it's sexual or spiritual, and so on and so forth. Nothing unusual, or (more) eccentric.

Point being, if Eschenbach can do it, perhaps we might consider why everyone seems to need to have a 'thing' about their 6th for us to like it. Maybe conductors just aren't willing enough to play it with a straight face? That would be consistent with that Haitink (which I've yet to hear) also being good, as he's the epitome of straight-faced. And it's not trivial at all that the 6th can sound normal that way, even if (I suspect) it was intended to, all along.

[jwinter]

This just landed in the mail today.  While I have several of Wand's late Berlin Philharmonic recordings and one or two with the NDR, I didn't have a full set, so at this price I decided to take the plunge.  From what I can tell this is his first set in Cologne from the late 70s - early 80s, so all of these recordings should be new to me -- looking forward to checking these out...

[asin]B0042U2HLY[/asin]

[MishaK]

Universal is reissuing - after an excessively long hiatus - the wonderfully idiosyncratic old 70s/80s Barenboim/CSO Bruckner set at bargain price (used to command in excess of $150 on ebay for the original late 80s CD issue - Berky's site had a few select Japanese reissues for sale for $129).



Contains, among other things, one of the very finest 0's, a superb 1, vastly underrated performances of 3, 5, and 6, which were never issued as single CDs, and, last but not least one of the very, very best 9ths on record. The 4th is a brass fest glory to behold. Not a first choice by any means, but good fun. Not on amazon yet, but Arkiv has it up for preorder for $44.