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…]
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. 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…]