Bruckner Symphony no. 8 1st Mov. 1/2 Karajan VPO 1979

[annikap213]

I saw the New York Phil perform this with Zubin Mehta conducting and it was truly breathtaking.

[MerylFein52]

ey wer will mit mia schreiben

[cesles333]

2 personas sin alma

[GourouxPete]

Magical as it is, I'd invite you to listen and re-listen particularly between 5:20 and 7:18. It is like a haven of calm amidst all the other forces going on here - like a sunrise that gently grows in mystery and then warmth.

[MelbourneAlex]

Bruckner..this music almost seems organic in a cosmic sort of way

[1AdrianR]

Masterful

[person1756]

My new favorite non-Mozart/non-Beethoven symphony.



[Keithdhodges]

He's buried in the part of the crypt that's under the organ at St. Florian. It's not like he's right under the organ.

[89murph]

Bruckner is that bridge between Wagner and Brahms.

[cccpredarmy]

all those discussions... if u want to discuss some biografical things about a composer go study musicology. I'm not sarcastic. u rly get ppl there... they are everytime (yes even at night) ready to discuss and scandalize about wagner being antisimitic or robbing music from others etc... here u are on YOUTUBE. u listen to the piece, write comment like "i like this piece" or "i like this interpretation" or "i dont like the ... part. think it could be more fortissimo" etc. so pls stfu and listen!!!

[fustilarian1]

As far as I am concerned, any composer's ulterior/political agenda is irrelevant to the actual quality of the music. Being immoral doesn't necessarily mean that you're not a skilled composer capable of writing good music. Music should be judged only by its' quality.

[cerzule]

@fustilarian1 - yes, exactly. If only everyone thought like that, and about all the other artforms also ...

[AnamorphicDreams]

Bruckner's musical landscape is one-of-a-kind. I've listened to many symphonies over the years, but none exert that feeling of confident authority and rock-solid faith that Anton Bruckner's work does. It's as if his music exist in a separate universe.

I believe Giulini's rendition of Brucker's 7th, 8th and 9th on DG brings this notion home in a much grander manner than Karajan. While Karajan soars over the mountain tops, Giulini takes us high up into the Heavens...

[smartingamerica]

@An0niempje: 1. Wagner has absolutely NOTHING to do with it. Why are you harping on that? 2. Bruckner is a SPECTACULAR symphonic composer. Wagner NEVER composed a symphony: his ego prevented it. Bruckner was all about MUSIC. Wagner, on the other hand, wanted to USE music to convey a political agenda - one quite elitist and supremacist if not outright racist in form (sound familiar?). NEVER MIND. If you can't appreciate the friggin' MUSIC on its own merits, you're as bad as Wagner the man.

[alternatehistories]

@smartingamerica Looks like Godwin's law might be true. You say Wagner was "elitist, supremacist, racist". DON'T GO THERE!!! What happened was Wagner's music was hijacked by the Nazis, many decades after Wagner's death and perverted to suit their twisted ideology. Wagner was a towering figure who created beautiful music and combined it with mythology to form his operas. I guess you also think Tibetan Buddhists are racists since the Nazis borrowed their swastika? You fuckstick!!!

[smartingamerica]

Hey bubs - let's just clear the air here: Anton Bruckner was considered in his own time as a 'country bumpkin' peasant musician by the elite. His admiration of Wagner was utterly and innocently focused on his MUSIC, not on any political bases. Toward the end of his life Bruckner, after having struggled for decades to attain some measure of recognition for his symphonies, he was still referred to as a simpleton and 'peasant genius' - all of which have absolutely no bearing on his music. OKAY?

[oxur91]

in d minior

....not c minor

[XM5]

Whaoh!? These guys didn't tune to 440 did they... fun fun? Was it the silly German 442? Not complaining, I just can't help but notice.

[pipebillys]

@XM5 germans usually tune to 443.

