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Bruckner: Symphony No. 8 in C Minor

Imported ed.

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Anton Bruckner (Composer), Pierre Boulez (Conductor), Vienna Philharmonic (Orchestra) Format: Audio CD
4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 51 ratings
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Track Listings

1 Symphony No. 8 in C minor: 1. Allegro Moderato
2 Symphony No. 8 in C minor: 2. Scherzo. Allegro Moderato - Trio. Langsam - Scherzo Da Capo
3 Symphony No. 8 in C minor: 3. Adagio. Feierlich Langsam, Doch Nicht Schleppend
4 Symphony No. 8 in C minor: 4. Finale. Feierlich, Nicht Schnell

Editorial Reviews

BOULEZ PIERRE / WIENER P. O.

Product details

  • Is Discontinued By Manufacturer ‏ : ‎ No
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Product Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.59 x 4.96 x 0.47 inches; 3.53 ounces
  • Manufacturer ‏ : ‎ Deutsche Grammophon
  • Item model number ‏ : ‎ 028945967820
  • Original Release Date ‏ : ‎ 2000
  • SPARS Code ‏ : ‎ DDD
  • Date First Available ‏ : ‎ December 9, 2006
  • Label ‏ : ‎ Deutsche Grammophon
  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B00004TL2N
  • Country of Origin ‏ : ‎ United Kingdom
  • Number of discs ‏ : ‎ 1
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 51 ratings

Customer reviews

4.5 out of 5 stars
4.5 out of 5
51 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

scarecrow
5.0 out of 5 stars tremendous clarity and vision through timbre
Reviewed in the United States on July 2, 2000
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I never liked Bruckner I thought he was too simpleminded with his penchant for the spiritual and his mindless infatuation with Wagner. But here Boulez reveals another side to Bruckner the labyrinth-like scheme of harmonies which seem to re-emerge in forever new configurations.He treats the Bruckner sound as one monolith on a single canvas,intensily controlled and attenuated, with a seamless timbral body of sound,always with the strings ion the forefront dominating, yet balanced the sound. The other way around with the winds as you might find in Wand or Karajan, you find there an ugly organ-like massive sonority with the winds directing the sound upwards into halting gestures. You find this in Brahms's orchestrations as well. The Romantic imagination had little to contribute to the art of orchestration,their feel for sound was fairly basic,with a constitution of families of sound,divided and domesticated. Today with a modernist sensibility to timbre you find these problems to resolve as Boulez so admirably does as the organ timbre I mentioned also the bottom heavy configurations of sound,balance and the brass as in Mahler and here in Bruckner need special care. Boulez knows all this, and the sound he is able to coax out of Vienna is inspiring, and worth repeated hearing. Boulez's passiveness is a misnomer and is not an inferior aspect of the Boulez interpretive aesthetic.His penchant for clarity and timbre is what imparts another vision here.You find this in Abbado and Eotvos.They make us listen more. The overbearing Karajan or Solti,or Barenboim interpretations many times goes for the juggler with direct emphasis on the graphic elements in Bruckner, the reiterations in the brass, an the overbearing sound that you can only give in and submit to. There is no room there for contemplation.So our listening experiences there are well taxed,draining ourselves. Here Boulez sweeps the brass sonorities into the overall sound,simply as an unknown buttress of the sound, similar to the beams and supports we never see within the bowels of the great cathedrals. There are also wonderful chamber like moments, with the horn, harp and strings alternating their entrances.Boulez also allows the solo moments as the clarinet and oboe emerge from this labyrinth sound,pitting the solo lone voice against the masses. This creates a tension never heard before in Bruckner,where before solo voices seem to be enveloped and dominated. I also thought Boulez brought a razor sharp sound here, very strident and piercing, again this emanates from a direct emphasis on the string body. This sound also creates a tension which propells the work forward, without the necessity of emphasis of certain harmonic tension. There is also a very real immediacy of expression from moment to moment which compells the work forward,as if Boulez wants us to listen on a localized pallette, rather than simply waiting for the violence of the brass entrances coming from the hinterlands as we have found with other interpreters. I also found never heard before pianissimos, the various string tremoli I could listen to again and again. Boulez makes Bruckner almost into a modernist.
20 people found this helpful
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D. J. Leedham
5.0 out of 5 stars Truly Exceptional
Reviewed in the United States on January 16, 2014
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Such a lovely surprise! I've heard Boulez live, conducting more contemporary works, several times. Always struck me as very formal, precise and, well, as far from anything romantic as it is possible to be. Which is fine for the works he was conducting. -- Always clear that he possesses a remarkably keen musical intelligence. -- Seeing that he'd conducted Bruckner I was intrigued to find out what he'd make of it.. And was stunned at how compelling his performance turned out to be.

