David Rothstein ([log in to unmask]) wrote:

>David Harbin asks about Goodall's Bruckner 8.
>
>I've never heard this performance but I have the Horenstein's 5th with the
>same orchestra (BBCSO) from 1971.  Excellent performance a la' Horenstein,
>but the orchestra, I feel, isn't just up to par with this demanding
>symphony, especially the brass.

In the BBC SO's defence, I should point out that the Horenstein was
recorded in early September, which is near the end of the Proms.  The
series last from late July and a large number of the concerts are played
by the BBC SO.  BY this point I should think they're bloody tired.  And I
don't know how much rehearsal time they get for a Prom.  London orchestras
are (or were) notoriously some of the best sight readers in the world -
they had to be, because they got so few rehearsals.

BTW I know what you mean, the brass at the end of the 5th definitely
sound tired - but this is one of the toughst of all symphonies on the
brass players; not for nothing did the practise arise in Vienna (I think
it's in the Schalk edition) of employing additional brass players simply
to reinforce the others in the final coda.  According to Jochum they were
known as the 11 Apostles - "Judas, of course, being absent" and he still
used to do this in concert even using the respectable Nowak edition of the
score.  His reasoning being what I have outlined above.

deryk barker
([log in to unmask], http://www.camosun.bc.ca/~dbarker)