Deryk Barker <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

>I need to be in the right frame of mind for SC's Bruckner.  In that
>fra,me of mind it strikes me as penetrating and profound.
>
>In the wrong frame of mind I sit there thinking "why don't you just *get
>on with it*?" and even once took off the 7th before the end of the 1st
>movement (this is something I almost never do).

I know what you mean.  When I first played Celi's 8th with Munich, my wife
left the living room quite irritated in the middle of the Adagio (I give
her great credit for sticking it out that long) by saying:  "This is never
going to end!" If you're in this frame of mind, do not try his 7th with the
BPO.  It's even slower than his Munich recording.

Coming back to Harnoncourt, the 4th is strongly recommended and I have it
from a good source that his 7th with the VPO (which still hasn't reached
these shores) is similarly successful.  The 3rd is nearly a unanimous
disappointment.

Ramon Khalona
Carlsbad, California