Customer Reviews

Bruckner: Symphony No. 7 (Arranged for Chamber Ensemble)

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2 star:		(1)
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If you love Bruckner--(as I do)--you'll be thrilled with this new disc. It's on the MD&G gourmet label--(which, queerly enough, Amazon lists as "MP&G" [!]). It's a 1920s arrangement of the 7th for chamber ensemble (with harmonium!). It's fantastic. This is just the type of arrangement which was done for Schoenberg's post-WWI Society for the Private Presentation of Music wherein avant-garde pieces for large orchestra were reduced for chamber performance. See also Bruckner's 3rd for piano duet arranged by Mahler (also on MD&G--"MP&G").

I bought this chamber version of Bruckner's 7th out of curiosity, but I'm keeping it out of satisfaction. This arrangement for 10 musicians is something of a miracle of clarity, and power. The 59 minute performance is passionate and nuanced, and more satisfying than any full orchestral version I have heard! The recording is first rate, too.

added note: Bruckner lovers! Navigate to hear the chamber ensemble version done by the Linos Ensemble. Praise to the Algorithm for suggesting it.

there is an error -- a Bruckner 7 with francophonie canadian is merged with this version, the Thomas Christian Ensemble -- somebody named Christian leads that -- I am being approximate because one cannot look at the actual page and write the review at the same time, so who can remember?


i thought maybe there was an error, and that the wrong Bruckner 7 was hitched to these links. This is no chamber ensemble to my ears, although very pretty. But, the same sounds are at iTunes as here, and the slow movement is by far the slowest or longest on record - and I have almost every record. The timing is 24 minutes - many are 18. Maybe this is the only performance that takes every repeat -- but the pace sounds very slow.