Bruckner - Symphony 4 'Romantic' [Wand-Kolner Rundfunk Sinfonie Orchester]

This is a lovely recording, i really rate Wand in Bruckner, it was his forte, i have eight recordings of the Bruckner 4, and this is my second favourite behind Barenboim / Teldec, it's probably Bruckner's most accessible Symphony, though my favourite is the Eighth, this is the third time this disc has appeared in my Blog [6th February 2010 & 2nd June 2012].

Gunter Wand was German [1912-2002], he recorded this disc in 1976, the front cover picture is beautiful, the sun glistening on a golden river / lake, a line of trees in the distance, the sun out of shot, but it's those wonderful colours, plus a box for the lettering, on a jet black background, and the red EMI logo at the bottom, now that's a great finished product!.

Well on this listen the whole of the Symphony was equally satisfying, i love all these movements, however it was the fourth movement which gives the final seal on the piece, here it's the longest movement at over twenty minutes, Bruckner's penchant for horns is at the fore, it's a gradual build up to one of his brass fanfares [1:13-1:38], a hallmark of Bruckner, and his penchant also for these releases of brass energy [2:19-2:34], i love the strings when they get going in a strong melody [4:48-4:59], Bruckner can really get those brass instruments angry [5:29-6:24], busily trying to outdo each other in volume, halfway through there's this serenade on the strings, it really gets going as a bright spot of happiness in the movement [9:39-10:55], until the angry brass have a field day again [10:55+], but it turns into something more majestic [11:45-12:14], the fanfares erupt into something much more noble than angry sound, the brass later rises higher and higher in their desire to reach a fantastic climax [13:56-14:47], but stops nowhere without any conclusion, the strings propel themselves onward with a real thrust, about three minutes before the end there's a change in the mood [17:14+], signalling the whole Symphony is wrapping up, there's this expectation on shimmering low strings [17:52+] with quiet woodwind and horns, you know it's building up to something truly revelatory and final, and bursts into joy for the last twenty seconds [19:59+], i guess i've listened to this work roughly seventy times, and yet i'm still learning new things about it.

Here's Calleya conducting the fourth movement on YouTube.

Bruckner - Symphony 5 [Solti-Chicago Symphony Orchestra]

Back in 2008 i played these discs for the first time, late August, sitting on a park bench near my home, and it was a revelation!, this got to be my 'recording of the month' then, now this is the sixth time i've listened to it, and i haven't done much listening of anyone else playing it [only Harnoncourt / RCA], so it still remains a bit of a mystery to me, this time i felt cooler to the work, or at least to start with, the first two movements were 'mere' very good, but the Symphony got better as it went along, so the last movement was now its highlight, this disc appeared in my Blog three years ago [7th October 2012].

Georg Solti was Hungarian, he died in 1997 at the age of 84, he made this recording in 1980, the front cover shows a small portrait of Solti, lettering small and large in brown and white, horizontal and vertical, all with an orange background, i like the results.

Well like i said, it was the last movement which was tremendous, the whole Symphony seems to build up to a climax, and if the first three movements pose all the questions, then the last movement has all the answers!, it's the longest movement on this performance, nearly 24 minutes, the opening is a slow Adagio, pizzicato on double basses, and almost a string symphony over that [0:00-0:45], i really love the opening, this movement is rather a start / stop / start thing at first, love the oboe playing the main tune in a melancholy way [1:20-1:40], the brass of course have have their loud say [5:36-6:22], fanfares over frantic strings, it's a thrilling moment, and again a little while later they have a regal / noble triple fanfare [7:04-8:15], Bruckner really likes to blast your ears off!, there's a thrilling large section just after the middle, where the strings start up a complex fugue of sorts [12:33+], all zigzag rhythms, increasingly punctuated by brass fanfares [13:13+], it goes on for ages, this must be my favourite section of this movement, Bruckner keeps it going on and on [-15:08], love it when the brass fanfares come back in [17:55-18:45], it's good to hear the different brass instruments, awash with those driving strings in the background, the final threads are majestic, it's a brass festival, the brass seems to keep outdoing itself [21:19+ / 21:56+ / 22:56+], working its way up the levels to something really climatic, love the way the timpani has a loud roll right at the end [23:27-23:37], what a thrilling piece of music, sadly Bruckner never heard this Symphony himself in his lifetime!, i hope he's up there listening to it all now.

