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This, or, possibly the 8th, is my least favorite Bruckner Symphony, and before I read John's review, I had no intention of purchasing it. Now, after that review, it is on my next to purchase list which is a mental list within my wish list.
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Wow, if Bruckner had only composed the 8th he would be recognized as one of the greats along with Mahler and several others.
For me the slow movement of Bruckner 8th is his masterpiece, there are several great interpretations of this symphony mostly on RBCD, one of my all time favorite performances is on DG/VPO conducted by, yes, believe it or not, Pierre Boulez.
Vahe
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Post by wehecht June 9, 2010 (3 of 20)
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John,
Did you have the Zander recording for comparison? There's no review on the site and critical opinion has been sharply divided. I've been waiting to see what appears with an eye toward supplementing my "OK but nothing special" Harnoncourt, and a number of rbcds.In any event, thanks for your fine review of the Janowski.
Bill
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Afraid not Bill. I would say that many would find this preferable to the Harnoncourt set (although I personally have a huge soft spot for almost anything the VPO does!). As this symphony had few revisions made, I hazard a prediction that Simone Young's performance might be worth the wait (although the sound obtained so far is nowhere near as nice as Pentatone's).
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Post by seth June 9, 2010 (5 of 20)
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armenian said:
Wow, if Bruckner had only composed the 8th he would be recognized as one of the greats along with Mahler and several others.
For me the slow movement of Bruckner 8th is his masterpiece, there are several great interpretations of this symphony mostly on RBCD, one of my all time favorite performances is on DG/VPO conducted by, yes, believe it or not, Pierre Boulez.
Vahe
Agreed 100%.
The 8th is the summation of his compositional style, and the Adagio is the single greatest movement he wrote.
Also agreed on the Boulez recording.
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Post by hiredfox June 10, 2010 (6 of 20)
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Windsurfer said:
This, or, possibly the 8th, is my least favorite Bruckner Symphony, and before I read John's review, I had no intention of purchasing it. Now, after that review, it is on my next to purchase list which is a mental list within my wish list.
My experience exactly. No doubt Herr Bruckner was a very gifted gentleman, nevertheless he seemed to have incredible difficulty getting his ideas onto paper and finalised, partly as has been said often, through his alleged chronic lack of self-confidence. He was after all 'a simple country boy!' Humbleness to a fault meant that he constantly sought the opinions of friends of the worth of his work and altered them as a result almost at every whim.
In my view his personal difficulties manifest themselves throughout his music; only the 4th flows in any rhythmic sense to delver a satisfactory whole. All of the others in my humble opinion are far too demanding of a listener's attention and patience to leave the listener content or uplifted. I usually end up doom-laden!
Of course not all music is intended to leave a listener feeling comfortable or provide us with easy familiarity, nor should it - Heaven forbid! At the end of Shostakovitch 8 one can feel almost suicidal. Bearing in mind the conditions under which that work was composed, you realise how brilliantly the composer has transcribed into music for all time the experience of living through such tragic events.
Herr Bruckner's symphonies are on the whole quite turgid and uninviting and fall more into the bracket of "ought to listen" as opposed to "must listen"...
Discuss... !!!
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Post by seth June 10, 2010 (7 of 20)
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hiredfox said:
Herr Bruckner's symphonies are on the whole quite turgid and uninviting and fall more into the bracket of "ought to listen" as opposed to "must listen"...
Did that come out of Slonimsky's book?
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seth said:
Did that come out of Slonimsky's book?
Are you referring to Baker's Biographical Dictionary of Musicians ?
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Post by krisjan June 10, 2010 (9 of 20)
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I must be Windsurfer's antipode - my favorite Bruckner is the 8th followed closely by 5 and then 6.
I've pretty much given up on Janowski however so this new release won't make it to my collection despite the fine review. Most of what I have on SACD from him is pedestrian and somewhat boring. In core repertoire like this (of which I have a number of recordings on RBCD and SACD) I am looking for something more unique than what Janowski has delvered thus far.
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Like most great art, classical music is an "acquired taste" that needs patience, experience, constant reconsideration and increased musical sophistication before its mysteries and treasure snap into place. I find that the immediately accessible and appealing works, great as they may be, grow somewhat tiresome over the years. It's the works that are a tougher nut to crack that for me, once grasped, are the ones that provide long term listening pleasure.
And, so we come to Bruckner, who is anything but an easy listen, seemingly long, boring and aimless as he superficially appears. But, I do not know of a symphony I love more now than the Bruckner 9th. Yes, I love the 7th and 8th, too, but I am somewhat burned out on the 4th, his most immediately assessible. I like the Harnoncourt 9th very much on RCA recorded in Salzburg with the VPO. It's a few years old, but the sound in Mch is quite good, and it brings back aural memories of being in in that hall. And, I respect Harnoncourt's deeply personal interpretative style. I am not a big Paavo Jarvi fan, but I also just got his Frankfurt 9th on Sony/RCA. It is quite superb sonically, stunning in fact, with a very satisfying performance.
I have not ventured into the various "completions" of the 9th, because I find it quite satisfying in 3 movements, as normally performed. The final adagio, is arguably his best, and he wrote a fair number of brilliant adagios. Yes, the adagio in the 8th is wonderful, too. But, let's not forget the monumental "Wagner" adagio in the 7th. I guess I just love those Wagner tubas. The rising Wagner tubas at the end of the 9th are just an overwhelmingly fulfilling ending for me, expressing hope and almost divine inspiration after the sometimes brooding and stormy moments throught the symphony.
His minor symphonies, including the 5th and 6th and 0-3, are interesting as less mature and exalted contrasts to the heights of his great 3 last symphonies. I do like the Janowski versions of the 5th and 6th on Pentatone.
In any case, Bruckner's music, which I once disrespected and rejected, now holds consireable pleasure for me.
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