John Smyth wrote:

>I gave up and bought the Karajan and just compared at home.  Major horn
>crack alert in the beautiful brass choral in the second mov't.  Otherwise I
>found the performance, (and recording)  very Elizabeth Taylor--esque.
>(hazy)
>
>The Abbado has a much warmer sound and is amply inspired.  Considering I'm
>still bemused by Bruckner's aesthetic, (except for the 8th--*that* works),
>I'll stick with the Abbado.

Actually, John, you may have been the only one who could have done it.  I
can't speak for anyone else, but I couldn't do it.  You see your question
required someone who had both recordings in question.  I wonder how many of
us do.  I have the Karajan and could comment on that, but not the Abbado.

So, in the absence of being able to answer the question directly, we just
go off on our own.  More fun that way.

In the meantime, you've bought both recordings and have now contributed to
the knowledge of all of us.  Hail to the marketplace and the way we force
people to buy things.  But you'll get no sympathy from me.  I have
undergone this experience hundreds of times.

Roger Hecht