( By the way, my 9th recording I played that day was the Giulini, which, as was usually the case with Giulini, I rated number three.)
I guess this comes down to sensibilities again. In the same way that there are writers I love to read, others where I get bored after five sentences. For me, Proust and Gerald Murnane fall into the second category. Give me Raymond Carver or Dostoevski any day.
Similarly, apart from an overture or two, the octet and the Scottish, I can't stand Mendelssohn. Ditto Milhaud.
Dieter's comment regarding Karajan's Bruckner 9 prompted me to listen to it again and I stand by the assertion that it is one of the great recordings of the century: grand, majestic, subtly phrased and paced, rising to moments of elation, suffused with mystery and menace. For me, it stands alongside Giulini, Walter and Furtwängler. Mind you, I maintain that opinion having listened to it rather more recently (i.e. ten minutes ago) than 1989, which strikes me as rather a long time to leave a response untested and not re-examined..
Fantastic review, Marc Bridle.
I recall the occasion I played all of my Bruckner 9's to determine which was 'the best'. THis was 1989, I had 9 recordings: Jochum, Dresden, Karajan, Matacic, Mravinsky, Furtwangler, Haitink, Barenboim, and Schuricht. Jochum was clearly number 1 until I played the Furtwangler. Like the '43 Coriolan, it is simply mind-blowing. The one I liked least was Mravinsky - he had 'keine idee'. I understood Karajan, full of glib sound and fury, signifying nothing, Schuricht confirmed that I did not 'get' his Bruckner, and the Haitink was a non event.
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