Best Sounding Bruckner Recordings

A favorite Bruckner 9 that I first listened to 40 years ago (!) is Barenboim/Chicago on a DG LP. The Scherzo with its galloping rhythms is a particularly effective showpiece in this performance! I recently acquired the Barenboim/Berlin version on Teldec CD. I will have to give it a listen!

I have the Barenboim Bruckner 7 from Chicago. That was made when DB was a young guest Conductor here.  It was still Solti’s Orchestra, and you realize when the brass cuts loose.  DB spent most of his tenure here trying to tame them, with intermittent success.
  My favorite Bruckner 7 for both performance and sound remains Karajan/Vienna 
Phil on DG, one of Von K last recordings.  His Berlin Phil recording is my second choice 

I owned many of the Haitink/Concertgebouw LPs on Philips. Very good overall cycle! Alas, lost them when I moved down South! 

How's the Barenboim/Berlin 7? I'm curious and will probably order the Teldec CD. He does a good job with massive forces!

I recently ran through the nine symphonies on the main classical music thread (aficionado).  Have a look there.  Chailly has very good sound on the 7th; Giuliani generally is very recommendable.

Thanks, 2Lefty, I hadn’t gotten around to looking at that thread.  The Giulini (note the spelling, we wouldn’t want to mix up the Conductor with hand grenade that is Trump’s Personal Attorney) Eighth and Ninth on DG are stunning, try them as Japanese imports.

I am not sure that I know the Barenboim Berlin Seventh.  Is that with DBs Berlin Orchestra, the Staatkapelle, or with the Berliner Philharmoniker?  I have the DB/Staatkapelle Fourth on Blu Ray, impressive though sonically a bit of a let down

Try listening to Jesus Lopez-Cobos with the Cincinnati SO on Telarc. This is one BIG version. You might just like it. :-) FWIW I'm currently listening to Guilini's version as I type. Beautiful...

My initial recommendations would be:

Symphony No. 9: Honeck, Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra (Reference Recordings). This is a very good performance in excellent sound. Not only that, but in the liner notes Honeck breaks down the score bar by bar with the time stamp and explains what he's asking the orchestra to do and why. His Symphony No. 4 is also good in terms of performance with the same excellent sound and detailed liner notes.

Symphony No. 8: Boulez, Wiener Philharmoniker (DG): Great performance in excellent sound.

Symphony No. 7: Runnicles, BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra (Hyperion): This is IMO the best tempo along with an excellent performance and sound. The opening cello sequence is unsurpassed.

Symphony No. 6: Sawallisch, Bayerisches Staatsorchester (Orfeo Digital): Excellent performance -- the drive of the music is perfect. Sound is good, not spectacular, but good as the sheer dynamics of the music more than makes up for it.

Symphony No. 5: Bolton, Mozarteum Orchester (Oehms Classics): Great performance, great sound

Symphony No. 4: Karajan, Berliner Philharmoniker (DG; 9-20-2004 release): Simply outstanding and powerful.

Symphony No. 3: Nelsons, Gewandhausorchester (DG): Excellent performance, even better sonics.

Symphony No.2: Not impressed with the lot but the chamber version by Trevor Pinnock (Linn Records) has excellent sonics -- and the performance is very good.

Symphony No. 1: Barenboim, Berlin Philharmonic (DG box set). 

There are many many others that I like...

@mahler123, I hear what you are saying with respect to Bruckner suffering from bad recordings.  I too, can listen to Toscanini recordings of Beethoven, Brahms, Haydn, etc all day long.
I'm going to go out on a very long limb here, and no doubt loose whatever credibility I may have previously had regarding classical music. 
For years, my go to Bruckner conductor was Eugen Jochum/Dresden.  I still enjoy an occasional listen.   But I have really found myself drawn to the more recent Venzago cycle on CPO. As I listen to those recordings, I hear the influence of Schubert.  I don't hear Bruckner as a Wagner (or Mahler) wannabe.  Venzago's cycle has not, to my knowledge, been well received.  But I would be interested in what you might think of his efforts.  In my humble opinion, he brings something worthwhile, especially to the early (0-3) symphonies, which many times can be a bit of a snooze fest. 

