Knappertsbusch and Bruckner

1. Symphony No. 4 in E flat (Romantic) (Original; Vienna; Karlsruhe; New York; Schalk & Löwe versions), WAB 104
Composed by Anton Bruckner
Performed by Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra Conducted by Hans Knappertsbusch

Tracks:

Symphony No. 9 In D: 1 Feierlich, Misterioso
Symphony No. 9 In D: 2 Scherzo-Trio. Bewegt, lebhaft
Symphony No. 9 In D: 3 Adagio, Langsam, Feierlich
Symphony No. 94 In G: 1 Adagio
Symphony No. 94 In G: 2 Andante
Symphony No. 94 In G: 3 Menuet-Trio. Allegro molto
Symphony No. 94 In G: 4 Finale, Allegro di molto

Average customer rating:

Kna's Brilliant Bruckner, But...

Bruckner: Symphony No. 4

Manufacturer: Testament UK
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B0001XLXAM
Release Date: 2004-06-08

Customer Reviews:

Kna's Brilliant Bruckner, But..........2006-09-21

Lately I've been buying fewer Testament CDs -- with the new higher list price it's simply too hard to justify buying so many historical recordings, particularly when competing series like DG's "Musik...Sprache der Welt" (see my reviews) offer similar titles for 60% less money. However, there are exceptions to every rule, and when I came across a used copy of this Bruckner 4th by the great Hans Knappertsbusch in NYC a few months back, I simply couldn't pass it up. This revised version of the "Romantic" Symphony was recorded with the Vienna Philharmonic in mono in 1955, originally for Decca. Through Kna's other performances -- a 5th in the Decca Classic Sound series, and an 8th on MCA/Westminster, both now OOP -- I knew he was one of the great Brucknerians of the LP era, and this recording is similarly inspired. My only concern with this release comes from the fact that so many Decca titles being licensed out to Testament are beginning to show up a few years later in Decca/Universal's own "Original Masters" box sets. After plunking down nearly $70 for the three recent Kna Testament reissues, what's to say that the same won't happen with these recordings -- that they'll be available in a couple of years time, for half the price along with the aforementioned OOP Bruckner 5th and 8th and much more, as "Hans Knappertsbusch: The Complete Decca & Westminster Recordings." Ah, I guess this is the classical connoisseur's conundrum! But in the meantime, this is brilliant Bruckner, even if you have to buy it again later.

Bruckner: Symphony No. 3; Wagner: Siegfried Idyll

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Bruckner: Symphony No. 3; Wagner: Siegfried Idyll

Manufacturer: Testament UK
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B0001XLX1Q
Release Date: 2004-06-08

Average customer rating:

The superior vision!

Bruckner: Symphony No. 5

Manufacturer: Polygram Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music

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ASIN: B00000428K
Release Date: 1996-09-17

Tracks:

Symphony No. 5: Adagio - Allegro
Symphony No. 5: Adagio
Symphony No. 5: Scherzo: Molto vivace
Symphony No. 5: Finale: Adagio - Allegro molto
Dawn & Siegfried's Rhine Journey

Customer Reviews:

The superior vision!.......2007-04-13

Hans Knappertsbusch inscribed with golden letters his name into the reduced pantheon of hard Brucknerian conductors. His approach breathes that cosmic grandness, where the extensive melodic phrases are hovered by a supeior vision.

Don't hesitate just for a second and acquire all what you find around this talented conductor in which Bruckner's music concerns.

