A belated thank you for your support, Antonio.

Friday, September 21, 2018

Anton Bruckner - Symphony No. 8 (Herbert von Karajan)


Information

Composer: Anton Bruckner
  1. Symphony No. 8 in C minor (1887/90, ed. Haas): 1. Allegro moderato
  2. Symphony No. 8 in C minor (1887/90, ed. Haas): 2. Scherzo. Allegro moderato - Trio. Langsam
  3. Symphony No. 8 in C minor (1887/90, ed. Haas): 3. Adagio. Feierlich langsam, doch nicht schleppend
  4. Symphony No. 8 in C minor (1887/90, ed. Haas): 4. Finale. Feierlich, nicht schnell

Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra
Herbert von Karajan, conductor

Date: 1988
Label: Deutsche Grammophon
http://www.deutschegrammophon.com/en/cat/4790528


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Review

It's great to see this magnificent recording on one overstuffed disc. Since this performance was released in 1989, only a full-priced two-disc set has been in circulation. Now at mid-price and on the generally laudable "Originals" series, anyone interested in Bruckner, Karajan, the orchestra, or even simply eliminating the disc change should pick this up.

As his valedictory recorded effort and released after his death, Karajan's deeply moving and intensely personal way with the score deserves attention. Yes, he recorded this work many times, and all of those (except perhaps the grossly overpriced one on Andante) could grace your collection with pride. There is something so uniquely compelling about this final reading that you understand why his final concerts in New York with this very piece were so special.

The orchestra plays as only they can. When Karajan's relationship with the Berlin Philharmonic crumbled in the late 80's, Vienna was more than happy to work with the aging maestro. Surely, some of his final work did come off as tired compared to his readings in Berlin, but then there were times like these, where everything went right. Tempi are broad, but Karajan makes everything sound so natural. He also knows how to work within the orchestral sound he has. He lets the string soar in a nearly ethereal way, while the fabled horns get lots of attention too. Only in the second movement do things seem just a touch stiff, but this remains as fine a "last" recording as it gets.

Chances are that the serious Bruckner fan already owns this, or knows they don't want it. For the newcomer to this glorious music, having such a storied performance on one disc makes this a no-brainer. As a tribute to one of the 20th century's great conductors and orchestras, it stands tall among an impressive discography. DG graced this particular set of sessions with some fine digital sound. Grab it while you can.

-- Brian Wigman © 2013, Classical Net

More reviews:

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Anton Bruckner (4 September 1824 – 11 October 1896) was an Austrian composer. His symphonies are considered emblematic of the final stage of Austro-German Romanticism because of their rich harmonic language, strongly polyphonic character, and considerable length. Bruckner composed eleven symphonies, scored for a fairly standard orchestra; his orchestration was modeled after the sound of his primary instrument, the pipe organ. Despite being criticized for their large size and use of repetition, Bruckner's symphonies was greatly admired by subsequent composers, including his friend Gustav Mahler.

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Herbert von Karajan (5 April 1908 – 16 July 1989) was an Austrian conductor. He was principal conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic for 35 years. Regarded as one of the greatest conductors of the 20th century, he was a dominant figure in European classical music from the mid-1950s until his death. He made a large number of recordings, mainly with his BPO and Vienna Philharmonic, and was the top-selling classical music recording artist of all time, having sold an estimated 200 million records. Karajan was admired and also criticized for his over polished sound of the orchestras he conducted.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herbert_von_Karajan

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FLAC, tracks
Links in comment
Enjoy!

8 comments:

  1. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hello, dear Friend!
    Thanks for the beautiful music you share with us, especially for these "Originals" disks.
    I purchase disks, mainly in DL format, but not all of them are available, e.g. this one.
    So, thanks for the possibility to listen to them.
    I have one question. Excuse me for being bold. Do you rip your own CDs or download them, as well?
    It is since none of your releases have logs, CUEs, or something of that kind. But all downloads from official sites don't have them, as well. I just want to be sure that this is real FLAC, not mp3 upconverted. Excuse me for this question once again, please!
    Thanks!
    Best wishes!
    Anton

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Part download, part rip (not all are my rip), but I always separate tracks for easy tagging and managing (I use foobar2k).
      If you want to be sure, you can use audio editor software like Audacity to check the Spectrogram.

      Delete
  3. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  4. How about a re-up, Ronald? I'd appreciate it.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Choose one link, copy and paste it to your browser's address bar, wait a few seconds (you may need to click 'Continue' first), then click 'Skip Ad' (or 'Get link').
    If you are asked to download or install anything, IGNORE, only download from file hosting site (mega.nz).
    If MEGA shows 'Bandwidth Limit Exceeded' message, try to create a free account.

    http://usheethe.com/hkxJ
    or
    https://uii.io/deIuSIYDG
    or
    https://exe.io/hZcwF7

    ReplyDelete