Bruckner 6

[jayne lee wilson]

Thanks, more or less spared me a post!

Norrington or Sawallisch is probably my "first choice", but I like all of these. It should be noted that there's basically only one "correct" version of the symphony (Haas/Novak only differ in very minor details). iirc Rozhdestvensky departs from it in the last bars of the piece by changing the timpani part, but if you like Soviet trumpets, an orchestra that's constantly on the verge of falling apart and poor sound quality, it's an excellent reading otherwise.

Thought I'd also mention Russell Davies/Linz on Arte Nova, which is not a favourite but highly stimulating in other respects—only recording where the tempo relations in the first movement follow the (possibly spurious) metronome markings in the manuscript, features a bizarrely slow finale and in general takes lots of risks. I can't say if anyone will like it, but it's worth hearing!

(I also like another recording rarely mentioned, Eichhorn/Linz on the Camerata label, which is a bit slow and wrong-notey but features one of the most convincing finales I know of)

Which Rozhdestvensky are you referring to Kea? The 6th in the 2009 Venezia doubleboxset (one of the alltime great Bruckner Cycles - is there really no-one else here who bought that?) is the 1984 studio recording from Moscow and it sounds wonderful - precision, depth, space, dynamics - truly magnificent, one of the most successful Melodiya remasters (true of the whole set). The orchestra plays superbly throughout. But your observation about the timpani is a sharp one... yes, it does sound different - Rozh seems to replace the drumroll at the very end with the motto 2+3 rhythm, and twice with a lower pitch on the 5th note of that figure than you'd expect! I'd not noticed this before so - spotter's badge etc.! I can't hear anything like it on several other recordings I checked...

It's audacious to say the least, but it makes sense musically with the return of the first theme, and at least you can hear it against the brass....

[kea]

Which Rozhdestvensky are you referring to Kea? The 6th in the 2009 Venezia doubleboxset (one of the alltime great Bruckner Cycles - is there really no-one else here who bought that?) is the 1984 studio recording from Moscow and it sounds wonderful - precision, depth, space, dynamics - truly magnificent, one of the most successful Melodiya remasters (true of the whole set).

Someday I will have that! I listened to it on YouTube, no idea which recording (the video seems to have been deleted now, or at least I can't find it), which probably accounts for the poor sound quality, haha. There are various Bruckner Rozhdestvensky recordings to be found on Qobuz, though almost none of them are properly tagged making them difficult to locate except by chance. Those which I've heard I enjoy a lot.

[P. G. Tipps]

Someday I will have that! I listened to it on YouTube, no idea which recording (the video seems to have been deleted now, or at least I can't find it), which probably accounts for the poor sound quality, haha. There are various Bruckner Rozhdestvensky recordings to be found on Qobuz, though almost none of them are properly tagged making them difficult to locate except by chance. Those which I've heard I enjoy a lot.

There are three links to the Bruckner Rozhdestvensky recordings on YouTube ... an absolute goldmine discovery for all Bruckner fanatics. Some separation of the individual symphonies is required and some re-labelling maybe to make sense of it all, considering the different versions featured.

The sound is amazingly good to my ears and, yes, I love those trumpets! How refreshing to hear the symphonies performed with such uncompromising abandon. For me, these interpretations fit in with all the anecdotal evidence concerning the composer and his earthy, country-boy character.

The Sixth is superb with one of the most impressive conclusions I've come across, something that eludes many conductors.

I agree with JLW ... grab these recordings any way you can!

Here are the links:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6cBCx0P5ogE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0opBf9_Ko3I

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NENhLTqu_5k

[Alison]

The Proms 2012 performance with BBC Philharmonic/Juanjo Mena, available on YouTube, is an unexpected delight.

[Petrushka]

The Sawallisch disc arrived this morning with astonishing promptness - ordered at around 11pm on Thursday night!

Down for listening tonight.

[Beef Oven!]

The Sawallisch disc arrived this morning with astonishing promptness - ordered at around 11pm on Thursday night!

Down for listening tonight.

I was gonna have a nibble at that, but I found the prices a bit off-putting.

