Bruckner 4 LSO/Rattle

[Barbirollians]

Rave review from Richard Osborne in Gramophone this month even comparing it favourably to the Columbia SO/Walter version that topped his Gramophone Collection a few years back. Anyone heard it ?

[Ein Heldenleben]

It’s on Qobuz . The performance is based on a new Urtext version by Ben Gunnar-Cohrs with various discarded alternatives of scherzo and finale etc .

[BBMmk2]

I’ll have to hear!

[Petrushka]

It also got a rave review in the BBC Music Magazine from Michael Tanner. I've not heard it yet but the CDs are on my Christmas wish list.

RO's word on Bruckner is Holy Writ here so it's a must have! He also gave a very warm welcome to Thieleman's Bruckner with the VPO so I'll be buying those up as well.

[Barbirollians]

It also got a rave review in the BBC Music Magazine from Michael Tanner. I've not heard it yet but the CDs are on my Christmas wish list.

RO's word on Bruckner is Holy Writ here so it's a must have! He also gave a very warm welcome to Thieleman's Bruckner with the VPO so I'll be buying those up as well.

RO liked Thielemann's Fourth a lot and it is very good - he was a bit cooler on the other recent recordings.

On a completely different note I have been rather blown away by Blomstedts 1980s Bruckner 4 and 7 on Denon I picked up secondhand recently after the wonderful RFH concert this summer.

[Alison]

One of the first performances to be streamed on my new machine!

Fabulous stuff, swift and coherent. More involving than the Berlin recording.

Warning: Takes an absolute pummelling from Dave Hurwitz.

FWIW I find the Thieleman 4 too static and deliberate, stretching my patience.

[Bryn]

One of the first performances to be streamed on my new machine!

Fabulous stuff, swift and coherent. More involving than the Berlin recording.

Warning: Takes an absolute pummelling from Dave Hurwitz.

FWIW I find the Thieleman 4 too static and deliberate, stretching my patience.

I wonder whether the single customer review on amazon.co.uk (a mere 3 stars) was influenced by Hurwitz's predictable disdain. I have imported it from QOBUZ but am yet to listen. If taken with it, I will listen to a couple of other LSO live SACDs recorded at the Barbican, before deciding whether or not to invest in the SACD option or not. I can't recall how much, if anything, surround sound offered in such an acoustic environment.

[Barbirollians]

A pummelling from Hurwitz I tend to treat as a strong recommendation to buy and when it comes to Bruckner and a competition between him and RO ...

[Barbirollians]

One of the first performances to be streamed on my new machine!

Fabulous stuff, swift and coherent. More involving than the Berlin recording.

Warning: Takes an absolute pummelling from Dave Hurwitz.

FWIW I find the Thieleman 4 too static and deliberate, stretching my patience.

I am generally not Thielemann's biggest fan but I enjoyed it - though if not as extreme as Celi's a Bruckner 4 for occasional listening.

[silvestrione]

I wonder whether the single customer review on amazon.co.uk (a mere 3 stars) was influenced by Hurwitz's predictable disdain. I have imported it from QOBUZ but am yet to listen. If taken with it, I will listen to a couple of other LSO live SACDs recorded at the Barbican, before deciding whether or not to invest in the SACD option or not. I can't recall how much, if anything, surround sound offered in such an acoustic environment.

One of the special interests of this Rattle/Bruckner release is that it was recorded in LSO St Lukes, presumably a lockdown event, and to my, admittedly inexpert, ears, it sounds way better than any recording I've heard from the Barbican, open and spacious.

[Bryn]

One of the special interests of this Rattle/Bruckner release is that it was recorded in LSO St Lukes, presumably a lockdown event, and to my, admittedly inexpert, ears, it sounds way better than any recording I've heard from the Barbican, open and spacious.

Thanks very much for that. I see that Europadisc have it on promotion until January. Just need to build the order up to over £50 to get the free p&p too.

[Mal]

"Bruckner ... two accounts of his Fourth Symphony, which can only be bought as a pair... I must say straightaway that the first disc’s worth of music contains the finest account of the Fourth Symphony I have ever heard, thanks to the extreme simplicity of the approach. With Bruckner it is tempting, with his endless rallentandos and portentous moving towards even sub-climaxes, to accelerate or slam on the brakes. Rattle has none of that (unusual for him), but presents this symphony in a way that eliminates its danger-points. The result is a triumph." - Michael Tanner

Sounds like a must listen, but it does seem strange to force an alternates disc on people.

[Bryn]

"Bruckner ... two accounts of his Fourth Symphony, which can only be bought as a pair... I must say straightaway that the first disc’s worth of music contains the finest account of the Fourth Symphony I have ever heard, thanks to the extreme simplicity of the approach. With Bruckner it is tempting, with his endless rallentandos and portentous moving towards even sub-climaxes, to accelerate or slam on the brakes. Rattle has none of that (unusual for him), but presents this symphony in a way that eliminates its danger-points. The result is a triumph." - Michael Tanner

Sounds like a must listen, but it does seem strange to force an alternates disc on people.

I have a distinct feeling that purchase is not compulsory, and I, for one, very much welcome the inclusion of various solutions Bruckner essayed to his compositional problems in this work.

[mathias broucek]

At eclassical you can buy the tracks separately if you just want the rare bits... Although I'll probably buy the whole thing, myself

[Bryn]

At eclassical you can buy the tracks separately if you just want the rare bits... Although I'll probably buy the whole thing, myself

Unfortunately, the eClassical downloads for this release appear to be restricted to 2-channel stereo.