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I have the Lopez-Cobos, Cincinnati Symphony recording. What are some other good recordings of Bruckner's 8?

Concertgebouw Orchestra w/ Bernard Haitink. Its fairly recent live recording, and an incredible performance.

I saw this orchestra do Shostakovich 7 in Carnegie last February. Probably the best orchestral concert I've ever heard.

Another recording I'm a huge fan of, though I haven't been able to find it , is the Staatskapelle Dresden with Sinopoli. Its on the Deutche Grammaphon label, but it seems it's out of print in the U.S. If you find it, pick it up (and grab a copy for me ).

Cheers.

My favorite Bruckner 8 is the live recording made in the early 90's by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.......in St. Petersburg, Russia.

My favorite Bruckner 8 recording is by the Saarbrucken Radio Symphony Orchestra with Stanislaw Skrowaczewski conducting in '93.

AndyL wrote:My favorite Bruckner 8 is the live recording made in the early 90's by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.......in St. Petersburg, Russia.

I second that one. Great recording.

Heard CSO perform the 8th in 1975 or 1976 with Carlo Maria Giulini conducting... After all these years it is still the best concert I have ever heard.

Ken S.

I have to concur with KenS about those Guilini performances. I was a freshman at Northwestern and a buddy and I decided on a lark to go downtown and see if we could get tickets. I ended up with a front row seat, so close I could tell the concertmaster was wearing blue socks.

It was the first time I heard the CSO live and I was floored! The massive sound of the brass section (and especially Mr. Jacobs) is still seared into my memory. I'm probably being too nostalgic, but that still remains my greatest concert experience ever! Too bad they didn't make a commercial recording.

As far as recordings of the 8th, I have a tape of a 1980s radio broadcast with Tennstedt and the CSO that is my personal favorite. I also like the Solti performance quite a bit. However, it's a good thing they used the St. Petersberg performances because the Orchestra Hall concerts were less than stellar.

Another good performance is Szell with Cleveland on Sony (coupled with Sym. No. 3). Ron Bishop sounds great, as does the rest of the orchestra. You should also pick up the Gunter Wand recordings (7 and with the Berlin Phil on RCA.

I have to recommend the Munich Philharmonic recording with Sergiu Celibidache. Even as a devoted Bruckner fan, Celibidache gave me a whole new perspective on his symphonies. The playing is fantastic, the balances impeccable. Celibidache creates is a truly spiritual experience and the 8th is one fo the best in the cycle.

Celibidache/Munich - Bruckner 8th

My favourite is Wiener Philharmoniker under Wilhelm Furtwängler in 1944.