The last day of listening to Bruckner’s Seventh!
Tomorrow starts a new chapter…
…and the countdown to me seeing Daniel Barenboim at Carnegie Hall next weekend.
But, for now, this morning’s conductor of Anton Bruckner’s Symphony No. 7 in E Major (WAB 107) is German-born Gunter Wand (1912-2002).
The orchestra is Kolner Rundfunk-Sinfonie-Orchester.
Back when I first contemplated this 144-day project, Maestro Wand’s name came up a time or two when I read reviews of Bruckner’s symphonies and what people considered to be his best conductor-interpreters. Wand was looked upon favorably by several Brucknerians. So, when I started this journey – back on October 3rd, 2016 – Wand was one of the conductors I most looked forward to hearing.
And hear him I did on Day 16, Symphony No. 1.
Then, on Day 32, Symphony No. 2.
And again on Day 48, Symphony No. 3.
And again on Day 64, Symphony No. 4.
And again on Day 67, Symphony No. 5 (from the Bruckner Collection box set).
And again on Day 80, Symphony No. 5 (from the Wand box set).
And again, most recently, on Day 96, Symphony No. 6.
I’ve heard a lot of Gunter Wand in this project.
Before I reveal what I thought of this day’s listening, here are the objective stats:
Bruckner’s Symphony No. 7 in E Major (WAB 107), composed 1881-1883
Gunter Wand conducts
Wand used the ??? version (unknown), edited by ??? (unknown)
Kolner Rundfunk-Sinfonie-Orchester plays
The symphony clocks in at 64:20
This was recorded at Klaus-von-Bismarck-Saal in Cologne, Germany, in 1980
Wand was 68 when he conducted it
Bruckner was 59 when he finished composing it
This recording was released on the RCA/Red Seal label
Bruckner wrote his symphonies in four parts. The time breakdown of this one (Symphony No. 7 in E Major [WAB 107]), from this particular conductor (Gunter Wand ) and this particular orchestra (Kolner Rundfunk-Sinfonie-Orchester) is as follows:
I. Allegro moderato…………………………………………………………………………20:12
II. Adagio. Sehr feierlich und sehr langsam…………………………………..21:57
III. Scherzo. Sehr schnell………………………………………………………………..10:49
IV. Finale. Bewegt, doch nicht schnell……………………………………………12:54
Total running time: 64:20
Okay. Now, here are the subjective aspects:
My Rating:
Recording quality: 4
Overall musicianship: 4
CD liner notes: 0 (there aren’t any – shame on them!)
How does this make me feel: 4
Another above-average performance from Maestro Wand and the Kolner Rundfunk-Sinfonie-Orchester.
I don’t know that I’m especially rocked to my core by Mr. Wand’s interpretations. Or his orchestra of choice.
If this was one of the few recordings available, and I was truly jonesing for a hit of Bruckner’s Seventh, then I’d surely have no qualms about listening to this performance.
But it wouldn’t be my first choice.