This morning’s conductor of Anton Bruckner’s unfinished Symphony No. 9 in D Minor WAB 109 (dedicated “to the beloved God”) is Austrian Herbert von Karajan (1908-1989), one of the most highly respected conductors – and interpreters of Anton Bruckner’s music – who ever lived. (By the way, the CD sleeve, left, reads “9” by coincidence, … [Read more…]
This morning’s conductor of Anton Bruckner’s unfinished Symphony No. 9 in D Minor WAB 109 (dedicated “to the beloved God”) is German-born Eugen Jochum (1902-1987), without question one of the most highly respected interpreters of Anton Bruckner’s music who ever lived. I own two CD box sets with performances conducted by Jochum – this one, … [Read more…]
This morning’s conductor of Anton Bruckner’s unfinished Symphony No. 9 in D Minor WAB 109 (dedicated “to the beloved God”) is German-born Eugen Jochum (1902-1987), unarguably one of the most highly respected interpreters of Anton Bruckner’s music who ever lived. His orchestra for this performance is the Berliner Philharmoniker I have two CD box sets … [Read more…]
My “office” this morning. It’s another cold and cloudy day in Grand Rapids. Our local weather reporter tells us it’s cloudier in Grand Rapids than it is in Seattle. Or, to put it another way, we sometimes go three weeks without seeing the sun. No wander we’re all pallid and depressed. Nothing that a little … [Read more…]
My “office” this morning. Thanks to discussions today in the Anton Bruckner group on Facebook, I’ve changed my mind again about what I’m calling “Phase Two” of my Bruckner project. A Bruckner group member named Michael mentioned the late conductor Sergiu Celibdache and pointed out that even though Celibdache’s EMI box set was out of … [Read more…]
This morning’s conductor of Anton Bruckner’s unfinished Symphony No. 9 in D Minor WAB 109 (dedicated “to the beloved God”) is German-born Gunter Wand (1912-2002). The orchestra is new to me, even though I’ve heard a lot of Wand and a lot of symphonies in the past 130 days: Radio-Sinfonieorchester Stuttgart des SWR. Back when … [Read more…]
This morning’s conductor of Anton Bruckner’s unfinished Symphony No. 9 in D Minor WAB 109 (dedicated “to the beloved God”) is Italian Riccardo Chailly (1953-). The orchestra is the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra. I first heard Maestro Chailly on October 4th, Day 2, Symphony No. 1. Then again on Day 18, Symphony No. 2. Then again … [Read more…]
This morning begins the final leg of my 144-day exploration of the nine major symphonies Bruckner wrote. However, on Day 145 I will do something I didn’t originally plan to do – go back to Symphony No. 1, with seven more conductors from seven additional CD box sets that I had omitted (intentionally or inadvertently) … [Read more…]
This is the last day of listening to Bruckner’s Eighth! Tomorrow starts a new chapter – Bruckner’s Symphony No. 9 in D Minor, which (as Nigel Tufnel tells us) is “the saddest of all keys.” Actually, this time Nigel may be right since Anton Bruckner died before he could finish his Ninth. This morning’s conductor … [Read more…]
This morning’s conductor of Anton Bruckner’s Symphony No. 8 in C Minor (WAB 108), nicknamed “The Apocalyptic,” although I don’t know why, is Georg Tintner (1917-1999), the Austrian-born composer/conductor with whom I was already familiar prior to starting my 144-day exploration of Bruckner’s music. Tinter’s orchestra this time is the The National Symphony of Ireland. … [Read more…]