Gunther Wand/BPO Live (RCA Red Seal) is my go to for 
excellent performances with great sound. The imaging and detail revealed is exceptional for non-audiophile releases.

Giulini with the VPO (DG) is a favorite even with the over-mic'd brass section. My favorite #2 is Giulini with the VPO on Testament.

Kurt Sanderling's #7 with the SWR Sinfonieorchester is in very good sound.

For excellence in performance I still go to the Furtwängler box set, VPO & BPO. Music & Arts did a remarkable restoration of symphonies 4-9.


 

How is the audience noise on the Furtwangler Music and Arts? At times they all seem to be suffering from influenza.

@roxy1927,
Audience noise is minimal from what I recall. It's not filled with coughing and such, maybe some movement in the seats. Overall, these are compelling performances. 
I generally like Furtwängler's changes in tempo, except in a few areas where they are too fast and rushed. But these are few and far between.
A very worthwhile listen, now streaming on Qobuz.

@brownsfan 
  For many years the Jochum/Dresden set was my only Bruckner.  In the seventies when I started collecting it was the only affordable Bruckner.  Karajan on DG and Haitink on Phillips would release individual symphonies in huge boxes that each would cost more than the Jochum.  I also purchased the set in the early days of CD and still give it the occasional spin.   As I began to experience other Bruckner conductors my main complaint with Jochum was excessive rubato.  He frequently disrupts the long arching lines with speed -up-slow-downs that give me vertigo.  Karajan is the anti Jochum.  His phrasing causes those long lines to emerge as if in one breath

My favorite Furtwangler Bruckner is a VPO Eighth recorded in an empty Hall in 1944.  My copy is from a private label created for the fund raising telethons of WFMT in Chicago but it is available on many labels.  It was made the day before a concert performance that is also available as a recording, so if interested be aware.  Furtwangler usually did his best in front of an audience but my understanding is that this was not a rehearsal but a private performance before a few people as well as an air check for the following.  At any rate it’s gripping, with the voice of doom music late in the first movement having an especially powerful kick in the gut.
  And yes, it’s nice to hear Furtwangler WWII recordings without listening to Nazis in the audience hacking away.  I always get distracted hoping and one of them will die choking on his own secretions.

@mahler123,  What an insightful comment regarding Jochum's use of rubato!  Also interesting is your reaction to it.  Your comments resulted in me spending most of the day thinking about, but not listening to,  Bruckner.   I agree completely with your characterization of von Karajan as the anti-Jochum.  Since I have found Jochum (and Venzago) to afford agreeable Bruckner, it will not surprise you to know I am not overly fond of HvK's Bruckner.   I hear chants of "Heresy, Heresy!" off in the distance.  (I also prefer Kempe to HvK for R. Strauss- perhaps fodder for a new thread?)  HvK's Bruckner, and similar approaches to his music, inevitably make me feel unsettled, troubled, even fearful of an immanent musically induced apocalypse.  The 9th, in particular, creeps me out.  In a sense, Bruckner  (HvK) hits me as the anti-Bach.    

I don't put Bruckner in the very top tier of composers.  I also disagree with those who claim he wrote the same symphony 9 or 10 times.   BTW, my favorite Bruckner is the Te Deum, but I have yet to find a satisfactory recording.  Any guidance?
 

@brownsfan , I agree with you regarding Von K's Bruckner. I like a couple of his interpretations, but in general I don't hear of feel the different emotions in his Bruckner.