Here's Celibidache conducting the fourth movement on YouTube.

Bruckner - Symphony 4 [Dohnanyi-The Cleveland Orchestra] 

I really like this version of Bruckner's Fourth, Dohnanyi has a certain way with things, i love his Mahler Fifth, it's my favourite interpretation, maybe he will turn out to be a real favourite among Conductors, i haven't played this a great deal, certainly i played it a couple of times in 2008, but since i haven't played it recently, it feels like a new experience, as if i'm giving it its first spin, also Bruckner's Fourth is the Symphony i have the most versions of [i believe it's now 8], probably the easiest Symphony to like of Bruckner's, the architecture of this Symphony is just wonderful. 

Christoph Von Dohnanyi is German, he is now 83, he recorded this work in 1989, the front cover photograph [by Phil Sayer] is a sublime portrait, Dohnanyi leaning against a wall, sunlight falling on the wall beside him, or more likely the wall being glossy acts as a kind of mirror, therefore it's a reflection of the lighted windows, either way it's a strong visual statement, the orange / yellow glow brings a sense of sunset / nostalgia to the front booklet, i love this portrait.

Each of the four movements can be looked at as a whole, not merely four separate episodes, it was certainly harder to pick a clear cut favourite this time, so like yesterdays Bruckner, i would like to choose the last movement to expound my thoughts on, and again it's the longest movement of the four [nearly 20 minutes], it's in E Flat Major, the first and last movements are like equal entities, similar to each other, it starts with a quiet throbbing on basses, and again Bruckner's beloved horns, have a sense of ominousness [0:00-1:11], which builds up and up, and the higher brass bring things to a natural culmination, yes you just know there's going to be one of Bruckner's brass explosions of dark foreboding, but it's a little later that we get a more noble and triumphant explosion / fanfare [2:20+], Bruckner uses a general build up of ideas and tread, almost a carousel of different ideas on a rotation basis, i like the busy loud brass five minutes in [5:10-6:05], angry at times, and two sides of the brass competing each other, i guess it's the fortes i like the most, there's almost a return to the opening throb [6:59+], and yes it's the strings that have that sense of ominous build up, and that loud busy brass section returns to disturb / excite us again [10:16-11:34], turning from anger into supreme majesty, towards the end we have the start of the coda [16:46+], long and thoughtful in its opening horn solo, but of course again a slow build up with trumpet fanfares working their way in [17:55+], you can see how Bruckner is going to turn this into a magical triumphant apotheosis [19:00-19:23], that ends abruptly, a lovely movement of ideas to feast your ears on.

Here's Dohnanyi conducting the Fourth Symphony on YouTube, the fourth movement starts at 45:25.

Bruckner - Symphony 5 [Solti-Chicago Symphony Orchestra] 

Today i went out for a long 4 hour walk, taking a small stack of discs with me, and i played some great discs, including this gem, Bruckner's Fifth still remains somewhat unknown to me, each Bruckner movement can seem like another until you get to know them really well, i first played this disc back in 2008, and i went over the park to write in my Journal and listen to this disc, and i was truly stunned by Solti's interpretation, i had a great experience with these discs [11th September 2011]. 

Georg Solti is Hungarian [1912-1997], he recorded this work in 1980, even though the Fifth can fit on one disc [just under 80 minutes here], Decca have issued this as a double disc fatbox set, the Schoenberg Variations are very welcome, this is a re-issue in the Jubilee series, a small picture of Solti, with his name / Orchestra sideways, the lettering is nicely placed, in a sea of sand coloured orange / yellow, nice colour scheme, it's good to have the individual movement timings on the back, though the Schoenberg Variations are only one whole track, but i created my own timings for them.

