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Best Sounding Bruckner Recordings

There is a Mahler for Audiophiles thread here, but I am not sure if there is one for Bruckner.  IMO these are the two Composers that benefit the most from high quality sound.  Both Composers relied extensively upon spatial effects.  Bruckner, with his Organist background, was conscious of reverberation effects, and tended to treat the entire Orchestra as one vast Organ.  Mahler had many spatial effects built into his Symphonies.
  I listen to many historical recordings, but I find that these two composers suffer the most when sonically compromised.  I have no problem enjoying a Toscanini Beethoven Symphony, as the majesty of the music and the playing overcome sonic limitations.  However, listening to the Horenstein Bruckner Seventh from 1927 is a real trial.  Even the best restorations make it sound like it was recorded in a phone booth, and the towering beauty of the piece is missing.
  Now, with Bruckner, we have the problem of all of those multiple editions.  I am going to confess straight out that I have no expertise here .  And given that this is an audiophile site, I will concede readily that the best sounding Bruckner recordings may not necessarily be the ultimate in recorded performance.  However, I am looking for comments about great sounding Bruckner recordings that are also good performances 
mahler123

Showing 4 responses by edgewear

edgewear
543 posts
 
I'm surprised nobody has mentioned Otto Klemperer. His stoic and some would say 'architectural' approach is congenial to Bruckner's music. His 1960's recordings of #4, 5, 6 & 7 on UK Columbia are the ideal representation for me and the sonics are generally excellent (on original vinyl, can't comment on the digital transfers).

Unfortunately his tempi became erratically slow in his last years and his HMV recordings of #8 & 9 suffered from this. Here my choice would be Schuricht on HMV for both symphonies and Walter on CBS for #9. Klemperer never recorded the first 3 symphonies. While I don't care much for #1 & 2, I do regret he never did #3. Szell on UK Columbia and Böhm with the VPO on Decca are great alternatives with great sonics (again on original vinyl).

P.S. I'm not a big HvK fan either, but his last live recording of #8 on DGG is rather special. 


edgewear
543 posts
 
It’s hard to keep track which of the few remaining music conglomerates has the rights to publish these recordings. EMI used to be the owner, but perhaps they are now owned by Warner. Not that I care.

Anyway, Klemperer made only one recording of these symphonies in stereo, so I must assume these are the same. I hope the digital transfers have managed to preserve some of the excellent sonics of the analog sources. I had some of these on CD’s issued by EMI in the early 90’s, but they sounded very - uh - digital....

edgewear
543 posts
 
Klemperer’s approach to conducting has been called ’objective’. His aim was not to give his personal - ’subjective’ - interpretation, but to let the music speak for itself. This can make his recordings somewhat detached, impenetrable and even ’anti-sentimental’ at first, but in my opinion it’s an approach that has withstood the test of time better than most. Except for his final years, when the exceedingly slow tempi produced some very strange and disappointing results (try Mahler #7).
edgewear
543 posts
 
@mahler123, of course preferences in interpretation are always a personal call. I like 'all out' performances mostly when I attend live performances, when there is a different atmosphere and sense of occasion. For repeated home listening I usually prefer a certain restraint.

For me, restraint works with Bruckner and is good for Wagner as well. As much as I enjoy Solti's Ring, he can get a bit too much at times. Knappertsbusch' Parsifal (on Philips) and Furtwängler's Tristan (on HMV) are both models of restraint and two of the most overpowering recordings I've ever heard.

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