Haydn: Symphony No94; Bruckner: Symphony No9, WAB109

Average customer rating:

Haydn: Symphony No94; Bruckner: Symphony No9, WAB109

Manufacturer: Music & Arts Program
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music

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ASIN: B00002602B
Release Date: 1996-02-20

Tracks:

Symphony No. 9 In D: 1 Feierlich, Misterioso
Symphony No. 9 In D: 2 Scherzo-Trio. Bewegt, lebhaft
Symphony No. 9 In D: 3 Adagio, Langsam, Feierlich
Symphony No. 94 In G: 1 Adagio
Symphony No. 94 In G: 2 Andante
Symphony No. 94 In G: 3 Menuet-Trio. Allegro molto
Symphony No. 94 In G: 4 Finale, Allegro di molto

Knappertsbusch: Maestro Energico (Box Set)

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Knappertsbusch: Maestro Energico (Box Set)

Manufacturer: Maestro Celebre
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B00009UW1D
Release Date: 2003-06-24

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Bruckner: Symphonie No. 7

Manufacturer: Orfeo D'or
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B000J10K82
Release Date: 2006-10-31

Bruckner: Symphony No. 8; Wagner: Siegfried Idyll; Preludes

Average customer rating:

Monumental Reading!
A Magnificent But Controversial Bruckner 8th
Eloquent, Rich, Rewarding
The Old School
Luminous, Transcendant, Glorious, Sublime!

Bruckner: Symphony No. 8; Wagner: Siegfried Idyll; Preludes

Manufacturer: Deutsche Grammophon
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music

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CARL SCHURICHT Decca Recordings 1949-1956
The 1950s Haydn Symphonies Recordings
Ancerl Gold Edition 33: MAHLER Symphony No. 9
Mahler: Symphony No. 1, No. 10: Adagio
Beethoven: The 9 Symphonies

ASIN: B00005LMWH
Release Date: 2001-06-12

Tracks:

Sym No.8 in c: 1. Allegro Moderato
Sym No.8 in c: 2. Scherzo. Allegro Moderato - Trio. Langsam
Sym No.8 in c: 3. Adagio. Feierlich Langsam, Doch Nicht Schleppend

Tracks:

Sym No.8 in c: 4. Finale. Feierlich, Nicht Schnell
Lohengrin: Prld To Act I
Siegfried Idyll
Parsifal: Prld To Act I

Customer Reviews:

Monumental Reading!.......2004-11-30

I have always found the 8th to one of the most problematical of all the Bruckner canon. It is an extremely severe and craggy work and requires an ear and eye for deatail that goes far beyond the previous works from this composer. Kna seems to really have taken a second view of the work and for me in some ways this version cannot be dismmissed as easily as others. On top of this he has the Munich Philharmonic(an orchestra that he got on well with) and therefore the partnership from bar one onward is never in question.

The opening movement is very commanding with superb Brass throughout...this alone is the test of a great interpretation for the sonority of the brass truly sets the tone and quality of any Bruckner 8 reading..only with Karajan and Jochum do I feel as comfortable. By the way, if you expect anything remotely like Karajan or Jochum you are not buying the right reading then.

On top of this Kna was a great theatre man, being opera conductor extrordanaire...and given his penchance for being dramatic somewhere here his inclination for drama is really astonishing...climaxes are incredibly well arched but with great control and stunning uniformity. In the slow music one really feels the orchestra is being played like a great cathedral organ, so superbly caught here.

The sound is pretty good for its age as well...the Finale and Scherzo are given very fine interpretations too...I love the way he handles the Landler feel in the Trio of Scherzo..superbly done!

For me alot of the greatness here is we finally have a studio recording of Kna in which we get true snapshot of the genius of this great and very much overlooked conductor. He is very much a Richter or Nikitsch...

Kna also hated working in the studio and this translated to not really have the recorded output of quality and size anywhere near the likes of Bohm or Karajan. This is sad because his ability to eclipse anyone on the Podium is clear evidence here.

A Magnificent But Controversial Bruckner 8th.......2004-08-05

As the last century's most celebrated interpreter of Wagner's Parsifal, Hans Knappertsbusch (1888-1965)was something of a Wise Fool himself. He had a notorious dislike for rehearsals, preferring to let the details work themselves out in actual performance. He had no interest in the preachings of musicologists and remained a steadfast advocate of the "revised" editions of Bruckner's symphonies. He had little enthusiasm for recording in the studio - and few of his efforts in that realm ever had the spontaneity and inspiration of his best concert readings.

