Barenboim's Chicago Symphony Bruckner Cycle Available Again

[James Meckley]

Barenboim's Chicago Symphony Bruckner cycle is being re-released in one of DG's budget boxes this fall. MDT lists it for £33.75 and Amazon has it for $40.28 as a pre-order.

http://www.mdt.co.uk/MDTSite/product//4779803.htm

Nothing is said about remastering, which cannot be assumed: the budget Karajan Bruckner box was not remastered and should have been.

I have the original CD release of the Barenboim set (which seems to have been in print for about two months) and the expensive Japanese Tower remastering (which is a dramatic improvement in audio quality). How the new set will sound is an open question, but at least it'll be back in print at a reasonable price.

James

[John Kim]

James,

This is GREAT news indeed.

I have this one too and have enjoyed it immensely.

Virtually every disc in this set is excellent and there is no weak spot here.

In particular, Barenboim's Chicago recording of B6th has never been equaled in its cogency, lyricism and power.

Along with Klemperer (which is its own class), Muti/BPO/EMI, this is the finest B6th available.

I hope they will remaster the original sound for this release.

John,

[david johnson]

I must advocate my favorite B6 - Bongartz/Leipzig.   But, CSO is almost always my favorite ensemble 

[Roland Flessner]

I had the Barenboim B4/B7 twofer and the sound is awful. It's grossly over-resonant, not unusual for DG CSO recordings of the era.

In B4, I have never heard horns in the scherzo as clear and precise as with Bruno Walter and the Columbia Symphony, though Bohm/Vienna comes very close. The sound for Walter is dated and somewhat brittle, but I wish a modern recording could equal those horns.

I also like the Dennis Russell Davies recording of the original B4, in which the scherzo is completely different. Although the commonly heard version is slicker, the climaxes build more organically in the first version, especially in the finale.

[barry guerrero]

The U.S. release date for the Barenboim cycle is October 18. I sure plan to get one.

[waderice]

This is one of the most underrated Bruckner cycles ever, and probably Barenboim's most noteworthy accomplishment while music director of the CSO.  Though the CD format would nowadays be more convenient, I got my copy some time ago in the LP format.  No matter that the cycle is a mixture of analog and digitally-mastered recordings.

Wade