A brilliant orchestra and an excellent conductor: When such a pairing is made for a Bruckner symphony, you can expect something special. The Linz master's sweepingly radiant eighth symphony is in the best hands with Hartmut Haenchen and the Royal Danish Orchestra from Copenhagen. With a beautiful sound and a powerful punch, as well as with fast tempos that blow every speck of dust out of the grandiose score, this is a masterful interpretation! Hartmut Haenchen's high intellect and musical integrity have secured his place in the forefront of musical life. Born in Dresden in 1943 he was raised in the post-war German Democratic Republic. Despite the severe restrictions imposed by the former East German regime, Haenchen was granted special permission to work with the West's finest ensembles, including the Berlin Philharmonic and the Concertgebouw Orchestra. "Hartmut Haenchen is undoubtedly one of the great Wagner conductors of our time." (Opernwelt)

Classical Music

Classical Music

Anton Bruckner 200 (1824-2024)

Released to coincide with Bruckner's 200th birthday in 2024, this 18-CD set brings together the entire recorded cycle of Bruckner's symphonies in the Capriccio label's The Complete Versions Edition. Markus Poschner's acclaimed recordings of Bruckner's symphonies feature all of the versions identified as having significant revisions and changes in the authoritative Neue Anton Bruckner Gesamtausgabe (New Anton Bruckner Complete Edition), making this the most comprehensive Bruckner Symphonies cycle available today.

Following their recordings of Bruckner's Symphonies Nos. 7 (ALPHA932, Diapason d'Or) and 8 (ALPHA987, awarded 'best symphonic recording of the year' at the International Classical Music Awards), Paavo Jarvi and the Tonhalle-Orchester Zurich here conclude their tribute to the Austrian composer in this bicentenary year with a recording of his 9th symphony. The orchestra's history has been closely linked to Bruckner since it gave the first Swiss performance of one of his symphonies under Richard Strauss in 1903. "The great classical and romantic tradition of the Tonhalle-Orchester Zurich make it ideally suited to Bruckner, the central composer for modern symphony orchestras," says Paavo Jarvi. Bruckner composed this musical farewell (he wrote the words "a farewell to life" in the score) in his final years; legend has it that he was still working on the symphony on the day he died.

SOMM Recordings is delighted to release Volume 4 in it's "major commemorative series" (ConcertoNet. Com) Bruckner from the Archives. Many of the expertly restored and remastered recordings, like this performance of the Fifth Symphony, are appearing for the first time in any form. Conceived and designed by SOMM Executive Producer and acclaimed Audio Restoration Engineer Lani Spahr with support from the Bruckner Society of America, Bruckner from the Archives celebrates the 200th anniversary of the composer's birth in 1824 with rare archival recordings of the 11 symphonies and selected other important works. These have been sourced by Lani Spahr from the more than 12, 000 Bruckner performances in the Archive of John F. Berky, Executive Secretary of the Bruckner Society of America, who also acts as Consultant for this important series. This fourth instalment offers the first ever release of a live radio broadcast of Bruckner's Symphony No. 5 by the Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra under Christoph von Dohnanyi (1963) and a debut CD release of the String Quintet and it's alternate movement, the Intermezzo, by the Vienna Konzerthaus Quartet joined by violist Ferdinand Stangler (1956). These rare interpretations of Bruckner masterworks offer a new perspective on the music and it's genesis in the context of Bruckner's life and compositional development, accompanied by the very latest in scholarship from Professor Benjamin Korstvedt, President of the Bruckner Society of America and member of the Editorial Board of the New Anton Bruckner Complete Edition. Prof. Korstvedt cites this recording of the Fifth, led by a young Christoph von Dohnanyi then in the early stages of his legendary career, as a fine example of the new, more objective approach to Bruckner performance favoured among the postwar generation. The early days of the LP bring us this recording of the Quintet by the string quartet in residence at the Vienna Konzerthaus, who along with their guest violist were members of the Vienna Philharmonic. The playing - vividly remastered - is a window onto a lost era, with it's portamentos, lyrical intensity, romantic tempos and phrasing epitomising a distinctly Viennese tradition that invests the music with a sincerity of sentiment and a depth of mood that is both rare and striking. Lani Spahr's previous SOMM releases include the lauded four-volume sets Vaughan Williams Live (ARIADNE 5016, 5018-20) and Elgar Remastered (SOMMCD 261-4), as well as two Gramophone Editor's Choice picks: Elgar from America Vol. 3 (ARIADNE 5015-2) for "superb audio restorations [bringing] performances fully to life" and Bruckner from the Archives Vol. 1 (ARIADNE 5025-2) for the "high standards achieved here, where expert audio restoration and remastering is by Lani Spahr". Praise for Volume One and critical interest in the Series: Gramophone Editor's Choice (June 2024) "We look forward to the next editions in the series; to further uplifting recordings and to new light, shed on a composer we thought we knew. "? The Quarterly Review: Endnotes, May 2024 "This is an auspicious launch of what promises to be a Bruckner series of uncommon interest. "? John Quinn, Music Web International

English born conductor F. Charles Adler was a student of Gustav Mahler and a devoted Bruckner enthusiast. Presented here on this 5 CD Music & Arts release are the fabled SPA and Unicorn studio recordings of 1952-56 as well as a live broadcast performance of Anton Bruckner's Symphony No. 6. These works have been expertly restored and re-mastered in 2014 by Aaron Z. Snyder. At least two previously Music & Arts releases devoted to Mr. Adler, one exclusively Mahler, the other given over to both Mahler and Bruckner, have been warmly welcomed back to the catalog, resurrecting the important recordings of an ardent, early supporter of these once controversial, now universally-admired composers.

Classical Music

Classical Music

A 2 CD audiobook, red by French philosopher Pascal Bruckner himself, of his best seller "La crise du mariage d'amour". This audiobook deals with the evolution of the concept of loving in western society since the 1960's.

Fedoseyev/Tchaikovsky Symphony Orchestra/Shestakov.

Classical Music

Classical Music

Import Hybrid-SACD pressing.

Classical Music