Musical obsessions

[jandl100]

Werll ... I think Bruckner is one of those marmite things.
Give them a try.

I hope that my passion for his music came thru in my post.

It's not for the "Sesame Street generation" though - those used to 2 minute musical soundbites will not appreciate the music, I suspect! - far longer timescales are involved for a lot of it.

Tell you what Bob - try the start of the 4th movement of the 8th symphony. Play it loud!!

[morris_minor]

Tell you what Bob - try the start of the 4th movement of the 8th symphony. Play it loud!!

Ok. But I'll wait until 'er indoors has gone out .

[morris_minor]

Jerry - don't know why but this post slipped under my radar - sorry

Yes - I've all those recordings you mention. The Boult was the first recording I got - then on a Pye Golden Guinea LP. This was after I heard Tod Handley conduct the work - and I was just hooked on it . .

Walton 1 - yep, I know what you mean. Although I'm not as obsessive about it as you!



Yup, I agree about the Previn. His digital remake was a washout, though. Previn's get up and go and gotten up and gone by then.

But have you heard Louis Fremaux with The Philharmonia on Collins Classics 10312? A very similar interpretation to my ears, but in much superior sound!

As well as those 2, I also have Boult with the LPO (originally issued in 1957) on a bargain price PRT CD (good performance, if a tad laid back in comparison to the 2 previously mentioned, shame about the sq though) and Bryden Thomson on a Chandos CD which is OK but comes a distinct 4th. I think it's the warm and laidback sq which spoils it for me.

I've also got Andrew Litton on Decca CD which I can't remember anything about at all! ... I must give that another listen.

I've also owned Karajan on EMI, but eventually turfed that out as it didn't seem particularly interesting.

[jandl100]

So what do you think of the Fremaux Walton 1?

[morris_minor]

So what do you think of the Fremaux Walton 1?

It's been a time since I listened to it - give me a few days and I'll report back .

[MartinT]

Symphony #9. Bruno Walter, yup, wonderful. So is Eugen Jochum with the Berlin Phil on DG. And Von Matacic again on Supraphon.

Yep - I love the 9th and have a good few myself. My favourite remains the Jochum but I do like Gunter Wand's interpretation, too.

[jazzpiano]

Sometimes the obsession is more about a particular performer than a piece of music. For example, I love the records I have by pianist Heinrich Neihauz but they are often cost prohibitive. Likewise for Magda Tagliaferro. Seems like once the far east and other collectors latch on the cost goes through the roof. Just the way it goes I guess...

Best,
Barry

[jandl100]

Yes, it's more cost-effective to get obsessed by things that have not (yet?) been recognised by too many others.

One of my fave obsessions is the work of the Yugoslav conductor Anton Nanut with his Ljubljana Symphony Orchestra.
Wonderfully talented - some of his recordings have become my 'desert island' choices for the music.
... Bruckner 8, Mahler 6, Beethoven 7, Sibelius 2, Shostakovich 7.

Happily, many of his recordings appear on bottom-of-the-barrel bargain labels that most folks will simply skim over in the discount bins.

Yes, there are some duffers in his catalogue - he sadly chose to team up with Dubravka Tomsic as pianist on a cycle of the Beethoven concertos. Oh dear .
And his Mahler "Das Lied" has a horribly squally Slavonic vocal soloist.

But (except for the piano concertos) all of his Beethoven is good, some of it is wonderful. Same goes for his Mahler symphonies.

[MartinT]

Obsessions, let me see...

Beethoven Symphony No. 9 - 11 recordings (favourite: Jochum)

Mozart Requiem - 11 recordings (favourite: Fruhbeck de Burgos)

Bruckner Symphony No. 9 - 9 recordings (favourite: Jochum)

Respighi Pines of Rome - 8 recordings (favourite: Lane)

[JJack]

BRUCKNERian obsessions !! ...



OK - some of my personal fave Bruckner recordings ....

Symphony "00" - the Study symphony
Rozhdestvensky with the USSR Large Symphony Orch on a Harmonia Mundi double CD set, coupled with ...

Symphony "0" - the Nullte symphony.
Yup, Rozhdestvensky again.

Both have a wonderfully enthusiastic brass section, and are recorded with extra "brass blatt" in the Soviet manner which works really well here. Gennadi Roz is also full of good ideas, as is often the case with him. Both are well worth hearing, and the Nullte is by no means as immature a piece as some critics would suggest.
.....



You may note the absence of any Furtwangler, or indeed any vintage or non-stereo recording.
Just one of my leetle foibles - I think decent recording quality is needed to even begin to capture Bruckner's gigantic musical vision.
Others will disagree with me on that, and that's fine.

All the above, IMO and YMMV, of course!

And here's Bruckner enjoying a little Christmas Cheer!!

Ah, wonderful post!

I only have one 3rd, and it's the Tintner (the only 3rd I've ever heard). I love the breadth but obviously have no comparisons.

I did pick up a 7th, Goodall with the BBC SO on BBC records. Have only listened in my car but enjoyed it.

I agree that 80 minute long mono recordings from the 1940s can tax the heartiest listener, but there is a fortepiano in the Furtwangler 8th that is simply so stunning that it must be heard.

I'll drop a name here: I got to sing in a chorus for Gennadi R for a few performances of Rachmaninov, great stuff