Kna had a penchant, especially in his last years, for unusually spacious tempos. This 1963 Bruckner 8th with the Munich Phil. was his final and, for me, his finest studio recording. It is a heavily-weighted, deeply introspective reading that runs over 85 minutes long. To my ears, it has a valedictory aura that is unique, and while it is not my absolutely favorite 8th, I regard it as indispensable to an understanding of the full potential of Bruckner's greatest completed symphony.

This performance has attracted mostly negative reviews in the press. Two of the critics whose writings I most respect have panned it: Henry Fogel of Fanfare ("dreadful") and Rob Cowan of The Gramophone ("unbearably ponderous"). Perhaps the fairest of these detractors was Bruckner expert Jack Diether: "A magnificent bore. But magnificent, surely." In most cases, the objections are directed at the slow tempos, especially the very deliberate finale, while others deride Kna for using the 1892 revised edition. So let's take a brief look at the various "editions" and then discuss the matter of tempos.

There are two autograph editions in Bruckner's own hand: the original 1887 and the heavily revised 1890. 1887 is the longest (about 1850 bars in length). Its rejection by conductor Hermann Levi caused Bruckner to suffer a nervous breakdown, after which he undertook a major revision. In 1887 the 1st mvt. ends fff instead of ppp, the Adagio is placed 2nd instead of third (shades of the Mahler 6th!), and the Scherzo has a completely different Trio section. In 1890 Bruckner reversed the order of the inner movements and composed a completely new Trio. He also cut out about 150 bars, went to triple instead of double woodwinds, and did some other re-scoring. The 1890 revision as Bruckner completed it was published in 1955 as the Nowak Edition.

The Haas Edition was premiered by Furtwangler in 1939 - before then, the only edition performed was the 1892 Oberleithner, which was premiered by Hans Richter and the Vienna Phil. (and used here by Kna). Haas based his edition on the 1890 score, but he put back in 48 "organically vital" bars that Bruckner had excised from the 1887 (10 in the Adagio and 38 in the Finale), adapting them to reflect the later triple woodwind layout, and he actually went so far as to compose a few connecting passages (he also did this to the 2nd symphony). So the Haas is a conflation or synthesis of two different editions.

Finally, the 1892 first performing edition (doctored by Max Oberleithner and Joseph Schalk) is roughly the same length as the 1890 Nowak (a little 7 bar remniscence of the 7th Symphony in the Finale was deleted). The major differences are in scoring, tempo markings, and dynamic shadings (there is also an added cymbal clash - it's heard here at 16:55 in the Finale).

Personally, I find Bruckner's 1890 version a huge improvement over the 1887 but, like Haas, I sorely miss the 48 excised bars. My own preferences are for the Haas and this admittedly bowdlerized but fascinating 1892 debut edition, which is so lovingly conducted by Kna. There is such a clear sense of involvement with the unfolding drama, rough-hewn as it may be, with dramatic underlinings galore, weighty accents, pastoral dreaminess, and an incredibly spacious sense of this music's HUGE span. Kna builds climaxes with inexorable and massive intensity (the brass shadings are simply awesome), and each episode seems to have its own special rhythm, harmony and sonority.

But it is slow. However, slow is a relative term these days: Kna's 85 seems almost sprightly compared to Goodall's dragging 90 minutes or Celibidache's interminable 104 (EMI). Still, Kna's 1963 Munich account is a special view of the 8th. I feel there are seven indispensable readings of this marvelous symphony that demand to be heard. Owning some 25 recordings of the work, and having recently listened to another 20, I can say that the following accounts stand out from everything else I have heard: Horenstein/LSO 1970 live on BBC Legends 4017, an utterly inspired concert that even eclipses his extraordinary live Mahler 8th & Das Lied von der Erde; Kna's 1951 live Berlin Phil. reading on Tahra (all the virtues of this Munich account raised to the next level in a faster live performance); the intense live 1944 Furtwangler/VPO on DG (with stark terrors suggested by no one else); Kempe/Zurich Tonhalle on Somm for perhaps the most exquisite rendition of the slow movement; the 1960 live Schuricht/NDR Hamburg on Urania (a little slower and more inflected than his fine VPO account on EMI), and, as a sharp and dramatic contrast to the foregoing, the more chastely classical van Beinum on Philips, fastest of all (at a mere 72 minutes) and the most thrillingly well-played ever. This 1963 Kna/Munich reveals its own special dark, heavyweight eloquence in unmatched Gothic splendor, and I think it has a deserved place among those other distinguished versions.

