Search - Bruckner, Sieghart, Eichhorn :: Complete Symphonies

GLORIOUS BRUCKNER!

Larry VanDeSande | 12/14/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"i cannot help after seeing this set of recordings here at amazon but write a review as i believe this is the most listenable complete set of bruckner's symphonies on the market. yes, there are more 'famous' conductors and recordings and i have heard them all, but i keep returning to this set for my real enjoyment of this great masters work. this is not bombastic or neurotic bruckner as some recordings are even by famous conductors and labels. the phrasing is also excellent. overall structure is well maintained by all three conductors. i have only seen one negative review of these recordings and it comes from Fanfare magazine. this is not surprising as they have been known for years not to give good reviews to anything other than the record companies who pay them ....(...)."

A magnificent set that never received its due in USA

Larry VanDeSande | Mason, Michigan United States | 01/23/2009

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Camerata's 12-disk set of Bruckner symphonies 0-9 never received its due in this country, in my view, in part because of scarce availability, high intial cost, and overwhelming competition at the times of its release. While out of print in the USA, it is still available new in Japan and through at least one English vendor. Amazon USA would do well to bring this outstanding set back into circulation here.



Published in 1996 to commemorate the 100th anniversary of Anton Bruckner's death, this special set brought together the forces of Bruckner's own symphony -- the Bruckner Orchestra of Linz -- and a pair of its resident conductors in exquisitely detailed DDD sound. The set is principally the swansong for the late German conductor Kurt Eichhorn (1908-94) who late in life was appointed honorary conductor of the Bruckner Orchestra, where he began this recording cycle in 1990.



Eichhorn did not live to complete the cycle and Camerata completed the cycle using the 1981 "Die Nulte" led by Theodor Guschlbauer, a Karajan trainee, and by assigning the recording of Symphonies 1 and 3 to Martin Sieghart, who was the new conductor for the Bruckner Linz Orchestra. This move was a split decision.



Guschlbauer's rendition of the Symphony No. 0 is pedestrian. It doesn't compete well with any stereo versions and lacks the drama, forward momentum and dynamics of my favorite version -- Beinum's powerful 1955 concert reading, now available through Haydn House. Neither does it make up for these shortcomings with either lilting melody or interpretive persuasion. Sieghart proved a much better companion, recording outstanding versions of the Symphonies Nos. 1 and 3, the former still available individually and one of my preferred versions of this work.



But the essence of this compilation represents the musicmaking of Eichhorn, a veteran Bruckner conductor whose work was included in Hans Conrad Fishcer's outstanding film, "The Life of Anton Bruckner", where Eichhorn ia shown conducting the cymbal crash section from the adagio of Symphony No. 8. Eichhorn is one of the most imaginative Bruckner conductors I've ever heard. He consistently brings fresh perspective to these oft-recorded and timeworn symphonies, bringing forward woodwind and middle brass voices often lost or buried in other recordings. Like Eugen Jochum, he also believed in flexible pacing, even within development sections, of Bruckner symphonies.



Wh some excpetions, Eichhorn's basic pulse or tempi is deliberate. The Symphony 5, which is one of the better recordings in the set, takes two CDs to complete. It clocks in at over 81 minutes and has several sections in the finale where Eichhorn slows things to a crawl. Eichhorn previously recorded this symphony in 1990 for the Capriccio label in a live recording at St. Florian's. Of the two, my preferences is for this version, which is magnificently played and judged by the conductor, especially in the wonderful slow movement.



Eichhorn's recording of the Symphony No. 9 also stretches across two CDs, mostly because he includes the Cohrs "world premiere recording" (so says Camerata) completion that adds more than a half-hour of music in a fourth movement following the adagio. This long completion, which was based on the composer's sketches for the finale, continues the intermittent motto themes from the first movement and variably sounds like and unlike Bruckner to me.



Fine as these are, the most outstanding recording in this package, in my opinion, is the "world premiere recording" (Camerata) of William Carragan's edition of the Symphony No. 2. Carargan, a Bruckner scholar and annotator, was a major voice in the Bruckner movement at the time this set came out. His edition of the Symphony 2 varies quite a lot from the Nowak edition (all the other recordings except Symphony 9 are the Nowak editions) in every movement and switches the position of the middle movements. In 1995, Camerata released a two-CD package of this recording that grouped it with Eichhorn leading a second version of the symphony. This, gladly, is still in print and is an exceptionally worthwhile investment for people that want to explore Bruckner in more detail.



Alas, my four star review indicates not everything herein is, by my reckoning, up to this standard. I was not always convinced of Eichhorn's approach and, in the highly competitive Symphonies 4, 7 and 8, I found his way not up to standards of Furtwangler, Bohm, Wand and others in my favored symphonies (see my Listmania listing of them on Amazon.) This is not to say these are poor or inadequate recordings, for surely they are not. They merely do not satisfy me as well as others I own, treasure, and have heard and collected. They may satisfy you completely and render your other Bruckner recordings meaningless.



These are minor blemishes, in any event. For an integral set, this socres much higher than most with me. In my opinion, ia way ahead of sets led by Karajan, Solti, Wand, Tintner, Barenboim and Skrowaczewski. The sound and playing is equal to or better than any of them including both Jochum sets. The playing, in particular, is uniformly magisterial under Eichhorn and Sieghart. This orchestra is hardly a regional band; it is one of the better Bruckner orchestras in the world and its understanding of the composer's scores and intentions are nonpareil. The recording venue is the Brucknerhaus in Linz.



One of the best selling points of this set, beyond everything I've discussed, is its documentation. The 44-page booklet that comes with it, published in Japanese, German and English, contains information on each symphony including its dates of composition, dedication, first performance, key signatures for each movement and metrics. I've never seen such informative documentation in a classical recording. There is also discussion on each symphony, the three conductors, and the orchestra with none of the personality-driven marketing we often see today. It is clear this labor was dedicated 100 percent to the Bruckner centenary.

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