This morning’s conductor of Anton Bruckner’s Symphony No. 1 in C Minor (WAB 101) is Kurt Masur (1927-2015), another person about whom I knew nothing and had never heard of until I started this project. Masur was born in Germany and died just last year at the age of 88 in Greenwich, Connecticut, U.S.
According to his entry on Wikipedia, Masur,
was a German conductor. Called “one of the last old-style maestros”, he directed many of the principal orchestras of his era. He had a long career as the Kapellmeister of the Gewandhaus, and also served as music director of the New York Philharmonic.
I don’t really have much to say about this particular recording for a couple of reasons:
1. There are no liner notes in the box set – a sin of omission that grates my cheese more than you know, and
2. It’s a fine recording and performance – much better than yesterday’s – but it’s still nothing to write home about. (Or write here about, for that matter.) It’s a solid performance. There are even patches of magic and awe. Some of the Finale, as well as the Allegro opening are stirring. But, overall…
Well, first some more objective information:
Bruckner wrote his symphonies in four parts. The breakdown of this one (using the Linz version), from this particular conductor (Masur) and this particular orchestra (Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra), is as follows:
Allegro…………..14:30
Adagio……………11:40
Scherzo……………9:05
Finale……………..15:25
I’m not even going to compare that to the bloated timing from yesterday’s Maazel performance. Instead, I’ll compare it to Karajan and Jochum.
By way of contrast, the breakdown from the Karajan interpretation two days ago (same version – Linz), performed by the Berliner Philharmoniker, was as follows:
Allegro…………..12:53
Adagio……………14:17
Scherzo……………8:54
Finale……………..14:27
The breakdown from the Jochum interpretation (also using the Linz version) I listened to three days ago – performed by Staatskapelle Dresden – was:
Allegro…………..12:29
Adagio……………12:38
Scherzo……………9:02
Finale……………..12:57
Today’s Masur performance is five minutes longer than the one from Jochum. Most notably, the Allegro (Movement I) is longer by over two minutes, and the Finale (Movement IV) is longer by about two and a half minutes. It’s interesting that the Adagio (Movement II) from Masur is shorter than that of Karajan and Jochum, clocking in at a lean 11:40.
As I mentioned earlier, the orchestra is Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra. This was recorded in 1977.
Now, here are the subjective aspects:
My Rating:
Recording quality: 3 (not quite as much depth, complexity, and power as other recordings I’ve heard to date)
Overall musicianship: 4
CD liner notes: 0 (no liner notes!)
How does this make me feel: 3
I don’t now what else to write about this recording. Without liner notes to give this box set context, and without any strong feelings either way about the recording, I guess I’m done for the day.