Kubelik's 1963 performance is a monophonic broadcast, available on an Orfeo cd. Coming in at just under 74 minutes, it's swift and often exhilarating, though the playing sometimes verges on the rough-and-ready. I won't claim that it's a contender for an “essential” B8 collection, but it certainly has its moments.
Kubelik's 1977 BRSO recording (readily available on BR Klassik) adds about four minutes to the 1963 performance, using the same Haas edition. The interpretation is a bit more "settled," the orchestral playing is more polished, and sound quality is more "present" without being state of the art. It's classic Kubelik.
The Konwitschny cd isn't all that easy to come by; it's not collected in any of the Konwitschny boxes and was never issued by Edel/ Berlin Classics. The abruckner.com discography lists the Weitblick and Memories labels as the only issuers, and I believe it's out of print. (I purchased the Weitblick cd, used, from an independent vendor in the U.S.) But it's well worth hunting down. To my ears, the performance possesses many of the same qualities that you note in Konwitschny's B2, and the sound is more than acceptable, given the live source. Curiously, Konwitschny's performance (using the Haas score, as does Kubelik) takes only about three minutes longer than Kubelik 1977, yet with steadier tempi, it feels noticeably more expansive and patient.
Have I read the Bruckner recordings evaluation by Messrs Quinn and Waller? Need you ask? (This is where the kids would insert a humorous emoticon and a "LOL".) Bring on a new and expanded edition!
Regards,
John
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