08 April 2017

Lim's Bruckner cycle from Korea


They came out of the blue - the recordings of 9 Bruckner symphonies by the Korean Symphony Orchestra conducted by Hun-Joung Lim issued by Decca Korea. 

I just received my copy of the box set from Korea.  I like the non-flashy cover design of the box and of the individual sleeves of the 10 CDs. They have an understated elegance.

The recording dates of each symphony are listed below. The versions used are not stated in the track listing. I don’t know if they are mentioned in the essay covering each symphony in the booklet: it is in Korean. Only the biography of the conductor and the essay introducing the orchestra are bilingual in English and Korean.


1) 29 Oct 2015

2) 26 Apr 2016

3) 12 May 2015

4) 25 Feb 2016

5) 9 Sep 2016

6) 26 Feb 2015

7) 21 Nov 2014

8) 15 Dec 2015

9) 1 Dec 2016
 





It looks like it will be a busy weekend for me.

6 comments:

  1. For a summary of the rather surprising choice of editions Lim has made, see https://www.abruckner.com/store/abrucknercomexclus/cdsandsacds/symphonies_1-9_hun/, as well as the more detailed discographic listings within the same Web site, expertly hosted by John Berky.

    I would be interested to know what you think of the performances!

    --Glen Boisseau Becker, Harmony, Florida

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Glen,
      Sorry for the very late reply as unfortunately I did not have much time to take care of this blog lately.
      Lim's set is recommendable, not least because of the interesting versions, but also his careful approach to these symphonies. Although his orchestra is not top-notched, he nevertheless did manage to produce a sonority that is very nice and the recording sound is excellent too.
      Best regards,
      Horace

      Delete
  2. Hello Mr Lau. I'm a big Bruckner fan from Scotland. I attended the Brucknertage for the first time last year and on the 1st April this year I was invited to sing all of Bruckner's Lieder in the chapel of Hertford College Oxford as part of the Bruckner Journal Readers Conference.
    I just wanted to ask for your advice. I'm greatly interested in acquiring the first two discs of this new Korean set but I can't find a download link anywhere. Neither is this set available here in the UK. Would you know where I can buy the downloads? I have listed to the 1st and 2nd Symphonies from this set on Spotify and they sound excellent but as I say I can't seem to find a link to purchase downloads. I do hope you have an idea where I might find this. Yours Raymond a Armstrong

    strongarm24@hotmail.com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Raymond,
      I'm very sorry that I couldn't answer your question earlier.
      As you may have known by now, digital download is available from Amazon UK for this wet.
      Best regards,
      Horace

      Delete
  3. looking forward to Mr. Lau's comment!

    ReplyDelete