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2 CD Set. Stereo recording.
Anton Bruckner 1824-1896
Symphony No.8 in C minor
Sinfonie Nr. 8 in c-moll/Symphonie no 8 en ut minor
Compact disc 1 (Total running time 33.27)
Track.1 I Allegro moderato (16.43)
Track 2. II Scherzo: Allegro moderato - Trio (16.32)
Compact disc 2 (Total running time 51.46)
Track 1. III Adagio: Feierlich langsam, doch nicht schleppend (26.44)
Track 2. IV Finale: Feierlich, nicht schnell (24.50)
Berliner Philharmoniker
conducted by/Dirigent/direction: Carlo Maria Giulini
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
4 of 5 people found the following review helpful
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This recording has had the distinction of being awarded "First Choice" in a BBC Radio 3 "Building a Library "review in late 2011.
I'll start with negatives about the packaging. There is a blurb on the back about 2 CDs at a Special Price-the price IS special, it's expensive!-a generic essay about Giulini conducting the BPO, not this specific work, and nothing to indicate the Edition used in the performance. Testament has not covered itself in glory on this occasion in these areas.
The Edition used is the 1890 version in the Leopold Nowak edited version, as on the earlier "studio" recording with the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, re-mastered and reissued by DG. The Vienna recording is a supreme achievement, gloriously played and unfolding majestically-it is one of the GREAT recordings-and yet the Berlin Recording was given precedence in the comparative review! Was this justified?
The earlier release of the Seventh Symphony on Testament, and various live Mahler recordings have already revealed a very different Giulini in the concert hall compared to broadly contemporary studio releases-as is very much the case with Karajan. With Giulini, the main difference is tempo-the live recordings have so much more forward impetus as to be almost unrecognisable as this conductor's work. This inevitably brings a change in dynamics as well, and this is very much the case with this recording.
It's faster, more dramatically pointed, and less imbued with spirituality than the Vienna recording, but this is compensated for by the aforementioned drama.
This is not to say that spirituality is lacking, for this is an exalted reading nonetheless.
The playing is predictably superb, as indeed is the recording-rich, full and well-balanced. It's a little sharper edged than the very best, and not quite as fulsome of tone as the Vienna recording, but this is nit-picking.
There is no detectable hiss, and audience presence is really only detectable between movements. It is a superb reading by any set of criteria, but does it really justify its "First Choice" listing?
For many the edition will rule it out, as they will prefer the Haas edited version, and interpretation is subjective.
I personally prefer the Vienna recording by a small margin-the extraordinary long-line control and the sheer beauty of tone make it my favourite Nowak recording, and while this is a worthy companion, I do not feel it supersedes that recording.
Nonetheless, it is a "Must Have "for lovers of the work of this great artist, and Bruckner lovers in general. Not quite First Choice for me-there are too many truly great contenders to be definitive about that-but a magnificent achievement. At least 10 stars. Stewart Crowe.
I'll start with negatives about the packaging. There is a blurb on the back about 2 CDs at a Special Price-the price IS special, it's expensive!-a generic essay about Giulini conducting the BPO, not this specific work, and nothing to indicate the Edition used in the performance. Testament has not covered itself in glory on this occasion in these areas.
The Edition used is the 1890 version in the Leopold Nowak edited version, as on the earlier "studio" recording with the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, re-mastered and reissued by DG. The Vienna recording is a supreme achievement, gloriously played and unfolding majestically-it is one of the GREAT recordings-and yet the Berlin Recording was given precedence in the comparative review! Was this justified?
The earlier release of the Seventh Symphony on Testament, and various live Mahler recordings have already revealed a very different Giulini in the concert hall compared to broadly contemporary studio releases-as is very much the case with Karajan. With Giulini, the main difference is tempo-the live recordings have so much more forward impetus as to be almost unrecognisable as this conductor's work. This inevitably brings a change in dynamics as well, and this is very much the case with this recording.
It's faster, more dramatically pointed, and less imbued with spirituality than the Vienna recording, but this is compensated for by the aforementioned drama.
This is not to say that spirituality is lacking, for this is an exalted reading nonetheless.
The playing is predictably superb, as indeed is the recording-rich, full and well-balanced. It's a little sharper edged than the very best, and not quite as fulsome of tone as the Vienna recording, but this is nit-picking.
There is no detectable hiss, and audience presence is really only detectable between movements. It is a superb reading by any set of criteria, but does it really justify its "First Choice" listing?
For many the edition will rule it out, as they will prefer the Haas edited version, and interpretation is subjective.