The Ninth was my “gateway “ into Bruckner.  The first Bruckner I encountered was the Fourth, when I was in College about 4 decades ago.  It was entertaining but one can only take so much medieval knights jousting background music.  I heard the Seventh in concert and was bored to tears except the Scherzo.  Finally I heard a Gunter Wand CD of the Ninth and was blown away.  I really hate the completions of the Ninth, not only because I am used to the 3 movement torso, but because anything that winds up coming after those final mystical chords just seems to cheapen the experience.
  I don’t listen my to the First two Symphonies, let alone the 0 and 00.  Of the Te Deum, my only recording is one that is tacked on to the end of Ninth as a Choral completion.  As I mentioned I hated any completion of the Ninth so I haven’t spun that CD for a couple of decades.  I did hear the Te Deum recently on the radio (I listen to Radio Venice, and the Bluesound App will identify the composition but not the performers), and liked it quite a bit, so I would also be interested in recommendations there.
  Karajan Bruckner is very polarizing.  Most critical opinion that I have read is negative, and it was only relatively recently that I began to investigate for myself.  I love it.  When Von K felt sympathy for a Composer he could do great things, and the playing of the Berlin Phil. Is breathtaking.
  I have heard good things elsewhere about Venzago.  Time to check Qobuz for his recordings.
   I listened to the Jochum/Dresden Sixth a few weeks back.  Maybe not as much rubato as I remember, or perhaps he tones it down in that relatively restrained work.  I will have to respin that cycle.
  Bruckner doesn’t consistently interest me as much as the composer with whom he is frequently compared and contrasted, namely Mahler, but in a few spots he really strikes gold.  He also is perhaps the most challenging Composer for an audio system, and therefore a great composer to discuss on Agon.

Karajan's performances of Bruckner #4, 7, 8 on EMI circa 1970 are magnificent IMO. The young Karajan with his Berliners approach Bruckner slowly and with such passion. These are the recordings that move me.

@mahler123, I absolutely agree with you regarding the completion of the 9th symphony. A fourth movement is unnecessary and "those final mystical chords" provide a finality to the beautiful adagio and preceding movements.

I always thought the Bruno Walter was the classic Bruckner 9.  Anyway, it's the one I cut my teeth on as a teenager; all others sound different and slightly "wrong".

My first Bruckner was Barenboim/Chicago #4, followed by HvK #9, followed by Jochum/Dresden 6 and 8, all on vinyl.  It was the Jochum that pulled me in on Bruckner.  Barenboim put me to sleep and HvK had me looking over my shoulder in fear. 
I really think Bruckner is done a great disservice by comparing him to Mahler.  He is never, in my opinion, going to fare well in that comparison.  I think it is much better to let him stand on his own and speak with his own voice.   
What that voice should be I leave to others who are better positioned than me to comment.  But I do think Venzago takes a stab at something different.  Elsewhere I stated that Venzago's Bruckner is for people who don't love Bruckner.  Each symphony is recorded in a different venue with a different orchestra, so recording quality varies as you work your way through the set. 

  I agree that the constant comparisons between Bruckner and Mahler are a disservice to both Composers.  I have always thought, however, that these are the two Composers that benefited most from the advent of the long playing (lp) record.  I personally heard Mahler/5 and Bruckner/7 both in concert prior to hearing any recorded performance.  Both times I reacted negatively; at the time I was still absorbing Mozart, Beethoven, Tchakovsky, Bach, Handel....you know, the certifiable greats.  Mahler and Bruckner were just then entering the Canon, but it took the availability of recordings in my case to permeate my prejudices.  I could listen to 1 or 2 movements at a time and get accustomed to the style and recognize the landmarks.  Then having a toehold of interest, I was more receptive to, and ultimately able to appreciate the beauty.  I don’t think that my experience is unique, and I don’t think that improvements In playback technology after WWII are given the credit that it deserves for developing interest in both Composers 

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. 

Klemperer's Bruckner is excellent and is how I imagine early Bruckner was performed.  
I'd love to hear these performances on vinyl. I own the CD boxed set and although I enjoy it and has been well remastered by EMI, it's far from sounding like analogue.
 

I have the Klemperer set of 4-9 on Warner.  Are those the recordings that were on UK Columbia that @edgewear refers to?  They are also available on Qobuz.  They are pretty impressive sonically and generally respect the architecture.  My only complaint is that they never seem to soar.  The bar lines are always holding us back.  However, I should relisten 

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

I just streamed the Klemperer 7&8 via Qobuz.  They are very good, but I find many of the same issues that bedevil many of  Klemperer’s Beethoven and Mozart recordings from the same era have, namely some rhythmic inflexibility 
and  sort of pulling of punches.  For example, try the Doom Music from 8/I.Some how Klemperer just doesn’t quite hit it with the elemental force that Karajan, Giulini, or Wand can summon.  He is an old bear, still capable of great things, but not quite what he used to be (it’s a revelation to hear Klemperer recordings from the forties and early fifties and compare them to the familiar stereo work with the Philharmonia).
  Before I paint late Klemperer with a broad brush, however, his Brahms cycle with the Philharmonia is superb.