[ootamanabu]

私の一番すきなブルックナーNR8

カラヤンVPOの７９年版。

凄みのある表現進行にVPOの上品さが結合した使命感あふれる宗­教行事。

キリスト教と違うカトリック教派ならではのぎょうじには

ブルックナーが似合う。

それにしても凄い演奏。7：15以降からは

怒涛の進行ぶり

[carlosLor]

@ootamanabu yea, i think the same as you

[ChrissysVideokids]

Genial, nicht nur der Sound, sondern auch die einmaligen Bilder, der Maestro schön in Szene gesetzt wie immer...

[meniged]

buckner was hitlers favorite music.

[aguador67]

@meniged Yes, and what? Is this the reason for ban all Bruckner works? Shostakovich was a Soviet composer criticized by Stalin, and and I wonder if this means that Shostakovich was a "bad" composer. Mendelssohn's music was considered "Entartete Musik" only because its author was a Jew, just not for its quality. Masterpieces have its own value and it doesn't matter if someone like it or like not . The most important is that YOU like this music, not "Hitler" or "Stalin" or "Bin Laden".

[sstuddert]

@aguador67 as if Bin Laden listens to music...

[parquar]

@meniged Bruckner was German enough for his racial bias and his music kicks ass. Bruckner himself was not racist or anything unlike Wagner so Hitler's opinion is meaningless.

[An0niempje]

@parquar How do you know Bruckner was not a racist? Many people are proud of their race without saying it all day long or writing about it like Wagner. And only a very small part of the so called racists actually do something against other races.

[parquar]

@An0niempje I don't know if he was secretly racist but you can't know that for anybody. There is no evidence I have seen that he was racist, as was implied earlier. You can also be proud of your race without finding it superior to others. I feel as only an individual but I'm just saying. He was definitely no Wagner

[An0niempje]

@parquar So we don't know. You can't say he was a racist and you can't say he wasn't.

We can be sure about him not being as open about his believes as Wagner.

[sstuddert]

@An0niempje I wouldn't say that, perhaps he was open about his beliefs and those beliefs just didn't include any racist ones. In anycase, there were far worse things about Wagner than his racism; he may very well have been a psychopath - Bruckner was no psychopath.

[An0niempje]

@sstuddert It is true that Bruckner wasn't a psychopath, but I didn't know that Wagner was.

Perhaps you mean his patron Ludwig II. He was a lunatic, but I have never found any records that Wagner was. Maybe a little hot-tempered and brilliant, but no mental disorders.

[sstuddert]

@An0niempje a psychopath does not have to be totally insane. Psychopathy simply refers to the mental condition or state where one is incapable of feeling sympathy or, rather, empathy. We know that Wagner used everyone around him for his own means and then, when he no longer needed their help, discarded them.

Ludwig II was not a psychopath, he was just a complete mental case.

[An0niempje]

@sstuddert We can't be certain that Wagner didn't feel empathy for others. He was a difficult man to work with, we can be sure on that, but not everything is known about what happened in his personal relationships. That someone is manipulative with his work relations doesn't have to say anything about his mental state.

It is possible though, that he suffered from some form of autism, as most genii did.

[sstuddert]

@An0niempje Oh please, don't try and defend him. He was a great, great genius, yes, but he was also a manipulative swindler, a womaniser and a megalomaniacal narcissist. He wasn't only "difficult to work with", he was very cruel in his relationships with others aswell. This in no way lessens the extent of his genius but his genius in no way lessens the extent of his personal flaws, which were considerable.

[An0niempje]

@sstuddert Manipulative and womaniser, I can live with that. Maybe he was megalomanical as well. But narcissist is a little overdone.

And like I said already, being a cruel man in business when needed doesn't mean a lack of empathy, that would be only so if he also treated his personal relations that way.

[sstuddert]

@An0niempje but he did treat people that way in personal relations, look at how he treated von Bulow and poor Minna, his first wife.

[An0niempje]

@sstuddert He had a bad marriage with his first wife (there are rumors that she was the first to have an affair) and then he started a relation with von Bulow's wife. That is ofc wrong, not faithful etc. but I don't see how you can conclude that he doesn't feel empathy for these reasons.

