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 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…]
This morning’s conductor of Anton Bruckner’s Symphony No. 7 in E Major (WAB 107) is Soviet-born Israeli Yuri Ahronovitch (1932-2002). The orchestra is Gürzenich Orchestra Cologne. I’ve been listening to Bruckner’s symphonies for nearly 100 days (that’s over three months in people years), and this is the first time those names have come up. Also, … [Read more…]
This morning’s conductor of Anton Bruckner’s Symphony No. 6 in A Major (WAB 106) is Dutch conductor Bernard Haitink (1929-). The orchestra is Staatskapelle Dresden. I first encountered Maestro Haitink on Day 5 (Symphony No. 1) of my 144-day project. Then again on Day 21 (Symphony No. 2). And again on Day 37 (Symphony No. … [Read more…]
Before I type a word about my project this morning, I need to express my sorrow at the passing of Greg Lake, the “L” of ELP, and one of the founding members of King Crimson. I interviewed Greg at length via phone in the mid to late 1990s. I met him in London, and then … [Read more…]
This morning’s conductor of Anton Bruckner’s Symphony No. 4 in E Flat Major (WAB 104), titled “Romantic” by Bruckner himself, is German-born Kurt Sanderling (1912-2011), another person about whom I knew nothing and of whom I had never heard until I started this project. This is the second time I’ve listened to Maestro Sanderling. The … [Read more…]
This morning’s conductor of Anton Bruckner’s Symphony No. 3 in D Minor (WAB 103), nicknamed “Wagner,” is German-born Klaus Tennstedt (1926-1998). The orchestra is Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks. “What’s that?” I hear you ask, ever so politely. “T” comes after “C” for Chailly and even long after “G” for Gielen? Yes. I know that. The … [Read more…]
This morning’s conductor of Anton Bruckner’s Symphony No. 1 in C Minor (WAB 101) is Gerd Schaller (1965-), a German conductor highly regarded for recording Bruckner’s works, especially Bruckner’s rarer, less recorded compositions. The orchestra is Philharmonie Festiva, which is also of high distinction, according to its entry on Wikipedia: The international fame of the … [Read more…]