Bruckner: favourite symphony cycle/boxed set

[Petrushka]

Hans-Hubert Schönzeler’s BRUCKNER published 1970, pp 190 was my first book on AB. It has some photos of manuscripts, but no musical analysis to speak of.

Schönzeler wrote the excellent sleeve notes for the Unicorn LP issue of the 1944 VPO/Furtwängler recording of the Bruckner 8 - my very first Bruckner recording of all and still a major favourite of mine. I now have it on CD in a Music & Arts issue as well as also in a DG box. I prefer the M&A mastering and, in fact, I'll play it this evening.

[jayne lee wilson]

Thxs HD.
.............
Taking break from no.6 yesterday I realised it had been 25 years + since I last heard no.4.
I came across the Chailly cycle. I'd never listened to it. No mention of it on this thread AFAIK.
His RCO no.4 I thought a delight; excellent recording too. Unlike YNS, (he was dismissed during the first mvmt), Chailly maintains the vital 'pulse' throughout.
Any thoughts on the rest of his (two orchestra) set?

But what is this vital pulse of which you speak? Why does it have to be "maintained"? I can admire this approach in some hands. Gunter Wand, for example, despite the inevitable loss of spontaneity; the high discipline, fastidious balance and argumentative clarity do compensate on Wand's obsessive level.
To quote myself from the Bruckner Books thread...:

Two quotes from Bruckner in the Korstvedt Study of the 8th are very important to know about:

To Nikisch, during preparations for the premiere of the 7th:
"In the score many important, frequent tempo changes are not marked"

To Weingartner during rehearsal for the 8th:
"Please freely modify the tempi (as necessary for clarity)"

So If you ever feel cross about a given conductor's dangerous driving along the Brucknerian lanes and freeways, don't play the Traffic Cop but try to take Bruckner's own words to heart....
(Or pin them up by the bed, or in the kitchen somewhere, with a decorative frame......)

***
As I said on the BaL thread, the YNS 6th is one of the finest of all, and very distinctive. Near the top of my top group. I have the 24/96 WAVs from years ago, but - the CD arrived today. I felt that attached to it after my BaL revisit.
His two recordings of the 1873 3rd are outstanding too. Stunning-Sounding in Dresden (Staatskapelle, Profil 2008) but rather more flexible and expressive (and two or three shades faster) in Montreal, Métropolitain, ATMA, 2014). Give yourself a present, and live with both for a few weeks...

He isn't quite the mature Brucknerian yet; his cycle, a little inconsistent. He still plays the superseded Haas/Nowak text for the 2nd, for example, and takes a rather too respectful, steadier (if tonally lovely) view of it.
His Rotterdam 4th at the Proms a few years back also evinced very flexible, songfully intuitive Brucknerian approach. So with this composer, Yannick is still in his formative years really.

[Loathecliff]

The pulse is a feeling. It can be lost in a moment of self- indulgence, or not in some cases.
Example:- Colin Davis could ruin Elgar 1 for me, yet Tadaaki Otaka never did.
The engineering can have an effect too of course.
I have a feeling I'm not going to get away with this response :( :)

I'm hoping to listen to the YNS 6th shortly. I had already noted your recommendation.
My new DAC is currently objecting to a long USB lead and I want to resume my B.6th 'studies' with it in operation after a quick trial using the Hagen/Schiff 'Trout'

[Ein Heldenleben]

Any thoughts about the Naxos Tintner set? My 2006 edition of the Penguin Guide arrived yesterday. They rave about it but with the fickleness of fashion the Chailly performance they raved about in the 1996 edition seem to have disappeared (deleted in the pre-stream delays when things could be deleted that is)

[Karafan]

1 Ozawa 2009; 2 Järvi 2019; 3 Blomstedt 2017; 4 Haitink 2014; 5 Haitink 2011; 6 Jansons 2018; 7 Thielemann 2016; 8 Mehta 2012; 9 Rattle 2018

One downside of the 7 Digital cheap-as-chips downloads is that you don’t get the notes etc (or not so that I could find) but they are a lot cheaper than buying them from the BPO site. And there is the estimable Berlin Philharmonic Digital Concert Archive if you want exact dates of the performances.

A very interesting set from Berlin. I got the deluxe Bluray/CD set from my partner for Christmas. It is housed in one of the BPO's rather attractive 'hessian' hardbacked albums, which open to reveal a concertinaed array of disc slot envelopes.

I made my first foray into it last week and was immediately struck by a very leonine and fiery 1st from Ozawa who has the full measure of this mercurial work. Needless to say the Berliners play as if their lives depended on it and the sense of propulsion is both marked and welcome. The bluray optics are superb, with discreet, intelligent and musically-informed camerawork. The audio is also pretty stellar.

From the reviews I read some months ago, the only partial dud is Thielemann in 7 - whose qualities as a Bruckner conductor mostly rather escape me. Visually, I find him off-putting with a foursquare, dour, kapellmeisterisch approach and a tendency towards stodge.

(Thanks, all, for the Jochum remastering info).

[jayne lee wilson]

Any thoughts about the Naxos Tintner set? My 2006 edition of the Penguin Guide arrived yesterday. They rave about it but with the fickleness of fashion the Chailly performance they raved about in the 1996 edition seem to have disappeared (deleted in the pre-stream delays when things could be deleted that is)

Very good, if a little inconsistent; tends to to the calm, steady and reflective... mindful Bruckner.
But Symphonies 1-3, and the 1887 8th, all in the original Carragan or Nowak version, are among the best on record. Caveat Emptor No.3 though - the 1st movement here runs to..... 30'34 . (YNS makes it to a mere 26'15 in Dresden.)
So - pace Celi - Somewhat hors concours, sui generis etc....

I though it marvellous on its release; the recorded sound is excellent. So lay in rations and hunker down...I'd be intrigued to try it now, many Bruckerian Worlds and Galaxies later...

[Bryn]

Very good, if a little inconsistent; tends to to the calm, steady and reflective... mindful Bruckner.
But Symphonies 1-3, and the 1887 8th, all in the original Carragan or Nowak version, are among the best on record. Caveat Emptor No.3 though - the 1st movement here runs to..... 30'34 . (YNS makes it to a mere 26'15 in Dresden.)
So - pace Celi - Somewhat hors concours, sui generis etc....

I though it marvellous on its release; the recorded sound is excellent. So lay in rations and hunker down...I'd be intrigued to try it now, many Bruckerian Worlds and Galaxies later...

They were a real breath of fresh air at the times of their releases. I'm particularly grateful that he went against his own preference for the Haas 'pick, mix, and link' version in recording the 1887 version of the 8th.