Search - Bruckner, Chailly, Rco :: Symphony 2

Wonderful mediterranean Bruckner.

Francisco Yanez Calvino | Santiago de Compostela, GALIZA, Spain. | 11/14/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I don't have listened too many Bruckner's Seconds, only those by Jochum (DG & EMI) and Barenboim (DG & Teldec) and this, my fifth version, but my favourite.



Chailly approaching to Bruckner is very different of that by Celibidache or Barenboim, in the sense he conduct in a much more lyrical way, no so tremendous and german like the conductors mentioned before. This is specially good for this Second, as it's not so appropriate for the Eight or Ninth, which I don't like so much in Chailly's hands. But this Second sounds glorious, full of charm, wonderfully played, with the typical Concertgebouworkest smooth playing, technically perfect, full of musicality... The phrases are wonderfully done and the tempi are the ideal, music goes by itself in perfect balance.



If you want a more "aggressive", german, hard-metal recording, you can listen Barenboim's one with Berlin (Teldec), amazing too and a very good complement for this mediterranean one, which really shows Bruckner's heart in a different way.



Recording is great and the result is, in my opinion, Chailly's best CD of Bruckner's music.

"

Overlooked Bruckner, gorgeously played

Bruce Hodges | New York, NY | 06/19/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This was one of the first in the ongoing Bruckner cycle by Chailly and the Concertgebouw Orchestra, and to my ears, it's one of their best. The Second is not nearly as well known as 4, 7, 8 and 9, but perhaps this beautiful recording might convert some skeptics.The Second's idyllic Adagio has always been one of my favorite Bruckner slow movements, and this version, with the luminous Concertgebouw sound, is deeply satisfying. The orchestral playing is sublime, with Bruckner's long phrases glowingly sustained, and Chailly's pace seems just right so that the lines flow but do not lose momentum. I have heard only one other recording of this symphony: von Karajan's version with the Berlin Philharmonic from his 1970's cycle on Deutsche Grammophon. It is excellent, but the sound on the Chailly recording seems even more refined. While there is no doubt that some of Bruckner's later works reach even greater heights, compositionally and spiritually, there are many, many fine passages in the Second. However, to some ears it may not even matter when the orchestral playing is of such high quality."