[Petrushka]

The Sawallisch disc arrived this morning with astonishing promptness - ordered at around 11pm on Thursday night!

Down for listening tonight.

This is a superb account of the Bruckner 6 and recorded in quite magnificent sound (Great Hall of Munich University 1981).

Many thanks to Caliban for the recommendation which I heartily endorse. This is the real Bruckner sound, that Central European sound that suits the music to perfection.

BeefO, I'd forget the higher than normal price - it's worth every penny and you won't regret it.

[Nick Armstrong]

This is a superb account of the Bruckner 6 and recorded in quite magnificent sound (Great Hall of Munich University 1981).

Many thanks to Caliban for the recommendation which I heartily endorse. This is the real Bruckner sound, that Central European sound that suits the music to perfection.

Very glad you like it too!

[Gordon]

Very glad you like it too!

Looks like I'll be ordering the Sawallisch as well then!! I hope SirSR listens too before April 22nd and 23rd. So far I can see that the Norrington has a lot going for it. Still not convinced by Venzago's 3rd movement. Shan't throw away my Klemperer yet either.

[jayne lee wilson]

Anyone heard the new kids - Yannick Nézet-Séguin with his Metropolitans, or Jaap Van Zweden with the Netherlands RPO? Very warmly received by Ed Seckerson in Aw/2013. I more or less stopped buying Bruckner after the Venzago Cycle finished, and admittedly listen to the composer far less, with limited time now. You can hear 2 or 3 Roussel Symphonies in the time it takes to....

I did buy the 24-bit YNS a while ago.. guess it's time to stop curbing my enthusiasm...

[Beef Oven!]

This is a superb account of the Bruckner 6 and recorded in quite magnificent sound (Great Hall of Munich University 1981).

Many thanks to Caliban for the recommendation which I heartily endorse. This is the real Bruckner sound, that Central European sound that suits the music to perfection.

BeefO, I'd forget the higher than normal price - it's worth every penny and you won't regret it.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Symphony-6-Bruckner/dp/B00000596U/ref=sr_1_8?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1457238532&sr=1-8&keywords=sawallisch+bruckner

I could only see it for around £30, but now I've found it for £12/13 I may well go ahead. Not sure what happened with the prices there!

[P. G. Tipps]

This is a superb account of the Bruckner 6 and recorded in quite magnificent sound (Great Hall of Munich University 1981).

Many thanks to Caliban for the recommendation which I heartily endorse. This is the real Bruckner sound, that Central European sound that suits the music to perfection.

BeefO, I'd forget the higher than normal price - it's worth every penny and you won't regret it.

I take it this is the recording to which some are referring ... ?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B5XrFI8k-YU&list=RDB5XrFI8k-YU#t=324

I have just had a listen and I agree that the sound quality is excellent. The Adagio is beautifully and soulfully played. The Scherzo is fine and the all-important conclusion convincing.

However, the first movement is too swift and 'sophisticated' for my tastes, almost Mozartian in feel. Is that the 'real' Bruckner sound? I'm not sure ...

The composer himself is said to have described this symphony (from a rough translation) as his 'boldest'. Therefore, it could easily be argued that a raw, earthier sound might be the more genuine Bruckner here. Rozhdestvensky certainly provides that!

All such things are a matter of personal taste, of course, but, I've never been attracted to Bruckner's music by way of sophisticated perfection but rather a raw, wholly honest, warts 'n' all humanity.

Oh, what the heck, it would be a right boring forum if we all thought the same, eh?.

[Beef Oven!]

Bruckner 6

Interesting discussion of late on this symphony, agitated by Petrushka's passion for Haitink's 2017 release.

But why is this symphony such a non grata for enthusiastic discussion of the maestro's mature works?

I've never understood the hegemony of Klemperer over others in this. It's a great performance, but so is Horst Stein's (beautifully captured by Decca Eloquence Australia, if I'm not wrong). And Karajan, too. His is a completely underrated recording, much like his stellar Bruckner 3.

Celibidache is almost perfect for me. Kicked off by a remarkably otherworldly first movement with only the finale a bit lower voltage (if he'd got that right, I'd say Celi's primacy in this work would be indisputable).

