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Romy the Cat wrote:

I keep bugging Yoshi, he is in Japan now, to bring me a set of 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9 by Takashi Asahina with Tokyo SO from 90s it should be very interesting… The damn Japanese have quite a price tag on the Asahina’s Buckner… :-(

In fact I more inclined to say that I do not like Asahina or if I would be forced to say that I dod like him then I would put his somewhere way behind Klemperer and Horenstein. Asahina Takashi sometimes dives in some strange semi-dancing attitude, where he is tying to make sound unnecessary melodious and cultured. It would be fine where it is necessary but when it is not necessary in the music then Asahina’s desire for “smooth esthetism” sounds very ridicules and inappropriate.

Then Asahina’s orchestras have a very strange dramatic expressionism, both Tokyo Metropolitan with 7th and NHK symphony with 8th and 9th. The German/Austrian orchestras play just dramatically. British orchestras put in front of the orchestra brasses, making them to scream about drama.  The Americans orchestras shatter up instruments making you feel a regretful drama. Russians orchestra burn up instrument on the stage and then you feel the dramaturgical compassion while you see musicians cover own heads with warm ash. The Asahina’s orchestras are different. Their drama is the class of it’s own. The Asahina’s drama is 20 oversized, LCD-injected angels, with attached propellers are flying over your head and scramming “drama, drama!”. The Asahina’s is trying to be dramatic but it sounds more funny then dramatic. I would not mention also that the Asahina’s orchestras do not play long phrases as they do not remember how they started the phrases….

The Asahina’s sound is more or less disciplined and does not sound accidentals. However, it is not correct Bruckner sound and many phrases are very poorly articulated/expressed, not to mention some clear mistakes. Perhaps I need to get Asahina’s performances from 70s but the recordings that I got (live 2001) are incredibly boring (though I admit that I have heard much worst). The orchestra does not take own time to CELEBRATE THE EVENT but they are juts crashing through the notes… very said to hear….

The applauses in the end of the performances are enthusiastic, however,…

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