Kevin Sutton <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

>I just read an interesting article on Oswald Kabasta in Gramophone's
>historical Subsidiary Organ.  It sounds as if this is a conductor
>that I need to hear.  Does anyone own any of the available recordings
>(particularly the Bruckner 7th with Munich)? Comments would be appreciated.

Kabasta's Bruckner 7th is indeed one of the great recordings of this
symphony.  Unfortunately, the sound is not very good (I have the EMI
Historical Box, vol.  2) and this detracts from the performance.  I like
his Bruckner 4th a great deal (Preiser and Arkadia) and found his Bruckner
9th (Music and Arts) somewhat uneven, with interesting moments.

Perhaps Kabasta's best recording is one that he initially did not get
credit for:  Dvorak's New World.  For many years, this recording was
thought to be conducted by Furtwaengler.  The Music and Arts 2-CD set
(which also contains his wartime recordings of the Eroica [Munich Phil.]
and Schubert's 5th [Vienna Symphony]) has a nice and informative essay on
Kabasta written by Mark Kluge, including the circumstances surrounding his
tragic demise.

Ramon Khalona
Carlsbad, California