Bruckner 8 Gerd Schaller
Album info
Album-Release:
2025
HRA-Release:
04.04.2025
Label: Profil
Genre: Classical
Subgenre: Chamber Music
Artist: Gerd Schaller
Composer: Anton Bruckner (1824-1896)
Album including Album cover
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- Anton Bruckner (1824 - 1896): I. Allegro moderato:
- 1 Bruckner: I. Allegro moderato 15:42
- II. Scherzo. Allegro moderato - Trio. Langsam:
- 2 Bruckner: II. Scherzo. Allegro moderato - Trio. Langsam 14:43
- III. Adagio. Feierlich langsam; doch nicht schleppend:
- 3 Bruckner: III. Adagio. Feierlich langsam; doch nicht schleppend 24:28
- IV. Finale. Feierlich, nicht schnell:
- 4 Bruckner: IV. Finale. Feierlich, nicht schnell 23:53
Info for Bruckner 8
"Since Bruckner was so enthusiastic about the Cavaillé-Coll instruments, what could be more natural than choosing an instrument from the renowned French organ builder for the recording of my organ transcription of Bruckner's Eighth Symphony? The Saint-Ouen organ, which is still in its original condition from 1890 – the same year in which Bruckner completed his Eighth Symphony – seemed to me to be eminently suitable for this purpose." (Gerhard Schaller)
With the monumental Eighth Symphony, Anton Bruckner intended to create the greatest instrumental symphony of all time, placing the highest demands on its performers. It not only became the model for Mahler's symphonies but is also an integral part of the symphonic repertoire.
The creation of Anton Bruckner's Eighth Symphony may have been influenced by his sudden rise in fame, which strengthened the composer's always fragile self-confidence: after the performance of his Seventh Symphony, the famous conductor Hermann Levi had proclaimed him the "greatest symphonist since Beethoven's death." In Munich, Bruckner, often ridiculed in Vienna, was finally taken seriously, his importance recognized, and the Emperor of Austria awarded him the Order of Franz Joseph, which filled Bruckner with particular pride. In the summer of 1884, he set to work. With C minor, he returned to the key of his first two symphonies—a key particularly influenced by Beethoven's Fifth, which practically challenged him to stride "per aspera ad astra," through the night toward the light. He wanted to create the greatest instrumental symphony of all time; Its scope grew gigantic, and the demands on performers and listeners increased enormously. The incomparably bold finale is probably the longest and most daring sonata movement ever composed: "the most significant movement of my life," Bruckner said. Where, towards the end, the main themes of all four movements resound simultaneously, he included a euphoric "Hallelujah!" in his draft.
In August 1887, after three years of work, the symphony was completed, but due to Levi's vigorous objections, it was not initially performed. Bruckner thoroughly revised his work between October 1887 and March 1890; the premiere of the Eighth Symphony in its new version finally took place on December 18, 1892, by the Vienna Philharmonic under the direction of Hans Richter – it was an extraordinary success. Hugo Wolf reported: "It was a complete victory of light over darkness, and the storm of enthusiasm erupted as if with elemental force. In short, it was a triumph no Roman emperor could have wished for."
Gerd Schaller, Cavaille-Coll Organ, Saint Ouen, Rouen
Gerd Schaller
He is acknowledged as one of the most significant contemporary interpreters of the works of Bruckner. He studied conducting and worked at various German opera houses (State Opera Hanover, principal conductor with the State Theatre in Braunschweig, GMD at the theatre in Magdeburg); since 2006, he has been operating freelance, and is frequently invited to serve as guest conductor by famous orchestras both at home and abroad.
In 2008 he founded the Philharmonie Festiva, a symphony orchestra comprising selected musicians from top German orchestras, with whom he has been pursuing his own urbane musical projects ever since.
For many years, the music of Anton Bruckner has been at the very heart of Gerd Schaller's work; the composer’s combination of profound emotionalism and potent complexity has fascinated the conductor since his early youth. That fascination has resulted in Schaller’s large-scale CD album project BRUCKNER2024, which aims to have recorded, by the time of Bruckner’s 200th birthday in 2024, all of the composer’s symphonies in all their versions with his orchestra, the Philharmonie Festiva. The project began with the symphonies – some of them in hitherto unknown versions – that Schaller has already committed to CD with the Philharmonie Festiva for the Profil Günter Hänssler label; a series that has won numerous prizes and awards at home and abroad. One highlight of that first tranche of recordings was undoubtedly Schaller's completion, based on the composer's own sketches, of the final movement of the 9th Symphony, released on CD and published in full score version in 2018
Alongside this Bruckner symphonic cycle Schaller has also recorded a number of Bruckner’s sacred works, such as his Mass in F minor and the 146th Psalm, as well as all of his organ works, played by Schaller himself on a reconstructed and expanded instrument.
In addition to his passion for Bruckner's works, the conductor shows a pronounced delight in discovering new and unknown repertoire, and has been championing the rehabilitation of forgotten works and rare gems such as Carl Goldmark’s opera Merlin, whose modern-day premiere he conducted and whose score he edited for the Ries & Erler music publishing house. Over and above that, Gerd Schaller has truly made his mark in the world of opera specifically with the works of Richard Wagner, Richard Strauss and Giuseppe Verdi. The wide-ranging spectrum of his achievement encompasses works by rarely played composers, and in the course of his career Gerd Schaller has amassed a vast repertoire for the concert stage ranging from the Baroque to the present day.
The conductor is also Artistic Director of the Ebrach Summer Music Festival, founded by him in 1990, which in recent years has received ever more international critical acclaim precisely on account of Schaller’s enlightened Bruckner readings performed in the ideal acoustic atmosphere of Ebrach Abbey.
This album contains no booklet.