I personally prefer the Vienna recording by a small margin-the extraordinary long-line control and the sheer beauty of tone make it my favourite Nowak recording, and while this is a worthy companion, I do not feel it supersedes that recording.
Nonetheless, it is a "Must Have "for lovers of the work of this great artist, and Bruckner lovers in general. Not quite First Choice for me-there are too many truly great contenders to be definitive about that-but a magnificent achievement. At least 10 stars. Stewart Crowe.
I bought this CD on the recommendation of BBC Radio 3's Building a Library.
While I can't fault Giulini's interpretation (the most convincing statement of the whole symphony I've heard so far) I'm afraid my enjoyment of the recording is significantly marred by what I originally thought was audience muttering (or my neighbour's television) but is apparently the conductor himself singing along.
For this reason I can't wholeheartedly recommend it, even though there is much to admire in the performance.
FYI: BAL's single disc recommendation was Kubelik, which I'm going to investigate as an alternative.
While I can't fault Giulini's interpretation (the most convincing statement of the whole symphony I've heard so far) I'm afraid my enjoyment of the recording is significantly marred by what I originally thought was audience muttering (or my neighbour's television) but is apparently the conductor himself singing along.
For this reason I can't wholeheartedly recommend it, even though there is much to admire in the performance.
FYI: BAL's single disc recommendation was Kubelik, which I'm going to investigate as an alternative.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
1 review
Wanted: One Drummer Boy
4 Feb 2012
If you already have Giulini's noble account of this work with the Vienna Philharmonic (DG), think twice before supplementing your collection with these discs - and they ain't cheap.
The timpani are toothless throughout this live recording. Their lack of bite adds to the impression that Giulini is less steely than the likes of Furtwangler and Karajan in conveying the angst and ferocity of this work, particularly in the outer movements. Indeed, the harp has more of a presence. More widely, the sound could be likened to a worthy broadcast on FM radio. It's not in the demonstration class.
Giulini also uses the Nowak Edition. I much prefer the Haas - as does our in-house Kitler.
That being said, there is still much to admire here. The Berlin Philharmonic responds lavishly to one of their favourite guest-conductors (just listen to the woodwind throughout). Patience is cardinal in Bruckner and Giulini is a front-runner in the conclave: not once is he distracted by minutiae as he strides imperiously towards the epicentre of each movement. The Trio of the Scherzo is becalmed with splendour: our ancestors cannot have felt any different when they first looked beyond the canopy of the trees to behold the constellations in their majesty. Come the adagio, the enormous chasms are bridged with aplomb. Like the first movement, the finale suffers from the meekness of the timpani.
All in all, this is a first class performance that was manifestly kneecapped by the engineers.
The Karajan '88 is still the big kahuna. Better still is his version from 1944 where the last movement is in stereo. The last three minutes of the finale is a full dress rehearsal for the Last Judgement.
Anton Bruckner - Symphony No.8 in C minor (Karajan's 1st Stereo Recording)(1944) (no first movement, 2nd&3rd mono, 4th in stereo) (Koch)
Yes indeed: His Judgement Cometh and that Right Soon.
The timpani are toothless throughout this live recording. Their lack of bite adds to the impression that Giulini is less steely than the likes of Furtwangler and Karajan in conveying the angst and ferocity of this work, particularly in the outer movements. Indeed, the harp has more of a presence. More widely, the sound could be likened to a worthy broadcast on FM radio. It's not in the demonstration class.
Giulini also uses the Nowak Edition. I much prefer the Haas - as does our in-house Kitler.
That being said, there is still much to admire here. The Berlin Philharmonic responds lavishly to one of their favourite guest-conductors (just listen to the woodwind throughout). Patience is cardinal in Bruckner and Giulini is a front-runner in the conclave: not once is he distracted by minutiae as he strides imperiously towards the epicentre of each movement. The Trio of the Scherzo is becalmed with splendour: our ancestors cannot have felt any different when they first looked beyond the canopy of the trees to behold the constellations in their majesty. Come the adagio, the enormous chasms are bridged with aplomb. Like the first movement, the finale suffers from the meekness of the timpani.
All in all, this is a first class performance that was manifestly kneecapped by the engineers.
The Karajan '88 is still the big kahuna. Better still is his version from 1944 where the last movement is in stereo. The last three minutes of the finale is a full dress rehearsal for the Last Judgement.
Anton Bruckner - Symphony No.8 in C minor (Karajan's 1st Stereo Recording)(1944) (no first movement, 2nd&3rd mono, 4th in stereo) (Koch)
Yes indeed: His Judgement Cometh and that Right Soon.
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