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The reviewers I most often trust in Bruckner (or at least I’ve read enough of their reviews to understand their biases) have, across the board, panned Ballot. I mostly agree with this issue. He’s been slowly recording a cycle it appears with a youth orchestra (highly regarded) and this pick-up group (less highly regarded). Some critics have gone after the engineering too, with which I disagree. The sound here seems truthful for being in a huge church. It certainly beats the pants off of the bone dry wretchedness Skrowaczewski got in London (esp compared to the gorgeous sound he enjoyed in Saarbrucken).
I picked the Skrow/London Phil as comparison on purpose. I love his performances of the 5th in Germany and Japan, but let’s face it, the London Phil is no Bruckner orchestra (competent are best, but ugh, having heard their recorded output over the years, never I would go there, and when they have recorded Bruckner, they just convince me further), and Skrow was not on top of his game that night. But despite all that, and some wretched ensemble and intonation issues (especially in the violins), and a plodding tempo, Skrow’s coda of the finale, one of the most thrilling pieces of music penned, is preferable to Ballot’s total non-happening. The finale makes it or breaks it for me. If you blow it, I could care less if you had just performed the most transcendent Adagio. I had zero reaction to Ballot’s finale. Not even one of being under-whelmed,or even angry! Ballot is also burdened by an orchestra that can’t sonically fill the space (not many could!), so there’s little sonic impact. And frankly, they’re just “ok” to listen to. There are too many very fine orchestras in that part of the world to be just ok
With so many very good B5’s out there and some great ones, this is at best a souvenir of an event that could have been more exciting to have been there. Any Jochum B5 is better (especially his last, in 1986, on tahra or Altus), his brother Georg Ludwig made an amazing recording (mono), as did Andreae (mono). I’m no disciple of Celibidache, but his 5 in Munich originally on EMI I find fine. Dohnanyi in Cleveland is also surprisingly wonderful (and makes Ballot’s orchestra sound like high school freshman), and von Karajan must be honored. Of course, the Skrowaczewski recordings, excepting the London one, are great. Finally, the granddaddy recommendation, Furtwangler (I like the Pristine Classical remastering quite a bit) should be mentioned-not my favorite (the gear changing makes me motion sick), but I understand why it’s so well liked. I even like Thielemann’s, and I don’t usually respond to his conducting. All will better occupy your time.
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