Bruckner's 8th is a complex and majestic work that simply has to be heard in more than one version. In my opinion, this Kna is one that deserves your attention. And with it you get some superlative Wagner from one of that composer's most persuasive spokesmen.

Eloquent, Rich, Rewarding.......2003-02-04

This is an unhurried, broad, flowing acccount of the Bruckner Eighth. Where Eugen Jochum gives the impression of an imbedded, coiled spring or trigger, ready to be released in certain places, Knappertsbusch seems more secure in relying on an elastic-like, breathing in and out motion. While slower in tempo than others, he does not lead a dull, plodding performance. Instead, he re-creates an emotionally and spiritually satisfying experience. Bruckner's peaks do not emerge with stark cragginess, but rather with rounded stateliness. Melodies are permitted to unfold in an easy, natural fashion. Textures radiate with a glowing warmth that many others simply do not convey. In turn, all of this is supported by wonderfully faithful sound reproduction. The Westminster logo, "Natural Balance", lives up to its name. Additionally, though it would be unlikely for anyone to claim that the Munich Philharmonic is or was in the same class as the Amsterdam Concertgebouw or Berlin Philharmonic, I must say that it performs so marvelously that one might consider its accomplishment here to be as worthy as that of any of the world's greatest orchestras. I can't guarantee that you will wind up appreciating this performance, but its discovery for me has been a bit of a revelation. I also wish to add that Knappertsbusch brings the same, special, glowing qualities to his Wagner performances. Siegfried Idyll is lovely, and the pieces from Lohengrin and Parsifal sound as if they were lifted from an aura of medieval mists.

The Old School.......2001-12-16

... and very old school, indeed. I own a different incarnation of these recordings. The Westminster box (not a space-saving two-fer like this new issue) duplicates the original lp cover from 1962 (Bruckner), and the Wagner selections begin the first disc, almost as overtures to the first movement of the 8th Symphony. I prefer this arrangement. The current issue offers the Lohengren Prelude; the one I have offers the Tristan Und Isolde Prelude & Liebestod instead, but the other two selections are the same.

The edition of the Bruckner 8th is the very one Hans Richter used for the 1892 premiere in Vienna -- and Kna received this score from his mentor, Richter, and continued to perform it (and the other "revised versions" instead of the "original versions" that appeared, starting in 1934). We have a valuable view of the music as Bruckner himself heard it at it's first performance. It is virtually identical to the "Schalk edition" published in 1894, and fairly close to what we hear in the Nowak edition of the 1890 version.

It is a beautiful performance, filled with obvious affection for the music -- by both conductor and orchestra. It is the Bruckner that central Europe came to know and love between 1890 and 1930 or so -- music that remained a closed book to western Europe and the Americas until well after World War II. Really, it wasn't until the advent of long playing records that music lovers were able to explore this music on their own (in the various versions) and trust their ears, rather than the opinions of critics.

One might say these recordings are the sounds Thomas Mann had in mind when he wrote about music in BUDDENBROOKS, THE MAGIC MOUNTAIN, DOKTOR FAUSTUS, and in his essay on Wagner. Five stars, then, for the quality of the sound and the music making on these discs. One might almost say, "thanks for the memories."

