Bruckner: Symphony No4, WAB104; Mahler: Symphony No7

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
Neither of these recordings represents its conductor or the music at their best, but both have interesting aspects. The Bruckner was conducted by a somewhat younger and more vital Otto Klemperer than the man who recorded the same work for EMI. But the Vienna Symphony in the postwar era was a scrappy, underfed ensemble that couldn't really produce the sound Bruckner requires. Yet anything Hans Rosbaud recorded is bound to be of some interest, since he was such a commanding and insightful musician. This 1952 broadcast performance doesn't really catch fire like the best Rosbaud, but its insights will still be of great interest to Mahlerians. And you certainly get a lot of music for your money here. --Leslie Gerber

Tracks:

Symphony No. 7 In E Minor 'Song Of The Night' (Beginning): Langsam: Allegro con fuoco
Symphony No. 7 In E Minor 'Song Of The Night' (Beginning): NAchtmusik I. Allegro moderato
Symphony No. 7 In E Minor 'Song Of The Night' (Beginning): Scherzo: Schattenhaft: Fliessend, aber nicht schnell
Symphony No. 7 In E Minor 'Song Of The Night' (Beginning): NAchtmusik II. Andante amoroso

Tracks:

Symphony No. 7 'Song Of The Night' (Conclusion): V. Rondo-Finale: Allegro ordinario; Allegro moderato ma energico
Symphony No. 4 In E-Flat Major 'Romatic': I. Allegro ma non troppo
Symphony No. 4 In E-Flat Major 'Romatic': II. Andante quasi allegretto
Symphony No. 4 In E-Flat Major 'Romatic': III. Scherzo
Symphony No. 4 In E-Flat Major 'Romatic': IV. Allegro ma non troppo

Amazon.com

Neither of these recordings represents its conductor or the music at their best, but both have interesting aspects. The Bruckner was conducted by a somewhat younger and more vital Otto Klemperer than the man who recorded the same work for EMI. But the Vienna Symphony in the postwar era was a scrappy, underfed ensemble that couldn't really produce the sound Bruckner requires. Yet anything Hans Rosbaud recorded is bound to be of some interest, since he was such a commanding and insightful musician. This 1952 broadcast performance doesn't really catch fire like the best Rosbaud, but its insights will still be of great interest to Mahlerians. And you certainly get a lot of music for your money here. --Leslie Gerber

Customer Reviews:

Try Klemperer's Bavarian Symphony recording instead.......2005-04-23

Be warned: this is not typical Bruckner. The tempi are quicker, the textures leaner (odd things to associate with Klemperer, but true). Klemperer's version of Bruckner's 4th Symphony in this recording is clear-eyed, dramatic and propulsive. Like other recordings Klemperer made for Vox in the early 1950's, it captures more of the qualities that we heard in his live performances later in his life. And, like the other Klemperer/Vienna Symphony recordings, it suffers from the Vienna Symphony's thin and coarse playing. They try hard, but in the end the performance suffers from their inadequacy. Vox complicates matters with detailed but harsh sound. You can find the same basic interpretation in Klemperer's later, better-played and recorded live performance with the Bavarian Radio Symphony. That live recording matches this one in tempi, phrasing and basic interpretive stance. It's a 5-star performance. This should be 4-5 stars for the interpretation; it's 0-1 star for the playing and recording.

Track Listings:

Track Listings

There Goes the Neighborhood

Oracle

New Features

Turning Point [Import]

Ultimate Shirley Horn

Sonata in D Minor

When God's Love Is Real

Turn on Tune in [Import]

Transmissions from the Satellite Heart

Super Grupero

Tejano Gold

Tribute to Count Basie

Presents Monk Hughes & Outer Realm