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Are there any good Bruckner recordings out there, specifically Symphonies 4 and 7, but any one of them, with real stand out amazingness? Not just the low brass but as a whole. I'm looking for some Bruckner somewhat equivalent to the San Francisco Mahler recordings, but haven't found any yet.

Thanks!

Gunther Wand cond. the North German Radio Sym on RCA Red Seal.

For #4 Vienna/Bohm 1973 can't be beat. For both 4&7 the Chicago/Barenboim recordings from the 70s are good. The CSO/DB used to be available at a box set, but not anymore and 4/7 was reissued as a DG double. Jochum recordings of Bruckner are suppoesed to be very good, but I've never heard any of them.

If you are willing to endure some "old stlye" playing, check out some Knappertsbusch and Klemperer recordings. You might find some magic there that you won't find in many other recordings, although it has been a while since I have listened to some of these. The recordings are from the mid-20th century, but there are some interperative nuances that can make up for the "lack of polished-ness" that one may not be used to hearing on modern recordings.

My Zwei Pfennig,
CJH

The absolute best of #4 is Chicago Symphony with Daniel Barenboim at the helm. This is from the 70s and I bought it on LP in 76'. Jake is at his best! DGramaphone label....

For my money, NO ONE can beat the Wilhelm Furtwangler live recordings during WWII. The absolute best live recording I have heard of anything is his 8th with the Vienna Philharmonic recorded in October of 1944. To date Allegro Music has issued a Bruckner 5 with the Berlin Philharmonic from 1942, a 9th with BPO recorded a week earlier than the 8th, and of course the 8th. The recorded sound has been greatly enhanced from the old wire recordings (yes, this was the era before magnetic tape, so everything was recorded onto coppoer wire). The playing is astounding. Considering that these were live recordings they stand against anything done in the studio. I can find no clams or wayward intonation found in other historic recordings. Furtwangler was eccentric at best and his recordings show is willfulness. He lets the music breath and then runs it into the ground, it is all very exhilirating, considerably more than "safe" studio recordings. Remember, the orchestra never knew if the recording was being made, so they played balls to the wall. Don't look at these recordings as artifacts, they are compelling testaments to a great man completely in control of his milieu.

For modern day recordings, I'll list my favorites:

3rd (no tuba part, but still kicks ***)- Nagano/Paris O.
4th- Karajan/BPO the 1970's recording GREAT Adagio
5th- Thielemann/Munich Philharmonic- this thing breathes FIRE!!
6th- Lopez-Cobos/ Cincy- Some of the best trumpet playing of the past 100 years and the tuba ain't too shabby.
7th- Hands down, Karajan/BPO from the 70's. This guy must have slept with Bruckners niece. Stunningly paced and played.
8th- Wand/NDR Orchestra-maybe the best interpretation since Furtwangler. Stunning playing and absolute control of every aspect of this monumental work
9th, Bernstein/VPO hands down on of my top 5 favorite live recordings ever made. The orchestra screams and whispers and plays as if the devil himself had something to prove to God. I hope the VPO NEVER makes their horn players play modern instruments. What a sound. Snarl one minute, angelic the next.

Chuck

To punch up the Bruckner anniversary the Chicago Sym. in 2000 put out a 10 CD box of the symphonies. Sir Georg Solti was the conductor for all the recordings, these being made between Jan. 1979 and Oct. 1995. No doubt Arnold Jacobs is heard on a number of these. Check with Amazon.com for the best price.
Donnie Mac

The most enjoyable recording of the Bruckner 8th Symphony I've HEARD was recorded live by the Chicago Symphony on tour in St. Petersburg, Russia:

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/de ... l&n=507846

but with the only CD available asking $50.....let's just say if it sells, Decca should put it right back in print.......

Why this, and other early 90's LIVE CSO recordings have gone out-of-print so quickly is a mystery to me, to wit:

Berlioz "Symphonie Fantastique" coupled with Liszt "Les Preludes",
Shostakovich "Symphony #10"

Then add to that the classic 1966 RCA recording of Nielsen's 4th "Inextinguishable" (CSO/Martinon) is only available in JAPAN (?!?!) and one can only wonder if there's anyone at the helm at RCA and Decca who appreciates what they've got in their archives?

In my opinion, one of the most consistant and musically incredible cycles of the Bruckner symphonies is the Staatskapelle Dresden and Eugen Jochum recordings on EMI or lately on Brilliant Classics (same cycle just added Symphony 0 performed by Skrowaczewski).

The music is magnificent and the recorded sound is still really good if a bit dated. Price is also very reasonable for the 9 disc set.

Granted it's a European orchestra so intonation will be a lil sharp to an American's ears but it really is an all around best set.

Hope this helps.

-Billy.

Some great recordings mentioned here. My absolute favorites though are the Munich Phil with Sergiu Celibidache conducting on EMI. The playing is superb and the interpretation...well, to my ears, NO ONE understood Bruckner quite the way Celibidache does. It was truly revelatory listening when I discovered these gems.

If you haven't heard these (the 3rd through the 9th symphonies were released), you owe it to yourself to find them. These were never intended to be released as recordings. Celibidache did not believe in recordings, only live performance. These were all archive recordings. Many bootleg recordings purported (falsely) to be Celibidache found their way into the marklet, so his family made a deal with EMI to release these to save the name of the maestro.

Definitely worth a listen!

The Barenboim CSO 2-CD set of the 4th and 7th at a midline price is a no brainer. The recording of the 4th is spectacular.

In addition to the Solti 8th, there is a Szell recording of the 3rd and 8th with Cleveland that is excellent. I have a tape of a radio broadcast of the CSO from the mid 1980s with Klaus Tennstedt conducting the 8th that is my personal favorite.

Some more recent recordings that I like include the 5th with Sinopoli and Dresden Staatskapelle, the 7th with Harnoncourt conducting the Vienna Philharmonic, and the 4th and 7th (single CDs of each) with Gunter Wand and the Berlin Philharmonic on RCA Imports. I have his performance of the 8th on my Christmas list and can't wait.

Hopefully, DGG will reissue the Barenboim complete cycle at some point. My recollection is that the 8th was pretty awesome from that series.

Two recordings of the 4th that have not yet been mentioned that I enjoy are a remaster of Bruno Walter with the Columbia Symphony and a 1970's vintage with Bernard Haitink and the Concertgebouw Orchestra.