Luminous, Transcendant, Glorious, Sublime!.......2001-12-06

I first heard of Hans Knappertsbusch via a reference in "Inspector Morse: The Remorseful Day" when Morse corrects Lewis on his pronunciation of the conductor's name as Morse encourages Lewis to persevere with Wagner. Shortly after I went back to my notes from German classes at Georgetown under Anton Lang to find to my surprise references Dr Lang made to performing "Parcifal" under Knappertsbusch's direction in Bayreuth in the 50's. A week later the reissue of this title from the Westminster label appeared and I knew I must get it.
What a revelation! This is extraordinary music. The Bruckner has very much a Wagnerian feel to it, and yet the passion with which it is performed is totally breathtaking. You will sit transfixed many times through these discs. It is very hard not to be moved by this music. And to fill out the second disc there are a number of selections from various orchestral segments of Wagner's operas that float like tone poems and get inside your soul. Knappertsbusch must have been thoroughly possessed by the music. I do not know how one could evince such stirring, glorious, sublime performances from several orchestras and make the double disc seem seemlessly recorded.
Westminster had a number of legendary treasures in its vaults. Hopefully, there is more of Knappertsbusch. Hans has more luminous interpretative devotion to Music than all the wonderfully coiffed media type conductors of today put together.

Tracks:

Sinfonie n. 3 D-moll: 1. Satz: Gemabigt, mehr bewegt, misterioso
Sinfonie n. 3 D-moll: 2. Satz: Andante. Bewegt, feierlich, quasi Adagio
Sinfonie n. 3 D-moll: 3. Satz: Scherzo. Ziemlich schnell
Sinfonie n. 3 D-moll: 4. Satz: Final. Allegro

Tracks:

Sinfonie n. 4 Es-Dur: 1. Satz: Bewegt, nicht zu schnell
Sinfonie n. 4 Es-Dur: 2. Satz: Andante quasi allegretto
Sinfonie n. 4 Es-Dur: 3. Satz: Scherzo (Bewegt) - Trio.
Sinfonie n. 4 Es-Dur: 4. Satz: Finale.

Tracks:

Sinfonie n. 5 B-Dur: 1. Satz: Introduktion. (Adagio) - Allegro
Sinfonie n. 5 B-Dur: 2. Satz: Adagio. (Sehr langsam)
Sinfonie n. 5 B-Dur: 3. Satz: Scherzo. (Molto vivace, Schnell). Tro
Sinfonie n. 5 B-Dur: 4. Satz: Finale. (Adagio, Allfro moderato)

Tracks:

Sinfonie n. 7 E-Dur: 1. Satz: Allegro moderato
Sinfonie n. 7 E-Dur: 2. Satz: Scherzo. Sehr schnell
Sinfonie n. 7 E-Dur: 3. Satz: Adagio. Sehr feierlich und sehr langsam
Sinfonie n. 7 E-Dur: 4. Satz: Finale. Bewegt, doch nicht schnell

Tracks:

Sinfonie n. 8 C-moll: 1. Satz: Allegro moderato
Sinfonie n. 8 C-moll: 2. Satz: Scherzo. Allegro moderato. Trio. Langsam

Tracks:

Sinfonie n 8 C-moll: 3. Satz: Adagio. Feierlich langsam, doch nicht schleppend
Sinfonie n 8 C-moll: 4. Satz: Finale. Feierlich nicht schnell

Tracks:

Sinfonie n. 9 D-moll: 1. Satz: Feierlich. Misterioso
Sinfonie n. 9 D-moll: 2. Satz: Scherzo. (Bewegt, lebhaft)
Sinfonie n. 9 D-moll: 3. Satz: Adagio. (Langsam, feierlich)

Customer Reviews:

Not An Ideal Set of Kna's Bruckner.......2004-07-01

My Amazon review of this set's direct competitor, on the Music & Arts CD label, explores Knappertsbusch's superb way with Bruckner's symphonies at some length, so I will try to be more succinct here. Both sets feature "live" performances and offer the same readings of Symphonies 5 & 7, and different accounts of 3, 4, 8 and 9. To my mind, the M & A set has made better choices: Melodram's 4 & 8 are both lumbering accounts, while its 9 is fast and ill-played. If I had to choose between the two sets, I would most definitely opt for the M & A, which also has very well written and perceptive notes by Bruckner scholar Mark Kluge.