[sstuddert]

@An0niempje Furthermore, I wouldn't be the first person to come to such conclusions about Wagner's psychological state, other's include Puschmann, 1873 (Wagner was mentally ill); Nietzsche, 1888 (Wagner was une névrose [neurosis]); Nordau, 1895 (Wagner was suffering from persecution mania, megalomania, graphomania and several other disorders)...

[sstuddert]

@An0niempje ...Lambroso, 1897 (Wagner was a sexual psychopath); ...Wulffen, 1928 (Wagner had pathological criminal tendencies); and Racker, 1948 (Wagner suffered from unresolved pregential conflicts).

[An0niempje]

@sstuddert What I notice is that all these people claim different disorders in some way. I'd also like to add that Nietzsche had been a close friend of Wagner but he broke with him over political differences several years before he made the comment you quote here. Quite odd, don't you think, that you fail to notice for years that someone is neurotic and suddenly after a fight about something else you claim that...

[sstuddert]

@An0niempje I'd much sooner consider the opinion of Nietzsche than think that "oh, well, despite the appalling manner in which Wagner treated/used his wife, his friends and his patrons for his own gain, maybe, just maybe he actually felt something for them and considered their feelings and situation when he was manipulating them."

[sstuddert]

@An0niempje look, there is no denying it, Wagner was an absolutely dreadful human being. He was a great musical genius but his actions have never indicated that he cared about anyone but himself and, in fact, are indicative of the complete opposite - that he would willingly sacrifice the happiness of those around him for his own (and I don't care how much you admire his music, you can not deny this, it would be delusional).

[sstuddert]

@An0niempje the other incredible thing is that, while you deny the fact that Wagner was probably the cruelist and most self-centred of the great composers in the face of overwhelming evidence to the contrary, you say that Burcker might have been a racist in spite of the fact that there is absolutely no evidence to suggest anything as such about his character.

Bruckner was not as great a composer as Wagner, but he was a far, far better person.

[An0niempje]

@sstuddert I never claimed that Bruckner was a racist, I say there is no way of knowing that for certain. You keep claiming evidence that is not there. A bad marriage doesn't make one person a dreadful human being and even if he was, you can't be certain about his feelings about people if you don't know more about what those situations.

My simple reason to believe he did care (to some extend) about other people: He had many longer friendships of the kind that psychopaths do NOT have.

[An0niempje]

@sstuddert Maybe he was a self centered person, maybe he did sacrifice people for his own good. But that does not prove the thing you have claimed at the start of all this: That he was a psychopath that didn't feel empathy. Other, fully normal, people have also sacrificed friendships, committed adultery and betrayed friends. That doesn't make it ok, but it shows that your proves about Wagners personality are at best not very solid proof.

[saintdracula1]

@parquar Wagner was antisemitic but definitely a sophist: a quasi-philosopher with no real substance. I take his music seriously, but not many of his views.

[aguador67]

@meniged It was only an example. But it's worthy to concentrate in MUSIC, not in the "political use" of it. Apart from this, Bruckner himself was only a Catholic who dedicated his entire work "an dem Lieben Gott". So there's no place for imaginations or political lucubrations, I guess.

[kenjfuj]

Interesting. I've heard two of Karajan's recordings of this symphony (from 1976 and 1988, I think), and I remember both of them being much slower than this comparably brisk rendition of the first movement. Not meant as a criticism, just an observation.

[pointreyes6]

Exciting Bruckner from Karajan!

[soccerbabey]

Bruckner was an eccentric, which contributed to his brilliance. He could pile papers from the floor to the ceiling. Every time he messed up he started all over again! :P

[justrione]

crossfit has got me listening to classical music. nice

[intelectus1]

genial........

[MegaGdawg]

From 0:25 to 0:32 sounds a bit like the cello and contrabass recitative from the last movement of Beethoven's 9th. Does anyone else hear it?

[EmperorMato]

@MegaGdawg yeah there really are few tones :)

[710scarletreaper]

Stupendous, foreboding, sublime, a landscape of primordial power.

