The Greatest Recordings EVER! Bruckner: Symphony No. 7

[@dominicfyfe2398]

Peter Damm was principal horn in the era of the Jochum Bruckner and Kempe Strauss recordings. Born in Meiningen he had pedigree in old school Central European sound from birth. His Schumann Konzertstück for Four Horns with the Staatskapelle Dresden under Siegfried Kurz is hands down the best ever. On Berlin Classics, ironically.

[@WoutDC]

I have to thank you for so highly recommending this performance in your repertoire video on this piece. I already loved this piece, but, from the very beginning, that gorgeous melody in the cellos and that soft tremolo in the upper strings, I was hooked when I put this recording in. So, thank you very much, for that video, for this video, and for all your work, Dave.

[@markgibson6654]

Thanks for this David. I love this luminous symphony and I find your perspective on the final 2 movements as essentially 1 final movement to be very helpful..

[@chuckdorr97]

Yes, and it is WONDERFUL! I got it after your first Mignone video!

[@mauricegiacche4776]

Pleeeeeze David , continue to discuss non repertoire works. “The Last Seven Words” 😮 OMG I now can’t imagine living without that work in my life . And there are far too many other works to mention here. As always THANK YOU 👍

[@janouglaeser8049]

I love this recording! It is (together with Haitink/Concertgebouw II and now also Honeck which is unbelievable) my favorite recording of this symphony! :)

[@bl8241]

Same here with Honeck, much my surprise and delight!

[@leestamm3187]

​@@bl8241 Totally agree. Honeck is one of the best conductors in the world. He gets great results from any orchestra he works with.

[@LPatury66]

Thank you David. Brazilian ignorant, I loved this. Thank you, very much.

[@DavesClassicalGuide]

Enjoy!

[@williamsu5552]

Finally I see why classical symphonies such as Haydn's always have strong beginning and weak ending!! Turns out that is exactly the concept! Thanks Dave.

[@DavesClassicalGuide]

They don't have a weak ending, They have an appropriate ending.

[@andre_p]

The 7th is probably Bruckner’s most lucky work in terms of great recordings. Great performances abound. It’s been played superbly by the Vienna Phiharmonic under Karajan, Giulini, Böhm, the Dresden Staatskapelle (Jochum, Blomstedt), the Berlin Philharmonic (Karajan EMI) and many other combinations (Chailly Berlin RSO,).

[@smurashige]

Yes!! I listened to the Mignone disk, and it is just as you so enthusiastically described. I listened to it on Idagio and will buy a copy. I loved it! I also have the Naxos and Bis recordings. Thanks!

[@coinneachrussell1116]

Wonderful video Dave! Couldn’t agree more.

[@kevinyoung4548]

Yes did listen to the mignone. The high light for me was the part between hitting play and the end of the disc. Wonderful album.

[@DavesClassicalGuide]

Thanks for listening!

[@thebiblepriest4950]

To answer your question, I have not watched the Prokofiev piano concerto video, because I am catching your videos in reverse order today. I appreciate your pointing out the significance of those works and those recordings. I also thank you for encouraging us to compare the two Jochum Bruckner sets. I have done so, and my reactions match your own. I did feel that his Concertgebouw recording of the 5th was better than the 5ths in the two complete sets.

[@svenandersson2210]

Yes I did and I enjoyed it very much, especially the last movement,. So thank You!🙏🙋‍♂

[@petterw5318]

I was listening to a recording of Charles Munch rehearsing the BSO in Bruckner 7. The first thing he says to the orchestra (to the strings) is "You ready to make tremolo?".

[@davidmeyer3565]

I'd love to hear that rehearsal. In the coda of the first movement he gets the timpani to strike out underlining the final notes of the trumpet's peroration. It does make for a terrifically affirmative ending!

[@Delius1958]

Thank you, Dave! You are right, we should broaden our horizon. I like Bruckner, Mahler and many of the other Big Ones, but now I have a Finzi phase. So wonderful music! That makes your random reviews from the overflow room so interesting: you hear names you‘ve never heard before. - BTW my Bruck 7 is Karajan (Vienna), couldn’t get my hand on the Jochum. - Greetings from Berlin, Harry

[@alanmcginn4796]

Oh my lord. I feel compelled to listen to the mignone :)

[@mauricegiacche4776]

And the Mignone PC ? A REVELATION. I usually need to listen to a work minimum 3 times. This one i loved immediately!

[@andre_p]

The 3-part structure of the 7th is something that I’ve agreed on for a long time. Just like the Beethoven 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 7th, where scherzo and finale really are one big movement (many concert performances of LvB’s 3rd and 4th play these movements without a break). Bruckner’s 3rd is also a 3-part symphonic structure. It helps make sense of the whole work because for some reason our brain likes symmetry.

[@hendriphile]

Only those of us of a certain age can appreciate the beauty of Bruckner‘s Seventh used as “click bait“ (sort of) to attract listeners to esoteric repertoire. I love it!

[@mr-wx3lv]

Slightly diverse subject. But once upon a time we had the Bruckner 7 by Jochum and the BPO on vinyl!!! You remember that? And that was exceptionally good too .. Thanks David

[@IanBrooker-df2vp]

Curiously I bought it before I saw you video on the strength of your last Mignone video. I have yet to hear it but it's in the pile in the lounge.

