Masur: Bruckner Symphonies (9 CD, APE)

Composer: Anton Bruckner
Orchestra: Gewandhausorchester Leipzig / Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra
Conductor: Kurt Masur
Audio CD
SPARS Code: A-D
Number of Discs: 9 CD box set
Format: APE (image+cue)
Label: RCA
Size: 2.26 GB
Recovery: +3%
Scan: yes

# Symphony No. 1 in C minor (“The Saucy Maid”), WAB 101 (various versions)
Composed by Anton Bruckner
Performed by Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra
Conducted by Kurt Masur

# Symphony No. 2 in C minor (“Symphony of Pauses”), WAB 102 (various versions)
Composed by Anton Bruckner
Performed by Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra
Conducted by Kurt Masur

# Symphony No. 3 in D minor (“Wagner”), WAB 103 (various versions)
Composed by Anton Bruckner
Performed by Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra
Conducted by Kurt Masur

# Symphony No. 4 in E flat (“Romantic”), WAB 104 (various versions)
Composed by Anton Bruckner
Performed by Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra
Conducted by Kurt Masur

# Symphony No. 5 in B flat (“Tragic”; “Church of Faith”; “Pizzicato”), WAB 105 (various versions)
Composed by Anton Bruckner
Performed by Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra
Conducted by Kurt Masur

# Symphony No. 6 in A major (“Philosophic”), WAB 106 (various versions)
Composed by Anton Bruckner
Performed by Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra
Conducted by Kurt Masur

# Symphony No. 7 in E major (“Lyric”), WAB 107
Composed by Anton Bruckner
Performed by Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra
Conducted by Kurt Masur

# Symphony No. 8 in C minor (“Apocalyptic”; “The German Michel”), WAB 108 (various versions)
Composed by Anton Bruckner
Performed by Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra
Conducted by Kurt Masur

# Symphony No. 9 in D minor (“Unfinished”), WAB 109 (various versions)
Composed by Anton Bruckner
Performed by Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra
Conducted by Kurt Masur

A great orchestra playing great music!

I just received this set; one that I bought for a little over $20 including shipping! Being a HUGE Brucknerite, this is perhaps my 15th or so full set of the symphonies. Although I wish this included at least the »Nullte« (Symphony No. 0), I am impressed with it. After reading some of the set’s previous reviews — especially the one with all of the disrespectful and ungentlemanly banter back and forth — I was hesitant to purchase it. I am not sorry that I did. The set is surprisingly good with solid interpretations of each symphony. I am not a big Masur fan, and I have seen some rather lackluster performances with him conducting, but this is another story. I’m very happy with it although I must say that it will not displace any of my previous favorite sets like Karajan’s DG cycle, Jochum’s DG cycle, the Tahra cycle with both Georg-Ludwig and Eugen Jochum sharing the conducting duties, and any of the Wand recordings. As far as the recording quality is concerned, it is excellent. The dynamic range and acoustic is as good as any more expensive set and there is little if no tape hiss in Bruckner’s all-important quiet moments and pregnant pauses. Another thing I read in a previous review has to do with the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig not being the virtuosic ensemble in the 1970s like it now is. This is utterly untrue. In spite of being closed to the west behind the Iron Curtain, the orchestra made many recordings that were released in the west. I have yet to find a single one of them that sounds the least like a hack job. The Gewandhausorchester was trained by great conductors and composers like Mendelssohn, Schumann, Arthur Nikisch, Wilhelm Furtwängler, Bruno Walter, and the list goes on. They have a storied and illustrious history and a fine esprit de corps that has remained undiminished since the orchestra’s founding in 1743!