For the top spot in the great
Bruckner Seventh sweepstakes, there are those who'd bet on
Wilhelm Furtwängler's broadly paced and tonally radiant accounts and then there are those who'd go with
Otto Klemperer's hard-driving and earnestly striving accounts. For
Furtwängler fans, his two canonical live recordings with the
Berliner Philharmoniker, the searing 1949 recordings and the blazing 1951, each have their vocal adherents. For
Klemperer fans, on the other hand, his heroic 1960 studio recording with the
Philharmonia of London for EMI has always been the one to get. But for sufficiently motivated
Klemperer fans, there were also two other, earlier live recordings each of which has its merits. There was his 1958 recording with the
Berliner Philharmoniker and this 1956 recording with the
Bavarian Radio Symphony. Both are more dramatic than the later studio recording, with noticeably quicker slow movements. But while the Berlin orchestra plays better than the Bavarian orchestra, the Bavarian musicians sound more committed to the conductor and the music than their Berlin counterparts, and the result is a grittier, more determined performance that has always been mandatory listening for dedicated
Klemperer fans. And with warmer, clearer, and quieter sound than previous releases on myriad Italian pirate labels, this 2008 Medici Arts issue should be the standard edition for years to come. The inclusion of
Klemperer's jubilant
prelude to Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg with the
Bavarian Radio Symphony recorded live for Italian Radio in Turin in 1956 is a welcome bonus. ~ James Leonard, All Music Guide