However, ALL of the Music and Arts - and most of the Melodram accounts - are available elsewhere in better sound. I feel taking that route - acquiring separate issues in the best possible sonics - is the most sensible way to go. Here is a summary of the Melodram set's contents and my suggestions for better alternatives.

#3. Munich Phil. 1964: This is a fine reading - it can also be had on Living Stage 1003. M & A chose my favorite - the more dramatic 1962 NDR Hamburg account - which is in better sound on Tahra 132/135.

#4. Vienna Phil. 1964: This 4th, at 72:11, is Kna's slowest version. The better 1944 Berlin Phil. account on M & A comes in at 60:37 (and is available in clearer sound on deleted Tahra 320/322). Kna's 1955 studio account with the VPO is the best-played and best-recorded (Testament). All of these use the heavily cut and re-orchestrated 1888/89 edition (also used by Furtwangler, Matacic, Steinberg and Naito). The live 2005 Naito (Delta) is the finest stereo account.

#5. Munich Phil. 1959: M & A's set offers this same reading, and both feature cloudy and distorted sound. However, M&A later obtained a better tape and has issued it (M&A CD 1105) in FAR better sound. Kna stuck to the end with Schalk's heavily cut/re-orchestrated version, so it shouldn't be your only 5th. I would go for M&A's new mastering and put it along side one of several great accounts of Bruckner's original (Rosbaud, Konwitschny, Furtwangler, Schuricht, and Horenstein are my favorites).

#7. Vienna Phil. Salzburg 1949: This is the same in both sets and is one of Kna's greatest performances. It can be heard in considerably better sound on CDs from Preiser and Orfeo.

#8. Vienna Phil. 1961: This lethargic, ill-recorded account is inferior to M & A's 1951 Berlin Phil. (available in superior sound on Tahra 207/8). I am also fond of the slow but very expressive 1963 Munich Phil. stereo version now on DG Westminster.

#9. 1958 Bavarian State Orch: This is also on a single CD (M & A 896). It's by far Kna's fastest account and it features some rather sub-par playing. For me, Kna's finest version - with its more spacious Adagio - is the 1950 Berlin Phil. on Tahra 208. Again, Kna uses a "corrupt" edition (the 1903 Loewe), so this should be supplemented by what is, to my ears, the work's greatest-ever performance: the 1944 Furtwangler/Berlin Phil. on M&A 730. In more modern sound, I can enthusiastically recommend the recordings by Schuricht (EMI), Asahina (Canyon) and Matacic (Supraphon).

Knappertsbusch was one of Bruckner's finest interpreters. Your enjoyment of his performances will surely be enhanced by exploring his most persuasive readings in the best possible sound. Thus I would pass on this Melodram set and seek out instead the alternatives cited above.

Average customer rating:

For Connoiseurs Of Great Conducting

Knappertsbusch conducts Bruckner

Manufacturer: Music & Arts Program
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music

Classical | Box Sets | Stores | Music
ASIN: B00000DMI3
Release Date: 1998-11-17

Tracks:

Sym No.3 in d: 1. Massig bewegt - Hans Knappertsbusch/NDR SO
Sym No.3 in d: 2. Adagio, (etwas bewegt) quasi Andante - Hans Knappertsbusch/NDR SO
Sym No.3 in d: 3. Scherzo. Ziemlich schnell/Trio - Hans Knappertsbusch/NDR SO
Sym No.3 in d: 4. Finale. Allegro - Hans Knappertsbusch/NDR SO

Tracks:

Sym No.4 in E flat: 1. Ruhig bewegt. Allegro molto moderato - Hans Knappertsbusch/BPO
Sym No.4 in E flat: 2. Andante - Hans Knappertsbusch/BPO
Sym No.4 in E flat: 3. Scherzo. Bewegt/Trio. Gemlachlich - Hans Knappertsbusch/BPO
Sym No.4 in E flat: 4. Finale. Massig bewegt - Hans Knappertsbusch/BPO

Tracks:

