Franz and Cleveland headline 24-hour Bruckner marathon

Herr Doktor says:

Dear B. Guerrero: In my experience, the “problem” with the early symphonies is less that there’s anything fundamentally wrong with them or that they’re simply not that good, rather than that *most* conductors don’t get them and thus are unable to put them across successfully and show us what Bruckner in fact gave us. Bruckner did his part – it’s just that most conductors have generally not served those symphonies well.

Of the 9 symphonies, the only one which I believe is not a masterpiece is #3 – it’s a noble failure, but a failure all the same. The best of the versions of B3 in my opinion is the first one, from 1873. But I definitely hear masterpieces in #1 and #2.

If you want to hear recordings of the first two symphonies which give each of them their due, consider the following (and linked below are reviews of those recordings I posted on Amazon):

Bruckner Symphony #1: Eugen Jochum, Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, DG (from Jochum’s first Bruckner cycle). To summarize, this is one of the greatest recordings of any work ever made by anyone. It’s revelatory from start to finish, astonishing at every level, and there’s never been another performance like it from anyone. Literally every single person I know who has heard this earth-shattering Jochum performance has been blown away by it and reconsidered their (dismissive) opinions of this (grossly misunderstood) symphony:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/customer-reviews/RIVD9A1Q00C67/ref=cm_cr_dp_d_rvw_ttl?ie=UTF8&ASIN=B01AXL0V1S

#2: Herbert von Karajan, Berlin Philharmonic, DG (from Karajan’s Bruckner cycle): There are plenty of people who come to any Karajan recording with their minds already made up about it without having even heard a note. This performance is for everyone else. It reveals that Bruckner’s Symphony #2 is a towering masterpiece, and showcases the genius of Herbert von Karajan for letting us understand the enormity of what’s here. Karajan finds things in the score that most other conductors just completely miss. The second movement is one of the greatest movements Bruckner ever wrote – it makes me melt, and I’ve never heard any other performance that’s comes anywhere close to what Karajan achieves with it in this one. The rest of the symphony is stunning, and Karajan gives this masterpiece every bit its due.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/customer-reviews/R32W58L0R5YRIC/ref=cm_cr_dp_d_rvw_ttl?ie=UTF8&ASIN=B00000E33Z

As for #3, well, this was a failed experiment to my ears. Yet there are still wonderful things in it and I do listen to it from time to time. The two performances of the first version of the symphony (1873) that I consider best are the live performance from Remy Ballot and the Altomonte Orchester St. Florian (which is strong in the first two movements but fades from there), and Herbert Blomstedt’s recording with the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra from Blomstedt’s cycle (more consistent overall but doesn’t hit the highs in the first two movements that Ballot does).

The bottom line: There’s general consensus that Bruckner’s symphonies #4-9 are masterpieces. Those of us who are familiar with these recordings of the earlier symphonies – which are rarely done effectively – are of the opinion that the first two symphonies are also masterpieces, when led by conductors who truly “get” them and can successfully put them across.

Jochum’s BPO B1 on DG and Karajan’s B2 on DG are in my opinion essential listening for anyone who cares for Bruckner’s music.