[Ridgway55]

why did this man get almost no credit for anything.. His music is beautiful/

[heilogif]

@Ridgway55 oh he got credited, he just isn't glorified like Beethoven or Bach.

[drakan80]

@Ridgway55 Mozart and (a large amount of) Beethoven's music was of the Classical era, where symphonies were of a "primitive" form. Of course they expanded it at the time, though their earlier works are truly quite simple. "Primitive" is all that an untrained ear can manage to handle, anything more and it's just a mess to them, where some might say "it sounds like a whole bunch of songs together" because they no longer follow the theme. And sadly, the world is largely of untrained ear

[rocknaho]

@Shoebappa1 wahahahahaha;ah bruckner;wise old man with great experience,you are;spaten X-|)

[Shoebappa1]

Ah, Bruckner. One of the few composers who could capture most if not the entire range of human emotions in a single hour long epic.

Thank you for the excellent upload; I heard it live a few months ago with the Cincinnati Symphony under the baton of Paavo Jarvi, but very few conductors have or will ever match maestro Karajan.

[musicman19gtr]

Thank you shostakk

[marktwain48]

This is a stately, epic reading of Bruckner 8. By God that Karajan could conduct! Thank you for posting.

[Sovietico88]

Great, Magnifico ! :D

[amrite]

"glacial?" Seriously, you don't know what you're even saying.

[skullamus]

shame it ended like that. wonderful.

[rubix12321]

It's a shame that it ended at all :P It's so great!

[LuisFredTrombon]

Thank you for posting, terrific performance!

[intelectus1]

muy buena....

[Ear4Beauty]

Have you EVER ... have you EVER heard Bruckner's 8th like THAT ?? Rarely for me. What a performance ! Bruckner has to be played well. Karajan is a great Bruckner interpreter.

[pointreyes6]

Think of the blood, sweat and tears it took for Bruckner to get this out of him!

Alot of work.

[Riesen89]

seems to be a copy of his inner life

[luganega1971]

St.Florian Abby is the place where in August 1886 Bruckner himself performed for the first time part of the music of this Simphony. And this was not with an orchestra but with the wonderful Organ of the church.

I love the performance but have to admit I prefer the direction of Eugen Jochum...

[mzecke]

Was würde ich drum geben, dabei gewesen sein zu können. Es gibt wohl kaum ein erhebenderes Konzert. Bruckner, die Achte und in dieser wundervollen Kirche und das alles unter der leitung von Karajans...*träum*

[wennsvornekratzt1]

Schön mal wieder die heimatliche Stiftskirche aus dem fernen Berlin zu sehen.

Die 8. dazu zu hören-ein Genuß, besonders weil ich das Konzert damals miterlebt habe.

[maxscriptguru]

My Lord, what a beautiful church too! That must have been heaven to play such music in such a place!

[Klangzauberer]

The best symphony ever.

[yuejinho]

This is a great performance, (Karajan is best in Bruckner for himself), but at least two are better than this ;

first by Takashi Asahina

second by Furtwangler

[Nachtmarchen]

Don't forget Klemperer '56 with the Cologne Radio Symphony Orchestra.

[Ear4Beauty]

Have you heard Furtwangler's symphonies ? I have heard the 4th. Very good but long. Did you know he was really a composer at heart ?

[mozpiano2]

Don't you think there is a whiff of ABBA's "Dancing Queen" between 5.34 to 5.53? - Love Bruckner's Symphonies!!!!

[evangelischeposaunen]

Wonderful!

[eskailldorff]

Bruckner is buried under the organ at Sant Florain.

[Trombonist1991]

@eskailldorff really?

[prepboys1]

Amen...

[ChalieChaplin]

Why Amen? it isn't a Mass!

[baldwalrus7]

Everything Bruckner wrote was a hymn to God. So, Amen!

[rapid74]

So much drama- the intensity is astonishing!

[lilleeWAfot]

iMPOSSIBLE TO BETTER THIS!!

[veliko1970]

fantastic!