That said, I do think you make some interesting points - Karajan can be too smooth, not least at the start of the scherzo, so maybe I need the 'danger' of Mravinsky as an antidote to this ?! And yes, had I more time I would have sought out Furtwangler's later readings, as well as the latest Rattle/LSO for completeness. But then, as a learned friend pointed out, I have also omitted Ballot and Saraste as well ....
As always with these exercises, there are surprises - I certainly didn't expect Jochum-Hamburg, nor Klemperer-Cologne to be as good as they were, nor Janowski, whose Eighth is by far and away the best of an otherwise average cycle. And whatever possessed Haitink on that night in Dresden I'll never know - but if it is available to order, I will certainly be getting some !
I do like Jochum's complete cycle from Dresden too, where I think the high-points are the Sixth and Seventh - however, I think these must be supplemented by a four disc set issued by Tahra a few years back of Jochum conducting the Concertgebouw live in symphonies 4,5 and 6 - the last of these, the Fifth was in 1986 only four months before he died and, I'm led to believe, as an 'encore' he repeated the entire last movement ! Perhaps since he was then old and frail, with every concert seemingly his last, he was indulged. In fact, it was the last time he conducted the Concertgebouw (and there is even a review of it here on the ever-reliable MWI: http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/sept99/bruch5joch.htm )
Either way, as John Proffitt sagely says, these are just my opinions - and the world would be a boring place if we all shared identical ones. I'm just grateful to be able to share my own with you all.
Best wishes as always,
lee
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