The start / stop, loud / soft of the first movement is great, but surprisingly it was the last movement that i found so architecturally cogent, it's the longest movement here, lasting nearly 24 minutes, the movement begins in exactly the same way as the opening first does [0:00-0:45], this is ingenious, it brings back wonderful memories of the opening, and it somehow circles the Symphony into a whole, a revolutionary idea that really hits home, but it soon changes into unique new material, again it's a stop /start movement, chopping and changing from one theme to another, at first maybe disconcerting as it upends the flow of things, but as the themes revolve around and around, you can see how they meld together, i love the sad oboe solo near the beginning [1:20-1:40], and out of nowhere there's this loud angry episode [5:35-6:25], busy and frantic strings, with loud and boisterous brass outbursts, now that's really thrilling and satisfying, and of course Bruckner is never complete without one of his magisterial brass fanfares [7:04-8:15] each brass fanfare is followed by a gentle echo by the strings, now that's so superb, so satisfying, and the last fanfare subsides into the most gentlest and sweetest of string melodies [8:14-9:03], reminds me of a Dvorak Tone Poem in places, i love the way Bruckner / Solti builds things up and up over the next five minutes or so, as a sort of huge fugue, using timpani expertly, and i admit that this central section doesn't have quite so many memorable moments to talk about, but it's not 'filler', Bruckner's music is still superb, and now some themes all come together, especially a recurrence of the loud angry episode [17:55-18:46], with busy strings / brass outbursts, but now it's coupled with more complexity, mainly from the woodwind, about four minutes from the end you can start to hear Bruckner starting to tie the ends of the strands together, and of course the glorious moment of absolute brass glory arrives [21:56-23:27], getting louder and more glorious, which takes us almost to the end, but Bruckner decides to give us a drumroll finale [23:27-23:40], and of course i'm left gobsmacked at Bruckner's genius, he really delivers, and i'm loving this Symphony more and more. 

Here's Herbert Blomstedt conducting the fourth movement on YouTube.

Bruckner - Symphony 4 'Romantic' [Masur-New York Philharmonic] 

This is a very nice interpretation of Bruckner's most popular Symphony, i've talked about this disc in my Blog before [12th July 2010], the Bruckner Symphony that began my journey into his music was the Seventh [Blomstedt - Denon], but this Symphony has overtaken it in my own personal popularity stakes, only the Eighth has more claim on being Bruckner's very best Symphony, the Fourth is probably the Symphony i have listened to the most, here's a rundown of the times each Symphony has appeared in my Blog,

Symphony 8 = 9 times

Symphony 4 = 9 times

Symphony 7 = 3 times

Symphony 9 = 1 time

Symphony 6 = 1 time

Symphony 2 = 1 time

so certainly the Eighth and the Fourth dominate my Blog, i think i need to listen to the Fifth more.

Kurt Masur is German, he is now 75, he made this recording in 1993, the booklet front cover is brilliant, a hazy picture of a castle in Germany, the whole thing is couched in different shades of blue, the huge castle is dwarfed by the mountains behind it, the blue gets lighter and lighter the further away and higher up things are, the lettering, especially 'romantic', bring a dash of colour to the finished product, certainly one of the very best disc booklets i own.

I m. 

Here's Claudio Abbado conducting the first movement on YouTube.

Bruckner - Symphony 7 [Ozawa-Saito Kinen Orchestra] 

This is a new Bruckner Seventh that i played for the first time today, this was the first ever Symphony that i heard from Bruckner, from Bohm on a DG cassette tape, i've always meant to re-acquire that performance, this is only the third time that Bruckner's Seventh has appeared in my Blog, which Blog is dominated by Eighth's and Fourth's it was good to get to know this Symphony again, i forget how really good it actually is, i'm not necessarily a fan of Ozawa, i once heard that he's a poor Conductor, and that's clouded my opinion ever since, i need to formulate my own opinions, on this performance, i think he's rather good.

Seiji Ozawa is Japanese, he'll be 77 in a couple of weeks, he recorded this disc in 2003, it's a live performance, but the audience don't really seem that rapturous at the end, the layout for the visual aspects of this release are fantastic, the front cover photo [by Gabriela Brandenstein] is a superb portrait of Ozawa, showing him with all those lines on his face, dark background, dark shirt, nice use of the arms, and the lettering half on the photo, half on the left hand bar, i love that picture, and the back is also very well laid out.