I have other classically highly regarded versions which I love. But I confess this one by Boulez is the most satisfying. Everything is clearly articulated. So there is more to hear in this recording than in any of the others. Yet it doesn't feel to me that he loses any of the emotional intensity or expressiveness. And it bears many repeated listenings...

Probably the musically most precise and clear and articulated recording there is.

I did see one reviewer remark that it is, perhaps, too perfect. Well, if you are emotionally invested in Wandt's or some other exceptional recording, this is understandable. Nevertheless, this is highly recommended.
14 people found this helpful
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Transfigured Knight
5.0 out of 5 stars An Outstanding 8th
Reviewed in the United States on October 29, 2009
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Pierre Boulez isn't particuarly known for interpretations of Romantic composers. His Mahler cycle has received mixed reviews (I'm actually a fan of his Mahler) and he's recorded some Berlioz. What's interesting is this is the only Bruckner recording he has made...ever. Boulez's detailed-oriented approach works well with Bruckner who in lesser hands (Tintner, Lopez-Cobos) the whole structure of the piece can fall apart. Boulez, without question, exceeds my expectations on this great disc.

The Vienna Philharmonic, who have a rich history with Bruckner, play without restraint or confinement. They let the hatchet down and play with fire and intensity. I can compare Boulez's approach with that of Gunter Wand and Riccardo Chailly (who are my two favorite Brucknerians). He keeps a taut line on the orchestra and though he has been criticized in the past for being "emotionally cool" I can say that this is not the case here. If you don't walk away from this recording thinking "Why hasn't Boulez recorded Bruckner more often," then you clearly missed the sonic marvel that is this recording.

Without a doubt in my mind, a fine performance of the 8th. Highly recommended.
19 people found this helpful
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Eric Gross
5.0 out of 5 stars Oh My God - It's Just the Greatest Bruckner Performance Ever
Reviewed in the United States on September 12, 2012
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Boulez has transformed an extraordinary symphony into one of the most incredible, uplifting, deeply moving, just Effing amazing music experiences. Words fail to describe just how intense this is. There is nothing like it. Just stop reading now and buy it.
8 people found this helpful
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Peter Bond
5.0 out of 5 stars Boulez’ glorious Bruckner 8
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 28, 2021
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One of the great things about Amazon Marketplace is that it allows you to buy secondhand discs in good condition that you might never have otherwise acquired new.

I already have the most glorious recording of this monumental symphony performed by Karajan and the Vienna Philharmonic. It remains one of the most special recordings of all time. Then there’s Giulini’s fine recording with the same orchestra. Add to that Haitink and the Concertgebouw, and Celibidache’s ‘very different’ view, and Rattle’s swift journey with the LSO. And others - I should cite Wand and Barenboim among them. I have no shortage of wonderful Bruckner 8ths! But for some reason…

I’d stayed away from this recording. As much as I adore the work of Boulez as composer and conductor, I’d just skipped past this. And what a mistake I’d made!

This is just one of those truly special recordings that make you marvel. Together with the Vienna Philharmonic, Boulez shapes this mighty work with unerring determination, moulding each phrase with exceptional beauty and vitality.

On paper the speeds are swift (this is half an hour quicker than Celibidache! and 7 minutes faster than Karajan). But it never ever sounds rushed. The natural ebb and flow of rhythms and tempi just seem so perfect. Then there is the energy and sense of grace. And inner details emerge exquisitely, always balanced perfectly within an overall warmth of orchestral timbre.

The Vienna Philharmonic play with every ounce of magnificence we could ever wish for. The strings are a mix of silk and pure gold. Woodwind delight and beguile, brass gleam and harps and timpani add tenderness and power in equal measure.

