Anton Bruckner: Symphony No.8 - Wiener Philharmoniker / Herbert von Karajan
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Music CD Cover
Composer: Anton BrucknerConductor: Herbert von Karajan
Orchestra: Wiener Philharmoniker
Edition: Music CD
CD Release Date: 1989-09-13
Music Label: Deutsche Grammophon
Soundtracks:
Music CD 1
- Allegro moderato
- Scherzo: Allegro moderato, Trio: Allegro moderato
- Adagio: Feierlich langsam, doch nicht schleppend
- Finale: Feierlich, nicht schnell
Free Music Notes for Anton Bruckner: Symphony No.8 - Wiener Philharmoniker / Herbert von Karajan
Free Music Review: A Benchmark Bruckner 8
Hit: 5 Stars
No single conductor can uncover all the secrets of such an inexhaustible masterpiece as Bruckner's Eighth. Nevertheless, Karajan came closer to giving us a "definitive" account than any of his contemporaries. Perhaps the success of his VPO version from the early digital era can be explained by noting that Karajan is one of only two conductors who was privileged to make three commercial recordings of this piece (the other was G?nter Wand); and more notably, each time Karajan did it better. In 1958 for EMI (with the BPO) he gives a dark, richly textured, brooding interpretation that tends toward excessive introspection, and, at times, sluggishness. In the late Seventies for DG he gave a more objective, even severe, account again with the BPO; riveting it surely is, but the olympian detachment can be off-putting.
Finally, toward the end of his career, Karajan went south--so to speak--and evoked an altogether warmer response from the VPO than the BPO provided in either of his previous versions. This time the tempos are just right (not too slow in the great Adagio, never rushed in the Scherzo, urgent but not frenzied in the finale). Only the first movement hangs fire at times--but maybe that's just a subjective impression from one deeply impressed by Furtw?ngler's furious ride to the abyss.
In any case, there has yet to appear a better balanced interpretation than Karajan in 1985. The playing of the VPO is altogether more idiomatic than their counterparts in Berlin--sweeter, more characterful, yet never cloying. If you've enjoyed B?hm's famous recording of Bruckner's fourth with this orchestra, then you know what to expect. Indeed they play like angels throughout, and with greater discipline than under B?hm.
There are many fine versions of the Bruckner Eighth (both in the Nowak and in the Haas editions--Karajan prefers the longer text of the Haas), but Karajan, with the VPO, is uniquely effective at conveying the sublimity of the work, with total dedication and without exaggeration.
The recording is sumptious but also crisp and detailed--a model of what a great orchestra playing Bruckner should sound like.
The only drawback is that DG is still offering this at full price; perhaps it will soon appear in one of Universal's budget editions, such as "the Originals." But don't let economic considerations deter you!
Anton Bruckner: Symphony No.8 - Wiener Philharmoniker / Herbert von Karajan Poster
Herbert von Karajan identified with the Eighth perhaps more intensely than with any other score in the repertory; it is significant that in February 1989, in what proved to be his last performances outside of Austria, he brought it to New York with the VPO and made it the centerpiece of a three-concert engagement. The air of finality was heavy at those concerts, and Karajan, determined to go out as a conqueror, did just that. This 1988 recording comes very close to recapturing the experience of that live performance. Karajan's careful pacing gives the Eighth time to unfurl, allowing the mystery and tenderness of Bruckner's vision to radiate from some place deep within the paroxysmal intensity of the symphony's argument. The cumulative effect is shattering. Throughout, the Viennese play beyond their limits, as if their lives depended on it. The recorded sound is vivid and of very wide dynamic range. --Ted LibbeyClassical Music CDs
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