Symphony No. 8 (Bruckner) - Differences in Performance

Differences in Performance

Over the recorded lifetime of this symphony, significantly different approaches have been taken, including tempo choices and the choice of score.

Wilhelm Furtwängler, in a live performance with the Vienna Philharmonic in 1944 used a modified Haas edition.

On 29 September 1944, the Preussische Staatskapelle Berlin, conducted by Herbert von Karajan, recorded the last three movements of the 8th Symphony with the finale in experimental stereophonic sound. In his interpretation Karajan kept strict metre whereas "recordings from the 1940s ... typically present this passage as a grand accelerando-rallentando, with a tempo increase of as much as 20 percent," while Karajan's recording "is a notable exception."

The first commercial recording of the complete symphony was made by Eugen Jochum with the Hamburg State Philharmonic Orchestra in 1949 for Deutsche Grammophon. Jochum later recorded it in studio with the Berlin Philharmonic in 1964 for Deutsche Grammophon, and in 1976 with the Dresden Staatskapelle for EMI using the Nowak 1890 edition both times. Karl Böhm, in a studio recording with the Vienna Philharmonic in 1976 for Deutsche Grammophon used the Nowak 1890 edition, but with one Haas passage in the finale.

In the last two decades of the 20th century, recordings tended to "set a broader basic tempo, ... abstain from dramatic tempo fluctuations – especially increases – and place great store by fullness of tone, precise ensemble, and textural clarity."

Typically, this work lasts about 80 minutes, although there are performances running as long as 103 minutes. Herbert von Karajan and the aforementioned Günter Wand each recorded the Haas hybrid version more than once. After Eliahu Inbal recorded the 1887 version for the first time, other conductors have followed. Takashi Asahina has recorded a disc comparing excerpts from the Haas and Nowak editions.