When my friend asked me to review a new Bruckner 7th recording recently, I had a moment of hesitation. The disadvantage of listening to countless recorded versions of the same symphony is that one can become numb to the piece and also infected with the proverbial familiarity breeding contempt. The other side of the coin is that only the extraordinary will stand out and get the attention of the tired and wearied judge in the audition.
I make no excuse to the fact that music appreciation and enjoyment is a very subjective thing however much objective element is involved. So with the exception of my old favourites (Furtwängler’s, Wand’s BPO, Karajan’s last with VPO, Giulini’s, Celibidache’s 1971 with Stuttgart RSO, etc), only 2 discs come to mind at this moment as “special” in the last few years’ of listening. One is the eloquent and light-weight Philippe Herreweghe’s (Harmonia Mundi), and the other is the delectable and beautiful reading by Kurt Sanderling with the SWR RSO (Hänssler).
Paavo Järvi is a new Brucknerian, at least as far as recording goes. I remember many years ago when he came to guest-conduct the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra on Estonian pieces by Arvo Pärt and Erkki-Sven Tüür, we had a brief interview with him in a hotel café one evening. He was charismatic and polite. When we asked him whether he would conduct Bruckner’s symphonies, he frankly answered that it was not yet time but he would consider it later. Now the time comes. Heading an orchestra with a Bruckner tradition so to speak (Inbal has recorded a cycle pioneering some early versions with this orchestra), he is now planning to record all Bruckner symphonies. Let’s see how his first installment fares.
His reading is a very romantic one. The orchestral sonority is excellent, with mesmerizing woodwinds, beautiful horns (so important in Bruckner’s symphonic world), and pleasing cavernous basses. One can say that the basses are not deep enough as compared with the
I was stunned by my own reaction to the opening cello melody: I was moved, a feeling that eluded me for so many instances in my past contact with this symphony, both live and recorded. The flow of the music just carried you along. Note how well he makes the ritardando in the transition into the coda, which starts at 18’18 (bar 391, letter W) with the drum roll before the violas and cellos join in one bar later (but at 18’26) repeating the opening melody. And what a beautiful coda.
In the Adagio, note how graceful he moulds the second theme (starting 4’22, bar 37, letter D), and the heavenly flute playing in the second part of the second theme (5’25-5’50, bars 53-59, starting letter F). The cymbal crash, triangle roll, and tympani are there at the climax (17’24, bar 177, letter W), but the build up to this climax is a deft point he makes. Again his hands are gentle in the transition into the coda (18’09) where the flute plays to the pizzicato of the violins before the coda starts at 18’26 (bar 185, letter X). These transitions are important, at least to me, in joining blocks of sounds in Bruckner’s musical architecture, without which the whole building will just fall apart.
The scherzo is animated. The Trio (starting 3’33) is simply beautiful with very nice string legato. It is a lively finale, with exquisite woodwind playing. He plays a good conclusion to the whole symphony. The good thing about his reading is that although it sounds and feels very romantic, it never appears over-indulgent.
It is an excellent start to his planned cycle. I just can’t wait for his next disc, Bruckner 9th, which has been released locally in
Not that I'm against Carlos Kleiber, but I must confess that although I still enjoy listening to these 2 symphonies, I can only do so with some, if not much, reservation.
This is Beethoven with enormous power and weight. A quintessential example of the "old school".
Guido Cantelli should have been the true worthy successor to Toscanini, if not for his early tragic death.
Nothing more needs be said. Carl Schuricht at his best. He simply storms the heavens with his personal accent.
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Böhm's recordings of Beethoven symphonies have nice touches.
A walk in the park. Lyrical in the right place, and thunderous in the appropriate section.
Teutonic. Positive. Sunny. Almost perfect symbiosis between conductor and orchestra. No undue mannerisms, melodrama or tempo extremes.
Last, but certainly not the least, is Gunter Wand's live recording of Eroica with the NDR SO in 1989.
While Furtwangler left us with a memorable account of a war-time Eroica, his successor did just the same. Karajan's first recorded Eroica in 1944.
Now comes to the magic 7. Would it be too many? Well, as the saying goes, you can't have too much of a good thing, can you?
This one is different from the 1951 Eroica Kleiber recorded with the Concertgebouw Orchestra (where the first movement exposition repeat was not observed).
This Eroica came from the famous 1939 NBC cycle. The ghost of the usual stereotype of Toscanini's rigid inflexible conducting style was exorcised by his pre-war recordings.
Who will guess a conductor of Russian origin and the core of Austro-German repertoire will have a happy and memorable marriage? That is not to slight Russian conductors, far from it. They excel in many areas.
A hair-raising experience. I remembered it only too well. When I listened to it again the night before Barenboim's Beethoven cycle at Royal Festival Hall, I was shocked on my hotel bed in London; I was covered in goose pimples. The ferocity of the reading is like emptying a glass of Vodka in one gulp.
This is the latest incarnation of this glorious recording. Before any international issue of this BPO recording in the CD format to whet the appetite of those who know, I was fortunate enough to enjoy it through a 1993 EMI Taiwan release in the Treasure series. This budget series usually would not raise the attention of many, but the moment I discovered this was a moment of speechless rapture.
This recording should be no stranger to connoisseurs. Of many transfers to CD, this one by Preiser is one of the best, if not the best.
Not a popular choice I'd say. Also not a popular pairing of Sawallisch and RCO in recordings. You need to listen to them to appreciate the lithe reading and the amazing sonority. 
Beethoven's First and Second are averse to heavy-handed treatment. Not so for Wand here, even if his reading was not HIP. The vitality and classical feel are all here. Simply lovely. 
The speical thing about this disc is the sense of occasion.