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Here's a welcome box of all Bruckner's numbered symphonies led by a distinguished specialist renowned during his lifetime for his identification with the composer. Neatly laid out with each symphony on a disc of its own (no annoying midsymphony changeovers) and in top-quality late-1970s sound, this is an irresistible bargain for such superb performances. Jochum's Bruckner was spontaneous-sounding, with generally swift tempos tempered by flexible rhythms and slow movements that squeeze all the juice from this heartfelt music. The Dresden orchestra is a marvelous instrument for these works, with a beefy, warm sound and brass players that can whip up the excitement in the grand climaxes. Individual conductors, whether vintage greats like Furtwängler or more recent Brucknerians such as Wand on RCA and Tintner on Naxos, may equal or better Jochum in individual works, but taken as a complete traversal of these massive scores, Jochum's is second to none. --Dan Davis
Bruckner: The Complete Symphonies Reviews
Bruckner: The Complete Symphonies Reviews
| 110 of 112 people found the following review helpful  Jochum's Fabulous Bruckner, By This review is from: Bruckner: The Complete Symphonies (Audio CD) This set is a wonderful bargain, preserving the second of Jochum's integral recordings of the Bruckner symphonies. On Lp these performances, recorded in Dresden's Lukaskirche in the 1970s, sounded a little diffuse when compared with the Bruckner Jochum recorded for DGG in the '50s and '60s. Digital remastering has brought admirable focus to the EMI analog masters and these recordings now sound as good or better than their DGG counterparts. The performances are quite similar, except that the Dresden Staatskapelle plays with a warmth and tonal lustre that is superior to the Berlin and Munich orchestras featured in the DGG set.In all cases, Jochum is the conductor for those people who enjoy the Schubert in Bruckner: melodic lines are flexibly projected with an inerrant sense of how they should relate to the structural argument. Some might find that Jochum's lyrical approach scants the rigors of Bruckner's architecture, that it's too "soft." They should seek out Klemperer and... Read more 54 of 59 people found the following review helpful Holy Grail!!!! Should be 10 stars!, By This review is from: Bruckner: The Complete Symphonies (Audio CD) I have just finished listening to the complete cycle for the second time. This is the Holy Grail of Bruckner Symphonic recordings. I like it better than the BPO recordings, with him that I used to have. I have put away all of the other 'favorite' recordings of the symphonies to never to be listened to again, no matter how sumptious, idyosncratic or whatever.After listening and then reading about Maestro Jochum's growing up with this music and holding it to himself as he would the Bible shows his mastery of these works. My old criteria was to listen to a performance of the 9th as compared to Bruno Walter's 60's performance done for Columbia/Sony. Jochum blows him away and the Staatskapelle of Dresden is marvelous. Maybe not as sumptious as the BPO or PHO, but the brass!!! Oh, the brass! What wonderful a sound. Is it the cathedral or the section itself? Such power and such a beautiful, dark even mysterious sound. I loved it. If there was a tiny weak spot it had to be the... Read more 27 of 28 people found the following review helpful The best edition of this set yet before the public, By Amazon Verified Purchase This review is from: Bruckner: The Complete Symphonies (Audio CD) I have heard these recordings on both Angel and EMI lps, on the first cd boxed set issue, on the more recent "twofer" issues (3 and 7, for example) and on Seraphim cd (4 and 9). This new compilation has by far the best sound. This is absolutely beautiful Bruckner, and I don't know how the riches of these recordings eluded the engineers till now.I just finished listening to symphonies 1 through 3 and the warmth and balance of the sections of the Dresden orchestra remind me of Dutch painting from the 17th century. Everything glows, and seemingly glows from within! The sheer weight of the sound at the end of the Second Symphony first movement amazed me, and that is just one example. I'm not sure if these were all originally analog recordings or part analog, part digital as in the von Karajan DG set. Frankly, I don't care. I'm just glad they got it right this time! |
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