This may be one of the very few Bruckner works Boulez conducted/recorded, but it is a supreme achievement. It is invigorating, emotionally moving, uplifting and a journey to embolden life itself. And now I am torn between Karajan and Boulez. I’ll have to have both - always!
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Marie-gabrielle Vegh
5.0 out of 5 stars Magnifique
Reviewed in France on September 12, 2017
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Magnifique enregistrement ,de cette symphonie un peu moins connue que la 9eme mais c'est un grand moment musical :chef et orchestre sont renversants
2 people found this helpful
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SimoTocca
5.0 out of 5 stars Grandissima interpretazione "snobbata" dalla critica....
Reviewed in Italy on May 5, 2014
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Chissà perchè a volte i critici musicali, anche i migliori, prendono delle cantonate e si ostinano a confermarle nel tempo. Si legge spesso che Boulez non ha lasciato grandi interpretazioni della musica di Bruckner, ma ecco questa splendida registrazione dal vivo, con i Wiener Philarmoniker, a smentire questa vacua diceria.
Boulez applica a Bruckner la stessa capacitã di analisi dimostrata per la musica di Wagner, e, in questo caso, con risultati ancora più eclatanti. Sì perchè una volta passata al "vaglio razionale" la musica di Brucker, in particolare questa della titanica ottava sinfonia, viene "trasfigurata" ma in maniera buona, nel senso che rimangono le meravigliose guglie sonore delle Cattedrali musical che sono le sue sinfonie. La musica di Bruckner appare come "lucidata a specchio" e suona come mai sentito prima: un risultato simile, anche se non analogo, a quello raggiunto da Abbado.
E proprio per il fatto che Abbado non ha mai eseguito l'ottava, questa registrazione di Boulez sembra quasi perfetta per colmare questo vuoto immenso lasciato dal direttore italiano.
Bellissima la ripresa del suono, in DDD, che permette di sentire le meraviglie di cui sono capaci gli orchestrali viennesi quando sono guidati da "una mano santa"
Buon ascolto a tutte e tutti voi...
4 people found this helpful
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Wolfgang Herrmann
5.0 out of 5 stars Klangschön, präzise und schlank, doch nicht immer im Atem
Reviewed in Germany on November 21, 2006
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Wenn jemand, der in Sachen Bruckner so unvorbelastet ist wie Boulez, sich an Bruckners Achte wagt, darf man auf das Ergebnis gespannt sein. Allerdings bedarf es mehrfachen Anhörens, um sich an Boulez' Lesart zu gewöhnen, eben weil der Hörer Gielen, Wand, Giulini oder gar Celibidache noch im Ohr hat.
Dass Boulez auf straffe Tempi setzt, stand durchaus zu erwarten. Doch die außergewöhnliche Klangschönheit dieser Aufnahme ist - auch bei einem Orchester wie den Wiener Philharmonikern - überraschend. Boulez gelingt dies unter anderem mit der Zurücknahme der Blechbläser, die den warmen satten Wohlklang der Streicher richtig erblühen lässt, und überhaupt mit feinfühliger Balance der einzelnen Instrumentengruppen, aber auch mit agogischen Freiheiten, die sich gelegentlich über die Anweisungen des Komponisten unbekümmert hinwegsetzen.
So verliert der erste Satz das Fahle, das bei anderen Deutungen den Hörer fast niederdrückt. Er klingt durchaus romantisch (etwa wie bei Mahlers 7.), mit ausgearbeiteten Hell-Dunkelwirkungen und aparten Klangmischungen (z.B. bei 10:20), die fast von Debussy stammen könnten, und endet eher beruhigend statt mit einer subtilen Todesahnung. Auch der zweite Satz wirkt erstaunlich frisch und lebendig, mit lyrischen Flugfiguren und einem recht zügigen Mittelteil, jedenfalls nicht zwanghaft starr wie so oft andernorts.
Zur Mitte des Adagios allerdings stellt sich ein gewisses Unbehagen ein, manche Steigerungen werden doch zu leidenschaftlich, allzu forsch genommen. Opernhafte Aufgeregtheit durchbricht den ruhigen Atem, der diesem Adagio - wie allen Adagios von Bruckner - die besondere Würde verleiht.
Das Finale schließlich wirkt durchaus übersichtlich in seinem formalen Aufbau, der gerade bei diesem Satz nicht so einfach herzustellen ist. Das schnelle Tempo lässt freilich manche Figur zur beiläufigen Episode verkümmern. Schön dagegen die Anklänge an Wagners Parsifal (etwa 7:40), die Boulez natürlich besonders liebevoll gestaltet. Der Schluss des Ganzen erscheint etwas entschärft. Die eigentlich beklemmende Viertelbewegung der Streicher in Quarten (17:30ff), von allzu gedämpftem Paukenwirbel eingeleitet, wirkt eher neutral, dabei handelt es sich doch um ein Fortschreiten in das Grau einer höchst ungewissen Zukunft, die dann jäh als Todesverkündigung entgegen kommt - welch eine erschütternde Stelle! Daher wirkt die Coda mit den sich auftürmenden Hauptthemen - dabei ist die hervorragende Klangtechnik zu erwähnen - glanzvoller, als sie eigentlich gemeint ist. Aber das muss wohl jeder Hörer für sich entscheiden.
Eine überaus wertvolle Einspielung, die einen auch zum Nachdenken anregt über die bestehenden Klischees der Brucknerdeutung.
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Der-Käufer
5.0 out of 5 stars für Boulez ungewöhnlich emotional
Reviewed in Germany on December 11, 2021
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Die Problematik der Akustik der Kirche ist von den Tontechnikern genial gelöst. Boulez inszeniert die Achte wie ein Abgesang auf das Leben. Zum Heulen schön.
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