# Haitink/Concertgebouw - Bruckner, Mahler, Brahms



## Steve Wright (Mar 13, 2015)

Thoughts? I get the impression BH's Bruckner and early Brahms are very good. And his Mahler, well, pretty good too?


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## Orfeo (Nov 14, 2013)

Haitink's Bruckner has been generally very well thought of, not in the heights of Karajan's BPO set (DG), but quite up there. In vision, sweep, architecture, he's between Karajan and Wand/Jochum. He's probably closer to Solti temperamental-wise (some may argue that he's too straight and lacking in individuality, but I am not sure I agree). His Mahler is probably not as well thought of, even though his orchestra plays with the high level of consistency. Bernstein's cycles (CBS/Sony & DG) and Solti's (and Kubelik's) are generally ranked higher and some may even prefer Tennstedt over Haitink. I tend to love Bernstein's DG set, because of how special it is. There's this special sense of occasion I experience every time I listen to it. And I cannot say that often enough in so many sets (of Mahler, Nielsen, Glazunov, Tchaikovsky, etc.) I've heard to date. His Brahms, however, is right up there among the greats.

So with this set, you're in very good hands.


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## Weston (Jul 11, 2008)

I listened to his Brahms last night (Serenade No. 2) and was alarmed at how different it sounds than whatever version I was used to hearing. I may reserve Haitink for works I'm already well familiar with and feel the need for a different interpretation.


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