Composer: Anton Bruckner
Orchestra: Hamburg State Philharmonic
Conductor: Eugen Jochum
Audio CD
SPARS Code: DDD
Number of Discs: 1
Format: APE (image+cue)
Label: Music & Arts Program
Size: 137 MB
Recovery: +3%
Scan: yes
Symphony No. 5 in B flat (“Tragic”; “Church of Faith”; “Pizzicato”), WAB 105 (various versions)
Composed by Anton Bruckner
Performed by Philharmonisches Staatsorchester
Conducted by Eugen Jochum
01. Intro. Adagio/Allegro
02. Adagio. Sehr Langsam
03. Scherzo/Trio. Molto Vivace
04. Finale. Adagio/Allegro Moderato
An important reissue
Bruckner’s Fifth Symphony was reportedly a work especially close to Eugen Jochum; this is he first of four commercial recordings which he did of this work. The latter recordings all have the advantage of modern stereo sound. However, from what I remember of the second recording with the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, this earlier effort is more impulsive, less sleek and streamlined than the latter version. The Hamburg State Philharmonic may not have been a name orchestra like the Berlin or Concertgebouw, but under Jochum they play with tremendous drive and momentum. The conductor begins with the broadest of Introductions and follows with a fiery First Movement which is almost as furious as Furtwaengler’s devastating 1942 account. Jochum then provides the most spacious of Adagios, and a Scherzo that goes like the wind. This sense of drive is carried to its greatest lengths in the Fugal Finale, with a huge broadening for the Chorale in the Coda. The recorded sound is somewhat more distant than most of the Telefunkens of this period (Telefunken 78’s must have been the best of all time!), but is otherwise very clear and full, with rich string and brass sound. As a performance, I place this alongside the aforementioned Furtwaengler as a “must” for every lover of this symphony.