Riccardo Chailly’s 1985 Bruckner Symphony No. 3 presented a major challenge to Karajan’s contemporaneous recording, which pretty much ruled the roost critically. Chailly matched the elder conductor’s intensity and extreme dynamics while drawing playing of great beauty and power from the RSO Berlin. And, Decca’s clear, spacious, and wide-ranging sonics easily beat out Deutsche Grammophon’s, which (as was true for many Karajan recordings) lacked any sense of depth or space and sounded congested in tutti passages. So, Chailly’s became the Bruckner Third of choice–at least for the 1889 version which, aside from some minor changes and newly composed passages in the first three movements, subjects the finale to some rather disfiguring cuts. (Haitink, Barenboim, and Wildner offer fine recordings of the fuller 1877 text, while Tintner and Nagano are unsurpassed in the rough-hewn First Version of 1873). Still, those wanting Bruckner’s final thoughts on this work have Arkivmusic.com to thank for making Chailly’s excellent recording newly available. [1/8/2007]
