Search - Bruckner, Brahms, Hindemith :: Symphony 8 / Tragic Overture / Mathis Der Mahler

The best Bruckner recording

Sergey Sh. | Moscow Russia | 08/16/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"It's a great recording - the best Bruckner recording made by Karajan. The performance is as beauty and aesthetic as deep and heartly from the first to last sound."

Fond memories that prove true.

Howard G Brown | Port St. Lucie, FL USA | 04/22/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Jochum's 1949 recording in Hamburg (reissued on DG Originals) was my introduction to the Bruckner 8th; this recording -- on Angel lps -- was the first I ever owned. In fact, I still have the lps, but I find the sound more glowing, more richly rewarding, in this reissue.In some ways, I prefer the sound of this recording to von Karjan's final version with the VPO. I can't deny the majesty of that final account, but the more distant, analog recording of this 1958 Berlin issue offers consolations in string, wind, and what should be called bronze, rather than brass -- sounds seldom heard on earth, let alone on disc.The Brahms and Hindemith serve as noble preludes to Bruckner -- a fine set from start to finish."

I prefer this Bruckner 8th over Karajan's ultra famous live

dv_forever | Michigan, USA | 01/20/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Many critics and listeners fawn over Karajan's final Bruckner 8th with the Vienna Philharmonic. Some fans claim it to be the greatest Bruckner 8th on record! There are many dissenters of course who hate Karajan with a passion and completely dismiss that famous record as a showcase of a Teutonic egomaniac who plows through a majestic, spiritual symphony without the necessary insight to reveal it's mystical qualities. The dissenters point to Furtwangler, Guilini and the really die-hard will have no conductor other than cult favorite Sergiu Celibidache.



What about my thoughts? Having listened to that Karajan Bruckner 8th several times over the years, I simply haven't fallen in love with it. The sound quality is not the finest digital around, the acoustic can be a bit harsh and that interpretation itself can be rather blatant. Too emphatic while smearing out some of the spiritual elements. Karajan was old and getting closer to death but strangely what should have been a valedictory revelation... for me, it simply was not.



But being a fan of Karajan, I wanted to hear his earlier versions. The DG account from the famous 1970s cycle I haven't heard. Perhaps when DG finds it in their corporate hearts to remaster it, I'll give it a listen. So for me it was an easy choice to venture forth towards this EMI recording from the late 1950s and I'm glad I did. Rest assured that the sound is stereo and well done stereo at that. Warm, spacious and with the necessary ambience to capture such a colossal symphonic journey.



The forced blatancy that I heard in the DG Vienna performance is missing and instead we get a natural sweep, an arc that few conductors can pull off in music as expansive as this. Still, Karajan is not lacking in power, all the massive sonorities and grandiose climaxes you've come to expect from the Berlin Philharmonic are in order yet they sound fully in keeping with the overall mood instead of just jumping out at you. The slow movement is especially inspired, with a slower tempo than the DG Vienna account. This really makes this EMI record stand out for me and once again confirms Karajan as one of the greatest Brucker interpreters.



The couplings are a dramatic Brahms overture that is on fire and a particular rarity for Karajan, Hindemith's Mathis der Maler symphony. I'll be frank and say I'm not a Hindemith fan but I have heard several competing versions of this work and Karajan climbs to near the top, making mincemeat of more recent choice recommendations such as Blomstedt and Sawallisch.



If you can't find this recording, don't worry, it's been re-released again in the Karajan collection, although there the Brahms and Hindemith coupling is gone in favor of some overtures by Carl Maria von Weber, Otto Nicolai, Mendelssohn and Wagner. But this purchase is for the Bruckner 8th and I found this record to be a more humane and spiritual experience than the famous recording with the Vienna Philharmonic."