Review of Bruckner: Symphony No. 8 (Boulez)

Introduction

The TDK collection of dvd recordings is panning out to be an excellent collection of premium works. Unlike some other publishers, TDK are putting some nice effort into their discs, with interesting extras and great sound.

Bruckner`s 8th has always been a favourite of mine and is one of those "Oooh, I recognize this, what it is?" classical pieces that crops up all over the place.

This production was recorded as a 100th anniversary memorial to his death in 1896 and is expertly conducted by Pierre Poulez.

Video

Video is presented in widescreen and is excellent. The cameras aren`t purely stationary as can often happen during classical concerts, but they move around to allow you a chance to observe the artistry that goes into orchestral performance - as well as the (often eccentric) behaviour of the conductor himself.

The documentary is also well recorded, with a clean picture and no obvious digital imaging problems.

Audio

The Audio is excellent, as indeed it should be. You have a choice of LPCM Stereo or Dolby Digital. Both are very good.

The stereo track is well separated and gives an good feeling of space, with all instruments nicely defined - and indeed sounds wonderful through my "music" set-up.

The 5.1 track is also engaging but in a different way, you are placed more within the music, creating a more encompassing soundfield that has things happening around rather than in front of you. Again, separation is very good and overall musical quality excellent.

Features

The only special feature is an interview with the conductor Pierre Boulez and is in German. The subtitles are very good however and the documentary is well worth watching and reading.

The disc also contains some sleeve notes in English, French and German about Bruckner and Boulez.

Conclusion

Excellent stuff, If only everyone would put this effort into their music dvds.

If you like Bruckner, you won`t be disappointed, this is a wonderfully musical version and has already replaced my aging cd.