Day 144: Symphony No. 9 in D Minor (Wand)

I made it! Today is the last day of my 144-day journey of discovery of the conductors who and symphonies that interpreted Anton Bruckner’s nine major symphonies. It’s also the last time I will set foot in a Panera restaurant. Yesterday, I had to leave one Panera because their Internet kept slowing down to a … [Read more…]

Day 139: Symphony No. 9 in D Minor (Paternostro)

This morning’s conductor of Anton Bruckner’s unfinished Symphony No. 9 in D Minor WAB 109 (dedicated “to the beloved God”) is Vienna-born Roberto Paternostro (1957?-). I first heard the mysterious Mr. Paternostro (the box set contains zero information about him…and there’s scant info about him online) on Day 11, when he interpreted Symphony No. 1. … [Read more…]

Day 138: Symphony No. 9 in D Minor (Masur)

This morning’s conductor of Anton Bruckner’s unfinished Symphony No. 9 in D Minor WAB 109 (dedicated “to the beloved God”) is Kurt Masur (1927-2015), another person about whom I knew nothing and of whom I had never heard until I started this project. Maestro Masur was born in Germany and died in December, 2015, at … [Read more…]

Day 131: Symphony No. 9 in D Minor (Wand)

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…]

Day 128: Symphony No. 8 in C Minor (Wand)

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…]

Day 123: Symphony No. 8 in C Minor (Paternostro)

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 Vienna-born Roberto Paternostro (1957?-). I first heard the mysterious Mr. Paternostro (the box set contains zero information about him…and there’s scant info about him online) on Day 11, when he interpreted Symphony … [Read more…]

Day 122: Symphony No. 8 in C Minor (Masur)

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 Kurt Masur (1927-2015), another person about whom I knew nothing and of whom I had never heard until I started this project. Maestro Masur was born in Germany and died in December, … [Read more…]

Day 115: Symphony No. 8 in C Minor (Thielemann)

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 German-born Christian Thielemann (1959-). The orchestra is the Staatskapelle Dresden. I had never heard of Christian Thielemann before this morning. And, if you’re astute, you’ll notice the “T” of Thielemann doesn’t alphabetically … [Read more…]

Day 112: Symphony No. 7 in E Major (Wand)

The last day of listening to Bruckner’s Seventh! Tomorrow starts a new chapter… …and the countdown to me seeing Daniel Barenboim at Carnegie Hall next weekend. But, for now, this morning’s conductor of Anton Bruckner’s Symphony No. 7 in E Major (WAB 107) is German-born Gunter Wand (1912-2002). The orchestra is Kolner Rundfunk-Sinfonie-Orchester. Back when … [Read more…]

Day 107: Symphony No. 7 in E Major (Paternostro)

This morning’s conductor of Anton Bruckner’s Symphony No. 7 in E Major (WAB 107) is Vienna-born Roberto Paternostro (1957?-), another person about whom I knew nothing and of whom I had never heard until I started this project. I first encountered the mysterious Mr. Paternostro (the box set contains zero information about him…an there’s scant … [Read more…]