09 September 2012

The Bruckner cycle par excellence is about to arrive

In July 2011, I blogged the Ad Hoc Blomstedt Bruckner cycle par excellence, and now the full cycle (from Symphony No. 1 to No. 9) is about to be available by the end of this month. There will be a box-set of these 9 symphonies. What is particularly pleasing is that all the unissued symphonies will also be available separately, which means those of us who have bought these symphonies one by one over the years will not be forced to buy the whole box-set just for the remaining symphonies (Nos. 2 and 9 in this case), unlike the recent Marcus Bosch cycle which compels you to buy the whole box-set if you want his F minor and Nullte recordings.

The following picture shows Blomstedt's Gewandhausorchester Leipzig cycle up to the present moment. There are two Thirds, with the earlier one issued within a 5-CD box-set of his live recordings in 1998-2005, and the newer one just issued earlier this year. The Ninth is his last Bruckner recording issued by Decca, recorded in 1995, a very fine one indeed.


The whole Querstand cycle is in SACD format, making it easily one of the best, if not the best, sounding Bruckner cycles up to the present day. Apart from the sound, from the artistic point of view, this cycle is also easily the most satisfying as far as complete cycles are concerned. It is well known that among the previously issued cycles, there are always some weak links in the chain, but up to the present state of completion of Blomstedt's cycle, I cannot find one that is not excellent. That doesn't mean that all of them are automatic top choices for each symphony, as personal top choices are very often the result of the interplay amidst personal listening experience, preference, ethos, associated events and state of mind. However, among Bruckner cycles or box-sets for that matter, this may be the one that you don't have to look any further. Honestly I'm holding my breath for the last 2 symphonies issued in this cycle for the next 3 weeks.






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