Tuesday 8 May 2012

Bruckner - Symphony 8 [Skrowaczewski-Saarbrucken Radio Symphony Orchestra] 

First off, the booklet cover proclaims Bruckner's Eighth as the 'Apocalyptic', this wasn't Bruckner's idea, and most recordings don't use this title, i started a discussion on this on the Good Music Guide, a nice name, but just invented up by someone else, this is a mammoth Symphony, over 80 minutes long here, taking up 2 discs, it takes patience to listen to it, but is so much worth it, a lot of it can wash over you, but once you've listened to it say 25 times, you get to know your way around, and you develop favourite bits, this is probably where i am now, on my 20th listen, i once suggested you only really get to know a work once you've listened to it a hundred times!, i played this nearly 2 years ago [14th June 2010].

Stanislaw Skrowaczewski was born in Poland in 1923, making him 88 today, he's getting on in age, and he made this live recording in 1993, Oehms Classics have made a full cycle of the Bruckner Symphonies with him, and it's good to dip into these recordings, buying separate issues, i like the front cover picture [by Peter Kloos], laying out the lettering nicely in different colours.

Here's Bernard Haitink conducting the fourth movement on YouTube.