Bryn pointed me towards Norrington in this, and it is super, but I've not developed the familiarity with it that I have for other recordings to any more on it.

I know I've attended a performance of B6 but I can't locate it in my mind. Probably a Prom.

This latest Haitink is a bit of a game-changer - a truly excellent performance by all concerned and state of the art sound quality (to me it sounds like the Orchestra are in my living room).

[richardfinegold]

Interesting discussion of late on this symphony, agitated by Petrushka's passion for Haitink's 2017 release.

But why is this symphony such a non grata for enthusiastic discussion of the maestro's mature works?

I've never understood the hegemony of Klemperer over others in this. It's a great performance, but so is Horst Stein's (beautifully captured by Decca Eloquence Australia, if I'm not wrong). And Karajan, too. His is a completely underrated recording, much like his stellar Bruckner 3.

Celibidache is almost perfect for me. Kicked off by a remarkably otherworldly first movement with only the finale a bit lower voltage (if he'd got that right, I'd say Celi's primacy in this work would be indisputable).

Bryn pointed me towards Norrington in this, and it is super, but I've not developed the familiarity with it that I have for other recordings to any more on it.

I know I've attended a performance of B6 but I can't locate it in my mind. Probably a Prom.

This latest Haitink is a bit of a game-changer - a truly excellent performance by all concerned and state of the art sound quality (to me it sounds like the Orchestra are in my living room).

Haven’t heard the Haitink.
Lately listened to Karajan, Solti, and Blomstedt. I think that in different ways, both Karajan and Solti May be underrated Brucknerians.
Karajan seems to attract comments like “Of course he is a great Bruckner Conductor, but...”. I’ve been getting more enjoyment from his Berlin cycle than any other. I am going to clear my shelves of Wand and Jochum to gain space. I think the “but” in the Karajan comments is a lingering resentment of his superstar status, as if that prevents him from being sufficiently “Spiritual “ . Whatever the reason, Karajan has me in his corner here.
Solti never is mentioned as one of the great Bruckner Conductors. I have his 1,6,8 and my local library has the entire cycle. Yes, the brass are a force of nature, but Bruckner and Wagner are two Composers where a take no prisoners brass choir can shine. I’ve been particularly impressed with the “lesser Symphonies” in Solti’s cycle—1,2, and 6. The music really sings in all of them.
Blomstedt arrived on my doorstep with the Holidays and I’m still taking it in. In general he seems quiet, and reflective, a more private type of Bruckner. The Leipzig Gewandhaus plays beautifully and the SACDs sound fabulous. I’m not sure how well this will wear with long term acquaintance, but I intend to slowly investigate.
Despite my dismissal of Wand, his Sixth is the best of his cycle, and has been ripped to my music server before the set gets tossed

[Petrushka]

I've never understood the neglect of the Bruckner 6 in the concert hall nor its reputation as a 'lesser' symphony. In my younger days, I took this at face value and it was therefore the last Bruckner symphony I came too - yes, including the '0'. I bought the Klemperer when it appeared on CD in 1990 but disliked it from the outset finding the fierce, overloading sound hard to bear and the orchestral timbre not what I would have expected in Bruckner. I tried once or twice later but found it a frustrating listen and still cannot understand the high regard in which this recording is held.

The game changer for me came in 1997 when I heard the Concertgebouw Orchestra and Riccardo Chailly in a Sunday afternoon concert in Symphony Hall, Birmingham, and it was a revelation. Here was the genuine Bruckner sound and everything just fell into place. I've heard it live just once more: Daniel Barenboim and the Staatskapelle Berlin at the 2016 Proms.

Wand (with the NDR SO), Karajan and especially Solti are all excellent recordings but the new Haitink is the one that will convince you more than any that the 6th is fully worthy of standing alongside 7, 8 & 9 as the very best of Bruckner. Haitink skilfully negotiates (goodness knows how) the problem that the finale can be less magnificent than the first movement and here makes for a splendid conclusion in rich, detailed and echt-Bruckner sound. A great recording of a great symphony.