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Bruckner's Symphony No 8 in C minor in Building a Library with Tom Service and Andrew McGregor

In Building a Library Tom Service chooses his favourite recording of Bruckner's Symphony No. 8 in C minor, and Nigel Simeone explores 125 years of Deutsche Grammophon history.

Andrew McGregor with the best new recordings of classical music.

9.30 am
Celebrating its 125th anniversary this year, Deutsche Grammophon is one of the most venerable names in the recording business. Nigel Simeone brings a selection of his DG favourites to the studio. Plus, Nigel shares his On Repeat track: music he has been listening to again and again.

10.30 am
Building a Library

Tom Service chooses his favourite recording of Anton Bruckner's Symphony No. 8 in C minor.

Bruckner was widely regarded as one of the great organ improvisers of his day and he was well respected, too, as a teacher of organ, counterpoint and harmony at the Vienna Conservatory.

As a composer of symphonies and disciple of Wagner it was a different matter and his first unequivocal symphonic success came with his Seventh. But that didn't smooth the path to its successor. Beset by self-doubt and forever on the receiving end of vitriolic criticism from the anti-Wagner faction (Brahms scornfully mocked Bruckner's seemingly interminable symphonies as 'symphonic boa constrictors'), the Eighth took Bruckner three years to complete. Then, rejected as baffling by a hitherto sympathetic conductor in 1887, Bruckner sank into a depression and it wasn't until 1890 and a year's revision, that it was finally premiered.

Utterly distinctive and conceived on a massive scale 鈥 the slowest performances can take the best part of two hours 鈥 the Eighth is Bruckner's last completed symphony and over a near-century it has lured many great conductors and orchestras into the recording studio.

Tom's choice:
London Philharmonic/Klaus Tennstedt
Warner Classics 3817612

11.20 am
Record of the Week: Andrew鈥檚 top pick.

Send us your On Repeat recommendations at recordreview@bbc.co.uk or tweet us @大象传媒Radio3

2 hours, 47 minutes

Music Played

  • Johann Nepomuk Hummel

    Mandolin Concerto in G Major, S. 28 ii) Andante con variazioni

    Performer: Avi Avital. Ensemble: Il Giardino Armonico. Conductor: Giovanni Antonini.
    • Concertos.
    • Deutsche Grammophon (DG).
    • 14.
  • Anton Bruckner

    Symphony No. 3 in D minor iii) Scherzo

    Orchestra: G眉rzenich-Orchester K枚ln. Conductor: Fran莽ois鈥怷avier Roth.
    • Myrios.
  • Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

    Horn Concerto No. 2 in E flat major, K417 i) Allegro

    Performer: Sibylle Mahni. Orchestra: Brandenburger Symphoniker. Conductor: Andreas Spering.
    • Prospero Classical.
  • Erich Wolfgang Korngold

    Piano Trio in D major, Op. 1 iii) Larghetto

    Ensemble: Trio Isimsiz.
    • Rubicon.
  • Robert Stolz

    'Du sollst der Kaiser meiner Seele sein' (Der Favorit)

    Singer: Diana Damrau. Orchestra: Munich Radio Orchestra. Conductor: Ernst Theis.
    • Erato.
  • Ludwig van Beethoven

    Symphony No. 5 in C minor, Op. 67 i) Allegro con brio

    Orchestra: Berliner Philharmoniker. Conductor: Art煤r Nikisch.
    • DG.
  • Richard Strauss

    Dance Of The Seven Veils (Salome)

    Orchestra: Berliner Philharmoniker. Conductor: Richard Strauss.
    • DG.
  • Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

    O zittre nicht, mein lieber Sohn (Die Zauberfl枚te)

    Singer: Rita Streich. Orchestra: Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin. Conductor: Ferenc Fricsay.
    • DG.
  • Fr茅d茅ric Chopin

    Barcarolle in F sharp major Op.60

    Performer: Martha Argerich.
    • DG.
  • Arnold Schoenberg

    Verkl盲rte Nacht, Op. 4 v) Adagio

    Orchestra: Berliner Philharmoniker. Conductor: Herbert von Karajan.
    • DG.
  • Aaron Copland

    Symphony No. 3 ii) Allegro molto

    Orchestra: New York Philharmonic. Conductor: Leonard Bernstein.
    • DG.
  • George Frideric Handel

    Music for the Royal Fireworks, HWV351 iv) La R茅jouissance

    Orchestra: The English Concert. Conductor: Trevor Pinnock.
    • DG Archiv.
  • Gustav Mahler

    Symphony No. 2 'Resurrection' v) Finale

    Orchestra: Lucerne Festival Orchestra. Conductor: Claudio Abbado.
    • DG.
  • Johannes Brahms

    5 Songs, Op.72 iii) O k眉hler Wald

    Performer: Malcolm Martineau. Singer: El墨na Garan膷a.
    • DG.
  • Richard Strauss

    Don Quixote, Op. 35: Finale

    Performer: Jacqueline du Pr茅. Orchestra: New Philharmonia Orchestra. Conductor: Adrian Boult.
    • Warner Classics.
  • Jim Parker

    A Londoner in New York: I. Grand Central

    Ensemble: Philip Jones Brass Ensemble. Conductor: Philip Jones.
    • Lollipops.
    • Claves Records.
    • 13.
  • Orazio Benevoli

    Missa Tu es Petrus i) Kyrie

    Ensemble: I Fagiolini. Orchestra: The City Musick. Conductor: Robert Hollingworth.
    • Benevoli: Missa Tu es Petrus.
    • CORO.
    • 2.
  • Johann Sebastian Bach

    Partita No. 1 in B minor, BWV 1002: I. Double

    Performer: Frank Peter Zimmermann.
    • Bach: Sonatas and Partitas, Vol. 2.
    • BIS.
    • 202.
  • Hans G谩l

    Concertino for Cello and String Orchestra, Op. 87 ii) Adagio

    Performer: Nina Karmon. Orchestra: Sinfonietta R墨ga. Conductor: Normunds 艩n膿.
    • Hans G谩l - Concertinos for violin/ cello / piano/string serenade.
    • haenssler CLASSIC.
    • 102.
  • Charles-Valentin Alkan

    Recueil de chants, Op. 65: No. 6, Barcarolle

    Performer: Bruce Liu.
    • WAVES: Music by Rameau, Ravel, Alkan.
    • Deutsche Grammophon (DG).
    • 8.
  • Jean鈥怭hilippe Rameau

    Les sauvages, RCT 6/14

    Performer: Bruce Liu.
    • WAVES: Music by Rameau, Ravel, Alkan.
    • Deutsche Grammophon (DG).
    • 9.
  • Maurice Ravel

    Miroirs, M. 43 - No. 2, Oiseaux tristes

    Performer: Bruce Liu.
    • WAVES: Music by Rameau, Ravel, Alkan.
    • Deutsche Grammophon (DG).
    • 11.
  • Jean鈥怭hilippe Rameau

    Les cyclopes-Rondeau, RCT 3/8

    Performer: Bruce Liu.
    • WAVES: Music by Rameau, Ravel, Alkan.
    • Deutsche Grammophon (DG).
    • 23.

Broadcast

  • Sat 9 Dec 2023 09:00

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