Sym No.5 in B flat: 1. Adagio/Allegro - Hans Knappertsbusch/Munich PO
Sym No.5 in B flat: 2. Adagio. Sehr langsam/Moderato - Hans Knappertsbusch/Munich PO
Sym No.5 in B flat: 3. Scherzo. Molto Vivace/Trio. Im Gleichen Tempo - Hans Knappertsbusch/Munich PO
Sym No.5 in B flat: 4. Finale. Adagio/Allegro moderato - Hans Knappertsbusch/Munich PO

Tracks:

Sym No.7 in E: 1. Allegro moderato - Hans Knappertsbusch/VPO
Sym No.7 in E: 2. Adagio. Sehr feierlich und langsam/Moderato - Hans Knappertsbusch/VPO
Sym No.7 in E: 3. Scherzo. Sehr schnell/Trio. Etwas langsamer - Hans Knappertsbusch/VPO
Sym No.7 in E: 4. Finale. Bewegt, doch nicht schnell - Hans Knappertsbusch/VPO

Tracks:

Sym No.8 in c: 1. Allegro moderato - Hans Knappertsbusch/BPO
Sym No.8 in c: 2. Scherzo. Allegro moderato - Hans Knappertsbusch/BPO
Sym No.8 in c: 3. Adagio. Feierlich langsam, doch nicht schleppend - Hans Knappertsbusch/BPO
Sym No.8 in c: 4. Feierlich, nicht schnell - Hans Knappertsbusch/BPO

Tracks:

Sym No.9 in d: 1. Feierlich, Misterioso - Hans Knappertsbusch/BPO
Sym No.9 in d: 2. Scherzo. Bewegt, lebhaft/Trio. Schnell - Hans Knappertsbusch/BPO
Sym No.9 in d: 3. Adagio. Langsam, feierlich - Hans Knappertsbusch/BPO

Customer Reviews:

For Connoiseurs Of Great Conducting.......2004-05-10

There is good and bad news here. The bad news: this set, with its perceptive notes by Bruckner authority Mark Kluge, is now out of print. The good news? All of these performances are available elsewhere in better sound. Kna was one of the great Bruckner interpreters - he was unique in conveying this music's earthy, almost primeval side. Kna was a stubborn advocate of the so called "revised" editions (Kluge's notes make a compelling argument for them). Here is a brief rundown on the contents of this set, plus some comments on alternative Kna versions and a few outstanding efforts by other conductors:

#3. One of the glories of this set! This 1962 live recording with the NDR Hamburg is a revelation - "blaze-ups" in the grand manner, while the polka episodes in the 4th movement are done with loving care. It's a fairly slow account - but as the old Winston tobacco ads used to say, "it's not how long you make it, it's how you make it long." Kna's rather roughhewn way presents the 3rd in all its craggy majesty. I also prefer the concise drama of this edition - the earlier ones have a tendency to wander. Kna left three other recordings of the Third. His 1954 Vienna Phil. studio reading is the best played but is rather detached - this conductor really needed a live audience to fire him up. The live 1954 Bavarian State Orchestra (on Music & Arts CD 257) is very fast and rather accident-prone. The 1964 Munich Phil. on a Living Stage CD is a shade less dramatic than this 1962 performance, which is now available on Tahra CD 132/135 in superior sound. Among the stereo rivals, Jochum's DG account and Schuricht's VPO on Preiser are both fine - but I prefer this Kna to both. I have heard rumors of a Hermann Scherchen account in a radio archive - now THAT would be interesting to hear!

#4. This 1944 Berlin Phil. concert reading is available in much better sonics on Preiser CD 90226. I think this 1944 is better than Kna's three Vienna Phil. accounts: the 1955 studio and the live concerts from 1962 and 1964. The last one logs in at a slow 72:11 versus 60:37 in Berlin. At least Kna at his slowest doesn't coagulate like Celibidache's absurd 78 minute crawl on EMI. But to my ears, Furtwangler's extraordinary live 1951 Vienna Phil. 4th (also in the Loewe edition) on Orfeo CD 559022 rises far above any of Kna's somewhat "dogged" accounts. My favorite Nowak edition is the stunning 1953 live Vienna Symphony concert by the great Swiss condcutor Volkmar Andreae. Abendroth, Kabasta, and van Kempen all left wonderful accounts of the Haas edition. The original 1874 edition of the 4th - in a fine 1975 performance by Kurt Woss and the Munich Phil. - was once on a Linz Brucknerhaus LP.