The boxed set I own is with the New Philharmonia/ Philharmonia released in 2012 on EMI. I see on Qobuz these are now branded Warner. The performances range from 1960 to 1970, so very late period Klemperer.

I’m now listening to Klemperer with the WDR Koln on Qobuz, #4, 7, 8. These are from the 1950s and are superior performances; lively  but still rather reserved. They could do with some remastering, but so far I’m enjoying #4.

Oops, they were remastered and Amazon lists different orchestras than Qobuz. (In mono).

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).

  I know that Klemperer was dismissive of Walter and his emoting (Klemperer is reported to have described his Mahler as “too Jewish”), but when I think of an “objective “ Conductor Pierre Boulez comes to mind.  Klemperer seems to have had some interior fence that would prevent him from going full heart on sleeve.  I think with Bruckner, however, hitting the big moments for all that they are worth is my prefered approach.  AB admired Wagner, who certainly doesn’t encourage restraint.  And the long repetitive build ups in Bruckner are for me intended as a prelude to showing us the dizzying heights.

Has anyone listen to the Berlin Philharmonic’s new Bruckner cycle? I particularly like Bruckner’s 8th conducted by Zubin Mehta. 

https://www.udiscovermusic.com/classical-news/karajans-legendary-bruckner-symphonies-out-now/ 
These, as well as the ($$$) Japanese SACD releases are supposed to have supremo sound.

Lefty 

I ordered the Karajan Blu Ray.  Best price I had seen and had an Amazon gift card to use up.  Thanks for the link.

Camille- the reviews on the VPO haven’t been very favorable.  And some of the recordings clearly don’t appeal.  Ozawa in the First?  Not interested 

There's an extensive review of the Blu-ray issue in the most recent number of Absolute Sound, which doesn't seem to be available on-line.  It's very positive.

@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.

Thanks Lefty, I might look for a current issue of TAS in a magazine store and read it.  I canceled my TAS subscription in disgust over their shameless shilling for MQA

Edge 
 I am not enough of a Wagnerian to have an opinion.  I prefer my RW as bleeding chunks.  I prefer Solti in The Ring because he keeps me interested 

Lefty

It turns out my digital TAS subscription is still active, because I bought a year in advance, and so I read the favorable review by Ted Libby.  That is quite a story he relates, being one of a handful of people available for what may have been HvK last rehearsal.  I have the Karajan Blu Ray transfer of the Beethoven Symphonies which was a worthwhile investment 

Very happy with the boxed complete cycle, Staatskapelle Berlin, Barenboim, DG.

$30 for 9 CD is a heck of a bargain on this IMO

I think I paid $25 for the Blu Ray of just the Fourth.  Yes, I would say that’s a bargain, but to paraphrase Pete Townsend, “not the best I ever had.”

I’m listening to the Karajan/Berlin Fifth on Blu Ray, and in comparing this to the Redbook Fifth I hate to use the usual audiophile cliche like a veil being lifted, etc...but there it is.  Maybe the cliche about everything snapping into focus is more appropriate....there is greater clarity and ambience.  Whatever.  Great stuff 

Hi there,

I recently doubled up on the Barenboim 1969 EMI recording of Bruckner’s Te Deum, buying both the 2CD Gemini issue, which also has two Bruckner masses and motets, and the EMI Masters issue, which has Barenboim’s Mozart Requiem from two years later with the ECO.

The Masters release has the same line up as the Great Recordings of the Century issue but was remastered at Abbey Road in 2008 by Simon Gibson, according to the booklet. The Gemini was mastered earlier in 2003 (don’t know by whom.)

I wasn’t expecting a change of sound but, my god, it’s quite striking. The later one is brighter at the top end and is harsher. I mean, come on, that piece and especially that recording is in your face. It doesn’t need a boost. The Gemini feels much more natural and with more presence in the organ and bass, and you feel more the recording venue. Why do they have to spoil it! I didn’t think the loudness wars crept into classical recordings that much. Do you know these recordings? What’s your opinion on these releases and the issue in general?

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