Ekos Alternatives for LP12

If you’re looking for a vibrant performance of the Pastoral seek out this on vinyl.

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Finally got around to listening to this and you are absolutely right Graham: Magnificent sound and I’m sure the extra fidelity from giving a whole side to each movement is an important factor in that. Thanks again for the recommendation. There’s always room in my collection for another great Bruckner 4. My TKR is around 30 hours in and starting to find its legs. It did a fine job with this.

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I don’t know which other Bruckner 4 recordings you’ve listened to, KJC, but others that you might want to hear would have to include Karajan’s two accounts in Berlin (DGG and EMI), the old fox Celibidache (two different recordings on DGG and EMI), and the classic Jochum Berlin PO account on DGG (which is probably better than his later Dresden recording for EMI).

I remember listening to an eminent classical music reviewer speaking on Radio 3 years ago, who was describing hearing a recording of Bruckner’s Fourth on his car radio (he had missed the start, so hadn’t heard who or what he was hearing). It was so powerful, he related, that he had to pull over onto the hard shoulder, as he couldn’t concentrate on driving while this music was playing. It turned out to be Celibidache, and it is that account that was included in the DGG box. You won’t thank me now (after all that) for saying that the Celibidache Bruckner CD set seems to have been a victim of DGG’s inexplicable culling of great recordings from their catalogue. But it was a huge seller in its day (three or four Bruckner symphonies in a big CD box set), so copies must be floating around somewhere.

I don’t think that the Celibidache DGG recordings were ever issued on vinyl. But there is an EMI vinyl account of Celibidache conducting his Munich Philharmonic in Bruckner’s Fourth, (which I have ordered from the German Amazon site in the last few weeks).

As a complete aside, but amusing to me as a lover of the works of both conductors, Cell and Carlos Kleiber were both active in Munich at the same time, Cell at the helm of the Munich Philharmonic and Kleiber at the Staatskapelle. There was a fierce rivalry between the two of them (indeed I’ve read that they detested each other, with childish anonymous letters to the local press, etc ). But what a place to have been for any music lover. Goodness only knows what Wolfgang Sawallisch, who was in charge at the Munich State Opera made of it all. How I wish that I’d been there, even if only for a few weeks or months, just to soak it all in and see some of the performances.

But back on track and as to other recordings of Bruckner’s Fourth, Claudio Abbado made one for DGG relatively late in his life with the Berliners, which I haven’t heard but is probably worth hearing (just about everything else is!), and Daniel Barenboim has made at least two recordings that I know of (but have never heard). And Gunther Wand loved, and constantly rerecorded, the Bruckner symphonies in Cologne and elsewhere. The late, great Klaus Tennstedt, in his days in charge of the London Philharmonic, made highly critically acclaimed recordings of Bruckner (which I have never got around to hearing, but some listeners rate his accounts above all others).

All that said, the Böhm/Decca recording is the only set that I know of that exceeds two LP playing sides, so you won’t (can’t possibly) match those sonics on vinyl elsewhere.

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Thanks Graham. I have quite a variety, including Karajan on EMI, Jochum and Klemperer/Philharmonia on Vinyl, plus Skrowacewski, Haitink/Concertgebouw, a recent Nelsons/Leipzig (avoid!), Tintner and Klemperer again on Digital.
The Bohm Vinyl is the new king sonically, but my favourite performance (and another excellent EMI, Kingsway Hall recording) is Klemperer.

Interestingly, it sounds much better from CD rip than the Vinyl that I have. The latter is a Gearbox/Speakers Corner reissue which sounds almost like a different recording. Hugely disappointing and helps cement my view that modern reissues are on the whole, a waste of time and money.

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Do you mean the Testament reissue? They can be a bit hit and miss. The original first pressing though is rather lovely.

You are quite right Richard. It is a Testament reissue.
Bruckner: Symphony No. 4 - Vinyl Edition
1 Vinyl
Quantity: 1 Label: Testament
Catalogue Number: SAX2569

When you say original issue, do you mean original 60’s from Discogs or similar or is there a better reissue that you’ve found?

The original Columbia SAX2569 red semi-circle issue. IIRC, it’s no sonic spectacular but has a warmth and glow to it typical of the EMI/Columbias of the day. Admittedly I haven’t listened to it for 20 years or so - I should dig it out and give it a spin.

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No love for the István Kertész LSO Bruckner No. 4 on Decca?

Definitely not this one.

In squeezing it onto one disc they’ve overdone the compression on this 1982 release though they have let it breath a bit in the last movement.

I don’t remember ever seeing the Bòhm recording on a single disc. If you want the recording, go for the 2LP set (or the single CD release).

Funny thing, I bought a reissue of this a couple of month ago. The Skrowaczewski/LSO No. 4 and No. 7 are my other favourite Bruckners.

Gone.

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Because it’s all about the music :rofl:

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