Well Ozawa is very good in my book, the recording is fantastic, it's a SACD, gold in colour on the playing side, a very smooth listening experience, no bass or treble which trouble me, i find Ozawa has a tendency to be somewhat on the broad side of speeds, and maybe some of the drama is slightly lost because of that, but Ozawa is superb at shading the volume, and on the whole there's a smooth legato to the whole thing, take the opening for example, very quiet tremolo strings, and Ozawa ups the volume so gradually, that there's power left in the tank when a real forte is needed.

The movement i enjoyed the most was the third movement Scherzo, the Symphony is in E Major, but this movement is in the key of A Minor, and it's a nice angry bit of darkness if you will,

Here's Eugen Jochum conducting the third movement on YouTube.

Bruckner - Symphony 8 [Sinopoli-Staatskapelle Dresden] 

This Symphony is becoming somewhat of a regular in my Blog, there's a certain love affair going on between me and it, in my Blog it appeared 3 times in 2010, 2 times in 2011, but already in 2012 this is its appearance number 4, while less than halfway through the year, it's certainly a work which i've grown to appreciate immensely in the last three years, this original 2 disc fatbox set cost me a fortune on Ebay, over $100 dollars!, those were the days when i didn't care about a bargain, if i saw something i wanted, then bid high and win it, now i'm more careful, another copy will come along in the months to come, i played these discs early last year [28th January 2011].

Giuseppe Sinopoli was an Italian Conductor, he died in 2001 of a heart attack while conducting Verdi's Aida, he was 54, he made this recording in 1994, the front cover depicts the bombed out ruins of the Staatskapelle Dresden Opera House above, and the building rebuilt anew below.

This was a wonderful experience, i played it in the park while i wrote my daily Journal, it lasts 86 minutes here, and i have to admit that it's yet again the great Adagio third movement that moved me the most, however tmthr album again.

Here's on YouTube.

Bruckner - Symphony 8 [Wand-Kolner Rundfunk Sinfonie Orchester] 

This Symphony seems to be getting some serious exposure in my life, it was only last week i was playing Harnoncourt's version, and even this performance by Wand i played just over 6 months ago [30th November 2011], but it's great to have a nice intense experience with something you love, it's only been just over a week since the Harnoncourt listening [10th June 2012], and there i felt that the thing was low powered, especially in the first movement, well this Wand version was certainly different, i really felt connected, and again it had a tendency to get better the longer it went on [is this a me thing?], it's strange you can have a completely different experience with the same work.

Gunter Wand was born in Germany in 1912, and died just over 10 years ago, he became a Bruckner specialist in his later years, recording several versions of each Symphony, he recorded these discs in 1979, like i've said before, the front cover photograph is a beaut, reminds me of the bayous of Louisiana, but it's the black background which brings out the colour of the picture, and the white edged box with the lettering in, nicely placed, it all adds up to the whole, and Bruckner's signature splashed across the bottom, a great 'fatbox' set to own, and really rare now.

Well again it just has to be the third movement Adagio as the spiritual centre of this Symphony, however there were all sorts of bits throughout the Symphony in all the movements that impressed me, and i would like to talk about a few of these today,
Movement 1 [13:28-14:13] there's a nice apotheosis towards the end, it builds up and up, until the brass fanfares blare out their noise, along with lots of timpani rolls, a great thrilling moment.
Movement 2 [14:21-14:26] again near the end of the movement, where the horns echo the brass, nice and deep, the rest of the orchestra seem to quieten down to hear the lowing of the horns, it's at this moment that i noticed it, but of course it permeates throughout the whole movement, it's one to catch by listening carefully, otherwise you could miss it.
Movement 3 [23:41+] the coda, ah yes!, one of the most gut wrenching of all the things Bruckner ever did, the horns turn into serenader's and the strings interweave another melody to make something exquisite, wow! does that get me every time, Bruckner sure knows how to tug the heartstrings.
Movement 4 [6:13-6:54] out of nowhere, a startling brass fanfare blast, while the timpani create a marching band scenario, it's loud and boisterous, and just comes and goes from 'somewhere else', i love it!, Bruckner could have shown Sousa how it's really done.
Movement 4 [15:33-15:47] a nice brass resolution, and it's great to hear the low and high brass split into two terraces, the trumpets / trombones leading at the start of the bar, and the horns / tubas in reply at the end of the bar, roughly going down the scale, it's a nice moment.

Here's Herbert Von Karajan conducting the third movement Adagio on YouTube.