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Comment by Contrapunctus - January 7, 2026 (1 of 2)

This brand‑new 2025 recording of Bruckner’s rarely performed original 1887 version of his Eighth Symphony fascinates me. The sound quality is excellent, and every detail of the extensive score comes through clearly. But in my view, the greatest strength of this recording lies in Jonathan Nott’s ability—thanks to his rather measured choice of tempos—to shape this first version, which can seem awkward or unbalanced in other interpretations, in such a way that the interesting and appealing passages (later either cut or lightly recomposed) emerge with captivating beauty. At the same time, he never loses sight of the large-scale dramatic arcs. In this context, I find his shaping of the Adagio climax particularly impressive.

There are more than just two versions of the Eighth Symphony, because there are also several editions—for example, the notorious Haas edition, which (inconsistently) adopted some of the “beautiful” passages from the Adagio and the Finale. In my view, incorporating certain passages from the first version into the final version is not only inconsistent but also questionable from a compositional standpoint, since Bruckner did not simply shorten the 1887 first version; he completely recomposed the entire symphony. One can easily see that these are, in fact, slightly different works from the very beginning by looking at the scores—but also hear it, once one has gained enough listening experience with the different versions.