This symphony is the creation of a giant, and it surpasses all of the master's other symphonies in terms of it's spiritual dimension, it's fearsomeness, and it's grandeur. It's success is almost unprecedented, despite the most ominous warnings of a variety of Cassandras, and that includes several close colleagues. The work was a complete victory of light over darkness, and the storm of enthusiasm which broke out with elemental force when the individual movements had faded away was mighty. In short, it was a triumph that a Roman emperor could not have wished for more beautifully. (Hugo Wolf)

The German star pianist Matthias Kirschnereitdedicates this album entirely to the piano cosmos of Richard Wagner?. Wagner himself wrote few works for solo piano, but he influenced many of his contemporaries and musical heirs with his work?. Matthias Kirschnereit presents a wide range of repertoire - Wagner: Sonata for the album M.W., Lied ohne Worte E major for Eduard Reitz, In das Album der Furstin M., Zurcher Vielliebchen Walzer, Polka, Notenbrief fur Mathilde Wesendonck, Ankunft bei den Schwarzen Schwanen; Wagner/Stradal: Schmerzen; Wagner/Rubinstein: Musikalische Bilder aus Siegfried; Liszt: Am Grabe Richard Wagners; Bizet: Premier Nocturne D Dur; Duparc: Aux etoiles; Langgaard: Stambogsblad; Bulow: Innocence; Bruckner: Erinnerung; Mendelssohn: Lied ohne Worte E Dur op.38/3?

ANTON BRUCKNER (1824-1896) - Symphony No. 7 in E major Arrangement for ensemble by Hanns Eisler, Erwin Stein and Karl Rankl During the coronavirus pandemic, when large symphonic performances were almost impossible due to contact restrictions and social distancing rules, the ensemble wanted to enable people to experience the depth and spirituality of Bruckner's music despite the social distancing and isolation restrictions. While there are normally around 80 musicians on stage when Bruckner's 7th Symphony is performed, the Stuttgart-based Ensemble Balance performs the work with just 11 instrumentalists, the result being that this condensed chamber music remains a unique experience, even without the pandemic! And this is because it is precisely in this concentrated, emotionally condensed form that Bruckner's compositional artistry becomes seductively clear and audible! The in-depth exploration into his work during the rehearsals for this recording in August 2020 had the effect of welding the ensemble together in both an artistic and a personal way, and this intimate connection between each and every musician, combined with the spirit of Bruckner's composition, can be clearly felt and heard in this performance by Ensemble Balance.

SYMPHONIEN

In January 2014, music lovers worldwide were saddened to learn that Claudio Abbado had passed away. This Bruckner's Symphony No. 9 in D minor was recorded as part of Abbado's final concert. A Wall Street Journal review called this performance 'magisterial and moving'. a fitting tribute to an irreplaceable artist, who was one of the greatest conductors and most inspiring musical figures of our time.

Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, Andris Nelsons - Bruckner: Symphonies Nos. 2 & 8 / Wagner: Meistersinger Prelude [Set] - Deutsche Grammophon Andris Nelsons and the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig continue their award-winning Bruckner cycle - this time the Symphonies are coupled with Wagner's Meistersinger Prelude. The Orchestra and the Latvian Maestro recently announced the extension of their acclaimed partnership until 2027.

Following the first in the Bock reads Bruckner series, which has already been released on CD and was dedicated to the composer's self-image and the Upper Austrian period of his life, and the second evening, which has also already been released, which showed the eternal bachelor as a suitor and shed light on his relationship with the 'fair sex', this is now the third recording of a total of five readings with music. Based on letters and diary entries, this time with distributed roles (Wolfgang Bock, Thomas Thieme), it deals with Anton Bruckner's almost unbridled admiration for Richard Wagner, which - of course - was only met by the latter to a limited extent, the encounters between the two composers, who were so fundamentally different, and Bruckner's regular 'pilgrimages' to Bayreuth. Musically, a little-known aspect of Wagner's oeuvre comes into focus: selected songs and piano pieces make it possible to get to know the great music dramatist as a creator of small-scale chamber music works (Daniel Linton-France, piano; Elisabeth Wimmer, soprano).

The present box will be released on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the label SWRmusic. It contains re-releases of important recordings from the SWR archives, starting with 1952 and ending with 2018.

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

Taken from a rapturously received and critically acclaimed performance at The Bridgewater Hall (with The Times' 5* review describing a 'splendid night' and hailing the magnificent sound of the 'blazing Halle) this recording will prove essential for those wishing to hear the work in the intended four movement form. The recording is accompanied by a booklet containing a personal introduction from Kahchun Wong and a note from Dr. John A. Phillips, surveying the material Bruckner left for the Finale and detailing the work done on reconstructing it for performance.

Anton Bruckner is most impressed by the instruments made by Cavaille-Coll.

Recorded live in concert in October, this release marks the Monteverdi Choir's 60th birthday and the 200th anniversary of Bruckner's birth with an album that combines his celebrated a cappella motets with the sacred motets of Carlo Gesualdo (1566 - 1613). Performed in 2024 by the Monteverdi Choir in Ely, Oxford and the Old Royal Naval College in Greenwich under conductor Jonathan Sells, the album brings alive both the tormented passion and the exultant beauty of both composers' music.

Anton Bruckner Symphony No. 9 D minor, WAB 109 Bamberger Symphoniker Herbert Blomstedt There is often an occasion for great concerts, but there are rarely several good reasons for a concert recording of an outstanding musical event. 2024 marked the 200th anniversary of the birth of the Austrian composer Anton Bruckner. For the Swedish conductor Herbert Blomstedt, Bruckner is a genius and the greatest symphonist since Beethoven. No composer is more closely associated with Herbert Blomstedt than Anton Bruckner. And no conductor has dealt with Anton Bruckner more intensively than Herbert Blomstedt. Probably the world's longest-serving conductor, with an eventful career spanning seven decades, Herbert Blomstedt celebrated his 97th birthday on July 11, 2024. Closely associated with him for years: the Bamberg Symphony, which he has conducted in almost 200 concerts in Germany and over 20 concerts abroad. In honor of Anton Bruckner and Herbert Blomstedt, the Bamberg Symphony planned a special gift to their honorary conductor. On July 11, 2024, the day of his 97th birthday, Blomstedt conducted Bruckner's 9th Symphony in the Basilica of St. Florian, a place to which Anton Bruckner held close ties throughout his life. The great symphonist began his musical career as a Florian choirboy and later continued there as organist of St. Florian. Anton Bruckner was repeatedly drawn back to the abbey, where he found his final resting place under the organ. Recorded live at the Basilica of St. Florian Monastery Contains two bonus films: A birthday serenade for Herbert Blomstedt's 97th birthday Herbert Blomstedt on Anton Bruckner