I see there's a 'favourite Bruckner symphony recordings' thread but this one is more specific. I asked this on the Bruckner thread but was ignored: so what are people's favourite symphony cycle recordings? I understand that there may well not be a definitive one...
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Currently, this one. As to which will be top dog in a month's time, however . . .Originally posted by Joseph K View Post
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I've got lots of Bruckner symphony recordings so I take a pick'n'mix approach usually made up of Haitink, Jochum and Karajan.
My recommendation for a complete set would be Haitink, recently reissued and remastered. You get the complete symphonies plus the Te Deum thrown in together with the Symphony No 0 and, as the icing on the cake, you also get the lot on a blu=ray disc. As a central recommendation you won't go far wrong with this one in my opinion.
"The sound is the handwriting of the conductor" - Bernard HaitinkComment
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As with Petrushka I tend to pick ‘n’ mix but if you want a reasonably priced set for starters either of the Jochum sets or Gunter Wand are good.Comment
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Thanks for the suggestions.Comment
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I feel bound to say go "off-piste", back to one of the earlier fountainheads: get the older pastoral post-Schubertian Bruckner inside you before any grander assumptions. The lyrical volatility and drama of these readings will give you a better perspective on say, Wand (steady-state Bruckner, often too inflexible despite grandeur of sound in Berlin). Or Jochum (devoted as he was, wonderful in the Masses and Choral works, never quite got those symphonic gear changes figured out: too stiff and awkward, no rubato, episodic, often simply too fast). "Stop-Go" Bruckner, as others have commented before me....Originally posted by Joseph K View Post
Thanks for the suggestions.
So the very first complete cycle, by Volkmar Andreae in 1953, is my prime recommendation (despite a somewhat untidily played 9th). Venzago (CPO) does something similar in better modern sound, but his 5th doesn't really work out.....
Venzago's 1-7 are among the finest and most original out there, risky, daring and made new, freshly read....the moods shifting with each bend in the musical road.... a time machine from the present to the timeless Brucknerian past....
Last edited by jayne lee wilson; 16-12-20, 18:21.Comment
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Originally posted by jayne lee wilson View PostI feel bound to say go "off-piste", back to one of the earlier fountainheads: get the older pastoral post-Schubertian Bruckner inside you before any grander assumptions. The lyrical volatility and drama of these readings will give you a better perspective on say, Wand (steady-state Bruckner, often too inflexible despite grandeur of sound in Berlin). Or Jochum (devoted as he was, wonderful in the Masses and Choral works, never quite got those symphonic gear changes figured out: too stiff and awkward, no rubato, episodic, often simply too fast). "Stop-Go" Bruckner, as others have commented before me....
So the very first complete cycle, by Volkmar Andreae in 1953, is my prime recommendation (despite a somewhat untidily played 9th). Venzago (CPO) does something similar in better modern sound, but his 5th doesn't really work out.....but his 1-7 are among the finest out there, risky, daring and made new, freshly read....the moods shifting with each bend in the musical road.... a time machine from the present to the timeless Brucknerian past....
https://www.qobuz.com/gb-en/search?q...ner&i=boutique I was thinking of suggestions as what set to purchase (which would only be one, given the prices of these things...) but I'll certainly check out Andreae and others via youtube. I'll probably end up buying the Haitink, cos I like his Beethoven cycle...
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That early Amsterdam Haitink is still among my favourites: again, fresh, relatively swift and to the point, not obsessed with grandeur of sound, focussed on symphony clarity. Lacks flexibility to some extent, but has an ear for the Pastoral in Bruckner (birdsong etc)....and recently remastered to great effect.Originally posted by Joseph K View Post I was thinking of suggestions as what set to purchase (which would only be one, given the prices of these things...) but I'll certainly check out Andreae and others via youtube. I'll probably end up buying the Haitink, cos I like his Beethoven cycle...
Part of the point about Andreae is that it connects you to the sound of "Old Vienna", giving you insights you can't get anywhere else. As does Knappertsbusch, but that's a whole other ballgame.....
Venzago adumbrates that tradition, almost miraculously.....Comment
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I think Nelsons and the Gewandhausorchester is going to be my favourite, although it isn't yet finished.Comment
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But what about the Venzago 8th and first three movements of the 9th? Seeing described somewhere (Originally posted by jayne lee wilson View PostI feel bound to say go "off-piste", back to one of the earlier fountainheads: get the older pastoral post-Schubertian Bruckner inside you before any grander assumptions. The lyrical volatility and drama of these readings will give you a better perspective on say, Wand (steady-state Bruckner, often too inflexible despite grandeur of sound in Berlin). Or Jochum (devoted as he was, wonderful in the Masses and Choral works, never quite got those symphonic gear changes figured out: too stiff and awkward, no rubato, episodic, often simply too fast). "Stop-Go" Bruckner, as others have commented before me....
So the very first complete cycle, by Volkmar Andreae in 1953, is my prime recommendation (despite a somewhat untidily played 9th). Venzago (CPO) does something similar in better modern sound, but his 5th doesn't really work out.....
Venzago's 1-7 are among the finest and most original out there, risky, daring and made new, freshly read....the moods shifting with each bend in the musical road.... a time machine from the present to the timeless Brucknerian past....
https://www.qobuz.com/gb-en/search?q...ner&i=boutique
) as the worst 8th ever recorded. Given the provenance of that opinion, I just had to listen, and though something of a 'curates egg', its good parts are very good indeed.
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At the risk of stirring, which is honestly not my intention, I'm genuinely intrigued that no mention seems to have been made of versions or editions in these recommendations, which seems to be pretty much all that IS talked about when any new recording comes out.Comment
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In most, nearly all, of the standard recommendations you will find that either Haas or Nowak editions are used with there not being a great deal of difference between them and JosephK is seeking such a set. Talk of various editions at this point would muddy the waters.Originally posted by Pulcinella View Post"The sound is the handwriting of the conductor" - Bernard HaitinkComment
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Good point Pulc but I think if JK has one set to broadly get to know the works and then he can sign up to a tutorial series with Jayne - the 40 Days and 40 Nights version - that’s the Fast Track one he can really start getting into the real AB!Originally posted by Pulcinella View PostLast edited by cloughie; 16-12-20, 20:06.Comment
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In the case of Schaller, the question is answered implicitly, as it is with Venzago or Tintner et al. These are conductors who paid a great deal of attention to which edition they were using, mainly opting for the earliest authenticable version of each symphony.Originally posted by Pulcinella View PostComment
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This would simply take too long in the present context. I gave a summary of the various editions, way back on the Bruckner Composers' Thread which you can seek out.Originally posted by Pulcinella View Post
It is very important of course, vital to me, and you'll find older recordings like Andreae or Kna using such as the (excellent, now usually ignored) 1892 8th, or newer ones using much more recent Carragan Editions of various symphonies (e.g. Venzago 2nd, Tintner 2nd), but these are usually specified in notes etc.
With 2 and 3 especially, you really do need to know which edition it is - the differences are extensive and very audible!Comment
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