Austrian delights

(painting by Adalbert Stifter)

One of the truly great Bruckner interpreters was Sergiu Celibidache, whose tempi though are often not made for recordings, but worked beautifully in the surroundings he performed live. Eugen Bochum though preferred a much more dramatic and “Old testament” approach. Both are – together with Karajan and the somewhat-when it comes to Bruckner- underrated Haitink – the top interpreters of Bruckner IMHO. The whole Stifter/Bruckner world though has a very subtle compatriot, a bit earlier, and that was Schubert, whose music anticipates in many ways the uneasiness of Stifter and Bruckner. To catch his subtle world is even more difficult, and for me Wilhelm Kempff is way ahead of the rest of the pack. Of course in Vinyl quality, the CD transferred versions are a travesty of the original.

Here are 3 musical examples.