Bruckner: Symphony No. 8

In addition to his preference for the music of Czech composers and the works of the 20th century, Rafael Kubelík also championed the traditional German Romantic repertoire during his tenure as chief conductor of the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra from 1961 to 1979, a repertoire with which the orchestra had already made an international name for itself since its founding years under Eugen Jochum. In May 1977, Kubelik conducted Bruckner's Symphony No. 8 in Munich's Herkulessaal, and a recording of this concert is now finally available on CD. Bruckner's Seventh had been a resounding success, and filled with euphoria and self-confidence, he composed his most extensive symphony, the Eighth, immediately afterward. To his great dismay, however, the verdict of the highly esteemed Hermann Levi was anything but positive, and he revised the work immediately thereafter. This second version has largely prevailed in concert performance.