Jansons: Bruckner – Symphonies no.3, 4 (2 CD, FLAC)

Composer: Anton Bruckner
Orchestra: Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra
Conductor: Mariss Jansons
Audio CD
Number of Discs: 2
Format: FLAC (image+cue)
Label: RCOC Records
Size: 712 MB
Recovery: +3%
Scan: yes

CD 01
01. Symphony No. 3 in D Minor: I. Mehr langsam, misterioso
02. Symphony No. 3 in D Minor: II. Adagio, bewegt, quasi andante
03. Symphony No. 3 in D Minor: III. Ziemlich schnell
04. Symphony No. 3 in D Minor: IV. Allegro

CD 02
01. Symphony No. 4 in E Flat Major, “Romantic”: I. Bewegt, nicht zu schnell
02. Symphony No. 4 in E Flat Major, “Romantic”: II. Andante quasi allegretto
03. Symphony No. 4 in E Flat Major, “Romantic”: III. Scherzo. Bewegt, trio, nicht zu schnell, keinesfalls schleppend
04. Symphony No. 4 in E Flat Major, “Romantic”: IV. Finale, bewegt, doch nich zu schnell

Lovely Bruckner

I love these recordings!

A new Bruckner 4th recording is never easy to review because of the huge selection of truly great recordings available. This symphony is very lucky on record, my favorites include Wand (all his 4th’s), Celibidache, Tintner, Bohm, and the list goes on and on (no, I don’t like Karajan’s readings!). Anyway, these constitute a very difficult, if not impossible, competition against which any new release is measured. In this light, nobody stands a chance.

But if you open your ears, ignore all the previews recordings “baggage” and just try to enjoy Janson’s lighter approach to the work, my guess is that you are going to love it. Not to mention the RCO beautiful, beautiful sound. That is orchestral playing to die for.

Now the 3rd is a different beast altogether. Without going again into the details of the different versions and revisions (which are important, but not the aim of the currant review), Jansons is reading the Nowak edition, which is not as expansive as Tintner’s score of the original, uncut Bruckner vision. Regardless, this is a beautiful, relatively lighthearted reading of this often mistreated symphony. And as such, that alone is worth the price of this CD. Up until now I only found 2 recordings of the Bruckner 3rd which I think are really great. One is by Tintner and the Scottish national orchestra, the other is Celibidache with Munich. Both are great and very different. But this Jansons/RCO reading is definitely as good as these two, and perhaps better, I have to hear it a few more times to decide. Be that as it may, if you like Bruckner, Grab this recording. It’s brilliant.