Search - Bruckner, Kubelik, Bavarian Radio S.O. :: Sym 8 (Live 1963)

Don't Miss This!

Andre Gauthier | 09/12/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Of all the recordings of any symphony I've purchased since the beginning of this year, this Bruckner 8th with Rafael Kubelik and the Bayrerischen Rundfunks in a live recording made on November 8, 1963, still available on Orfeo, wins the prize. Of course the year is far from over, but I don't think anything will cross the threshold that is as unusual as this rendition of Bruckner's greatest symphonic monument.



The tempi taken in all four movements are not particularly faster than contemporaries of Kubelik, but they are held together at transition points without any sort of artifice or grand "luft pausen" that are the norm in most Bruckner performances. Indeed this recording is so seamless there's no reason to examine movement by movement. Suffice it to say that the sort of "through" conducting that Kubelik provides makes a whole new statement out of the 8th.



Kubelik himself seems to be one of those conductors who is nearly forgotten today. I heard him on numerous occasions both live and on broadcast, the most memorable time being a "Bluebeard's Castle" with the NYPO. He had something truly special that translated to every orchestra he presided over.



The Bruckner 8th is Kubelik both with great arching phrases and yet no long pauses for emphasis between them. The slow movement fairly flies by with this sort of treatment and is considerably shorter than those of say a Giulini (my other Bruckner favorite). This is the opposite end of the spectrum compared to Giulini if not, say, Furtwangler, whose performances changed every time he picked up the baton.



In the event, if you want to hear this piece played with a purity of line that no one else seems able or willing to try for, then buy this CD.



PS: The sound is in barely noticable mono, and the master tapes used here have no hiss, wobble, or poor EQ. I didn't notice the mono sound for about 15 minutes, which is indeed the highest compliement one can bestow on a recording.

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