#5. This live Bruckner 5th with the Munich Phil. (1959) has just been re-issued in EXCELLENT sound on Music & Arts CD 1105. That sound is far better than the transfer in this set or on the one issued by Living Stage. The performance is miles better than both Kna's rather lackluster 1956 Vienna studio version or the uneventful Botstein on Telarc. It's a stunning account - but I feel that the Schalk edition, with its huge cuts, is a drawback. My Haas/Nowak edition preferences: the stupendous live 1942 Furtwangler/BPO on DG; the magnificent Abendroth from 1949 on Arlecchino (with better sound than on Berlin Classics), the Horenstein/BBC live 1971 (BBC Legends CD), and - probably my favorite - the inspired Schuricht/VPO (live 1963) on a deleted Musica Classica CD.

#7. This live 1949 Salzburg/VPO 7th is one of Kna's greatest performances on record - he was really "on" this time - and it's in better sound on Preiser. I prefer this to his 1963 reading with the Cologne Radio on Golden Melodram. It joins some others at the top of the list: Furtwangler's live 1949 BPO on EMI (the best of his 3 versions); the 1956 Berlin Radio with Abendroth on Tahra; Kabasta's 1942 Munich Phil. (on EMI or Preiser); the Rosbaud on Vox; the 1938 Schuricht/BPO on Urania; and Willem von Otterloo's 1954 Vienna Symphony account on Epic LP.

#8. Here again is Kna's best version: his dark, richly played live 1951 BPO version - it's available in better sound on Tahra 207/8. His 4 other performances are also fascinating. Other superb accounts: the Abendroth 1949 Leipzig Radio (pitched correctly on Tahra 896), van Beinum's 1955 Amsterdam on Phillips (not my normal cup of tea, but it's the most inspired thing I have ever heard from that Dutch conductor), the 1970 LSO with Horenstein on BBC Legends (far better than his old Vox), Kempe's 1971 Zurich Tonhalle (gorgeous slow movement!), Schuricht/VPO from 1963 on EMI (plus his 1960 NDR live on Urania), and two of the four Furtwanglers (1949 BPO on Testament and his 1944 VPO on DG). I love them all!

#9. This live reading with the BPO from 30 Jan. 1950 can be found in better sound on Tahra 418. I prefer the 28 Jan. 1950 BPO on Tahra 208 for its more spacious Adagio. Kna's other 9th (the 1958 Bavarian State) is on M & A 896: it's fast and not well played. All use the rather discredited Loewe edition.

For me, Furtwangler's live 1944 BPO (on M&A), which uses the original edition, is the finest of all: it sits lonely atop Mount Parnassus, with everyone else toiling somewhere down in the foothills. However, it has sonic limitations. In stereo I most enjoy the Schuricht/VPO from 1963 on a deleted EMI set and the Horenstein live 1970 account on BBC Legends. Other fine historic accounts include the Abendroth, Kabasta, Keilberth, Matacic, and Mravinsky. I am not persuaded by any of the so-called "completed" Bruckner 9ths heard so far.

These Kna performances, as well as the others cited above, all have one thing in common: they are committed, sincere efforts by conductors who really CARED about the music they were sharing. That has always been a rare commodity - it's even rarer today.

Track Listings:

Track Listings

Maybe Tomorrow [CD-single] [Import]

Ladies First [Explicit Lyrics]

It's a Hi-5 Christmas [Import]

Mahler: Symphony No. 8; Debussy: 3 Nocturnes; Ravel: Rapsodie Espagnole

I'm Easy/Lost And Found

Kenny Drew Trio

No Earthly Man

Madmen & Sinners

Midnight Melodic/Chase The Blues [CD-single]

Four Hands In Three-Four Time

Ultimate Diva Collection: The Diva Series