Does this set deserve its reputation? My answer is yes very much so. What you get is top level in terms of orchestral playing and sound, and I would also rate Blomstedt’s conducting of the composer very highly. Tempi, phrasing, dynamics and transitions are all very natural and there is a pleasing consistency about this set which was made live (but without signficant audience intrusion). Version wise you might raise your eyebrows at the first versions of the second and third (I would have done more than that for the first versions of the fourth or eighth) but Blomstedt makes the case for these versions as well as few apart from Tintner have done before. So this is definitely a set to hear if you can, and amongst the very best “available”. The conductor will shortly turn 94 – is he now the oldest great conductor still alive? Possibly so. Did he conduct one of the great recorded Bruckner cycles? Yes.
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