Gunter Wand born January 7 1912

[Petrushka]

Anniversary enthusiasts will want to mark the 100th birthday of Gunter Wand on Saturday, January 7.

I attended many of his Bruckner performances including his unforgettable last Prom on 2001 when the frail 89 year old Wand gave one of the greatest Bruckner 9th's I will ever hear.

I shall be playing the newly released DVD of the Bruckner 5 with the BBCSO given on Sept 9 1990 and after which I was lucky enough to meet Wand in his room backstage at the RAH.

Anyone else have memories of him?

[Barbirollians]

I shall be playing my off air recording of that very Bruckner 9 and the magnificent Unfinished that preceded it.

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

Sat. 5th September, 1992: Bruckner's 8th Symphony with the BBCSO (I think you were there, too, Pet? - I didn't see you , but I think we mentioned this tremendous Prom on the old BBC Messageboards.)

[Petrushka]

Sat. 5th September, 1992: Bruckner's 8th Symphony with the BBCSO (I think you were there, too, Pet? - I didn't see you , but I think we mentioned this tremendous Prom on the old BBC Messageboards.)

Tes, I was indeed there and remember it well. Nearly 20 years ago?? Where has the time gone?

The only time I heard Wand in anything other than Bruckner was when the Schubert Unfinished opened his final Prom.

[Prommer]

He gave the 5th (twice), 8th (thrice) and 9th (once) at the Proms, according to the Proms Archive. Early renditions of the 5th and 8th were with the BBCSO in the 80s. The DVD of the 5th is as you say from 1990, the 8th was 1992 and again in 1995, and the 9th in 2001 (this time with the NDR Symphony).

Would love to hear that 9th Barbirollians... I have an off-air of the 8th from 1985 (his Proms Bruckner debut, and with the BBCSO) and the 9th from 2001, but from Lubeck rather than SW1!!

[Prommer]

I have just watched that new DVD of the 5th, Barbirollians, and couldn't study as closely as I would have liked as kept getting called away or interrupted, but what a performance it was. He was a stern old bugger, but he made the BBCSO sound like the BPO!

[Stanfordian]

Gunter Wand is marvellous in Bruckner. His live Bruckner recordings with the Berlin Philharmonic are indispensable. I have many recordings of Bruckner but I just cannot warm to any of the Tintner recordings on Naxos.

[Karafan]

This is an odd coupling... http://www.amazon.co.uk/Bruckner-Par...494029&sr=8-10

Wand is plastered all over the cover and Lenny gets a sotto voce mention on the back cover. Anyone know of a Bruckner BPO symphony recorded by Lenny? I can only think of his not-hugely-recommendable VPO 9 on DG....? Oh, I see there was a 1971 CBS NYPO 9th, could that be it, I wonder? Though no other band than the BPO is cited.....

K.