[@bendingcaesar65]

Dave, question for you.... during the mid-20th-century, we had a small handful of great conductors (Reiner, Szell, Karajan, Solti, etc.). They weren't just great conductors, they were actual personality cults. Today, there is nothing like that. We have some very good conductors, but none of them, that I can think of, reach this cult level. Were these personality cults created by the record labels, and did they exist before record labels came into existence? PS. thanks for Mignone video.

[@DavesClassicalGuide]

I will think about it.

[@colinmaynard2879]

Streamed the Mignone this afternoon…most enjoyable.

[@OuterGalaxyLounge]

I feel so called out for not watching that video, lol.

[@nelsoncamargo5120]

Yes, Mignone is really a fine composer from Brazil, my country!

[@classicalmusiclists]

Awhile ago I bought the "Jochum Complete EMI Recordings" box because it was one of Dave's top choices for a Beethoven cycle. Luckily it includes this recording of the Bruckner 7.

[@WMAlbers1]

I just bought BOTH sets of Jochum and have not quite come to the seventh on the EMI set. The 6th, however, is superb!

[@leestamm3187]

Jochum delivered dependably excellent Bruckner, particularly with that orchestra. I can't argue with your choice, though there are other great performances of this exquisite symphony to be enjoyed.

[@OuterGalaxyLounge]

Bruckner 7 and Tchaik 6 were the first two symphonies I ever listened to. My parents, who had no interest in classical, were given a box of mostly sealed records from my uncle and they sat there for years until I explored them as a teen. Certainly tons of fine performances of the B7 out there. I have a few.

[@leestamm3187]

Bruckner 7 and Tchaikovsky 6 both are pretty heavy duty for a first experience with symphonies. Happily, you weren't scared off. 😁

[@leegerstmann]

I listen to the Francisco Mignone Piano Concerto that you talked about earlier. I also heard the Albeniz Concerto from the same disc. I still need to hear the two pieces of Mignone later on in the recording and the two separate movements of Albeniz’ Suite but by tonight I will have heard everything on the disc. I have a question which you might think is interesting and do a video about if you choose to do so: Is there a conductor or soloist who you think is so good that you’ll listen to a particular work by a particular composer because of the conductor or soloist who’s performing it?

[@kristianbennedbk922]

Migrone was quite good! But even more hooked on Castelnuovo-Tedesco from your other video!

[@zdl1965]

Listening to the Mignone right now, thanks to you!

[@omegashore]

I run to buy a copy from Amazon and it is gone 😂

[@OuterGalaxyLounge]

That's the Dave Hurwitz effect. The sumbitch should be getting a commission for being classical music's best salesman.

[@frankporter6169]

Yes, give Jochum his just claim.

[@CaminoAir]

The Brilliant Classics release of the Jochum/Dresden symphonies states that Symphony 0 is included. It's not on the Warner issued set. Is this incorrect info on Amazon?

[@andreasmartin5828]

The Bruckner 0 on the Brilliant Classics set is not with Dresden / Jochum, but with the Saarbrücken Radio Symphony Orchestra conducted by Stanislaw Skrowaczewski. Jochum never recorded the 0. Nice bonus.

[@CaminoAir]

@@andreasmartin5828 Thanks for that clarification. I have the Skrowaczewski and Jochum/Dresden cycles, so I'm not missing out.

[@Hans-JoergRechtsteiner]

I always had the impression that the finale of the 7th Bruckner was too weak compared to the first two movements. That's why I judge the quality of an interpretation in terms of a convincing solution to the problem of the finale.

[@janouglaeser8049]

Dave, are you planning on reviewing the recent Hrusa/Bamberg Bruckner 9 (on Accentus)? I know we don't need yet another Bruckner ninth, but as you say greatness is its own justification, and I found this to be an impressive recording. EDIT: I no longer find it impressive. Yes, the orchestra plays beautifully and there's a sense of flow and inevitability that I really like, but the playing is perhaps too homogeneous and lacks power in the most dramatic moments.

[@DavesClassicalGuide]

I really don't know when I'll get to it.

[@janouglaeser8049]

@@DavesClassicalGuide I'll stay tuned ;)

[@barryguerrero6480]

Bruckner 7 is such a great symphony that I've heard few that I didn't like (Solti managed). That said, I like it when the finale clocks in short of 13 minutes. I think it needs to be a bit lively, and have almost a 'sense of humor' over the the more bombastic bits within the finale.

[@LyleFrancisDelp]

Dresden IS my Bruckner orchestra. The entire Jochum set is still my favorite, though I recognize that not every performance is necessarily the best. 5th and 6th are particular standouts for me. I also like Sinopoli's Bruckner with Dresden. Perhaps not quite the same insight one finds in Jochum, but still....riveting performances.

[@leestamm3187]

I like the 6th in that set, too. For the 5th, I think Jochum had an exceptional handle on it, though I also like the Ormandy/Philly recording, among a few others.

[@allthisuselessbeauty-kr7]

I like Sinopoli too.