Hats Off, Gentlemen: a Remarkable New Bruckner Conductor

[James Meckley]

To the Bruckner fans among you, may I very enthusiastically recommend the new Bruckner 5 from Ben Zander and the Philharmonia Orchestra on Telarc. I've long loved this work, owning 20 or so recordings of it, but this version moves right to the top of the pile – revelatory is not too strong a word. It has warm sonics not lacking in detail, tempi (and tempo relationships) that seem well nigh perfect, and a rhetorical logic and thrust that make many other versions seem rambling and/or static. Of course, Zander includes the usual bonus disc featuring his analysis and feelings about the work. In it he says that 50 years ago his father urged him to learn the work, but that he only recently got around to studying and conducting it. I'm certainly glad he did!

James Meckley

[John Kim]

James,

You may not like reading this review  :

http://www.classicstoday.com/review.asp?ReviewNum=12089

John,

[John Kim]

James,

I didn't mean to spoil your heads-up review  .

I seem to recall an excellent B5th by Leon Botstein and LPO (or Philharmonia Orch.?) on Telarc. It was a short version edited by Bruckner's colleagues. The playing and interpretation, as well as the sound were all superb.

John,

[James Meckley]

John,

Yes, that's the Botstein/LPO recording of the 1894 Schalk Edition on Telarc – fascinating to hear, but I wish Botstein had used more conventional tempos. His tempos seem to me quite brisk, especially in the Finale. The sound is, as you say, quite spectacular.

As to the Zander recording, more reviews are beginning to come out. Mr. Lipscomb's review in Fanfare is quite positive. Mr. Hurwitz clearly felt otherwise. I continue to hold the recording in high regard, though I do agree that Zander's use of a cathedral floorplan in his analysis is more than a bit silly.

James

[John Kim]

My favorite versions of B5th are Klemperer/PO/EMI, Karajan/BPO/DG, Barenboim/CSO/DG, and Thielemann/MPO/DG.

The Botstein recording is rather special but I wouldn't put it in the list of forerunners as it is based on the Schalk edition.

John,

[barry guerrero]

For something a bit different, you might want to hear the Herreweghe B5 also. It really was better than I expected it to be. Great piece!

Barry