Andris Nelsons conducts Mahler

Mahler’s unusually extended five-movement Symphony No. 7 is one of his most ambiguous and enigmatic and is therefore considered by many performers to be the most difficult. This recording is part of a Mahler cycle that Andris Nelsons, “one of the most celebrated conductors of our time” (Salzburger Nachrichten), and the Wiener Philharmoniker, the orchestra that Gustav Mahler himself conducted many times, have already been working on for a few years now and that will be continued for the next few years. Under Nelsons’ direction, the orchestra “performed magic in the Golden Hall. […] Magnificent strings, fabulous winds, accomplished melodic dialogues were heard in all five movements of the symphony. […] Rarely has one heard this work so finely chiselled, so dynamically balanced. An event.” (Kurier)

Wiener Philharmoniker & Welser-Möst: Mahler 9

An event – and not only for the listeners, but also for the orchestra as Philharmonic board member Daniel Froschauer emphasizes “This is an incredible work – really written for us. Mahler really pushes the limits in this piece!” Gustav Mahler and the Wiener Philharmoniker have indeed a very special relationship. Not only did the great composer, who was conductor and head of the Vienna State Opera, conduct the Wiener Philharmoniker regularly and – from 1898 to 1901 – even the famed Subscription Concert Series. The orchestra also premiered Mahler’s 9th Symphony in June 1912 – one year after the composer’s death. Bruno Walter conducted the world premiere, for this concert it is Austrian conductor Franz Welser-Möst, someone whom knows the orchestra better than most other conductors.

Salzburg Festival 2021: Intolleranza 1960

Luigi Nono caused a riot at the premiere of his “scenic action” Intolleranza in 1961. The opulent work that collages singing, orchestra, film projections, dance and light has lost none of its actuality, neither in its form nor in its content: the odyssey of a nameless emigrant who is persecuted and tortured ends fatally in the floods of the river that separates him from his homeland. Jan Lauwers’ production in the impressive Felsenreitschule reflects his intense study of the meaning of political art. For Nono expert, conductor Ingo Metzmacher, Nono’s work and legacy are like a guideline that he still follows today. The performers and dancers of the NEEDCOMPANY, the BODHI PROJECT und SEAD – Salzburg Experimental Academy of Dance create images of oppressive intensity in teeming tableaux. “The cast is superb, from Sean Panikkar’s eloquent, impassioned immigrant to Musa Ngqungwana’s harrowing torture victim.” Financial Times

Salzburg Festival 2021: Bruckner Symphony No. 7 (Chamber Version)

The first performance of Bruckner’s Seventh Symphony in Leipzig 1884 was one of the few unalloyed triumphs of his career. Eisler, Stein and Rankl, all three involved in making the arrangement, were all Schönberg pupils. Their chamber version allows us to hear Bruckner’s ideas with an extraordinary refreshing clarity – a most sympathetic and touching tribute to Bruckner by three of Vienna’s most progressive musical modernists in the 1920s. “A summit victory without heavy baggage. Monumental orchestral work in fabulous chamber sound: Renaud Capuçon and friends thrilled with Bruckner’s 7th Symphony… More intensity is hardly possible.” (Salzburger Nachrichten). PROGRAM: Bruckner: Symphony No. 7 (Chamber Version), arranged by Hanns Eisler, Erwin Stein, Karl Rankl

Thielemann conducts Bruckner No. 3

For the very first time in the orchestra’s history, the Wiener Philharmoniker have engaged themselves to a complete Bruckner Cycle and chose the renowned Bruckner expert Christian Thielemann as conductor. The first recordings met with great enthusiasm and approval. “Only the highest musical perfection sounds like this” (Kurier). Bruckner’s program is greatness, pathos, sublimity. “With their warm string and beautiful brass sound, the Wiener Philharmoniker are ideal partners for him” (BR Klassik). The large-scale Bruckner Cycle extends to the composer’s 200th birthday in 2024. The Wiener Philharmoniker, who premiered four of the nine Bruckner Symphonies, are more familiar with this music than any other orchestra.

Thielemann conducts Bruckner No. 5

To mark Anton Bruckner’s bicentenary in 2024, Christian Thielemann, the Wiener Philharmoniker and Unitel are recording the first Bruckner cycle with a single conductor in the orchestra’s history. Under Christian Thielemann’s baton the sound is resonant and glowing, the buildup of tension and release perceptively handled and each solo is impeccably played by some of the world’s best musicians. “The interpretation of the Fifth may also be considered a milestone. The way the musicians realized this work was simply magnificent.” Kurier

Thielemann conducts Bruckner No. 8

For the very first time in its history, the Wiener Philharmoniker are performing a complete Bruckner cycle with worlwide renowned Bruckner expert Christian Thielemann at the podium. The eighth symphony are part of this large-scale Bruckner Cycle, which extends to the composer‘s 200th birthday in 2024, performed at Vienna’s beautiful Musikverein. The orchestra, which premiered four of the nine Bruckner symphonies, is more familiar with this music than any other ensemble. Bruckner’s powerful and sonically grandiose symphonies never cease to amaze. The reactions to the concert of Bruckner’s Symphony No. 8 were no less enthusiastic:”It couldn’t be better and more ravishing” (Kurier).

Silent Night – A song for the world

Silent Night – A Song for the World is a documentary about the creation and success of the world’s most famous Christmas Carol – a song composed in 1818 in Salzburg, which has been translated into 140 languages, which stopped World War I at Christmas, which should become the third best selling single by Bing Crosby. In short: A song for the world! The film tells the story of the creation of the Christmas Carol and features world stars like Rolando Villazón, Kelly Clarkson, Joss Stone and David Foster, who share their personal Christmas experiences in their home towns and perform Silent Night in various languages.

Salzburg Easter Festival: Cavalleria rusticana

“Opera as Great Romantic Cinema”, wrote the Salzburger Nachrichten about the two one-act operas Cavalleria rusticana and Pagliacci, which proved real crowd-pullers and ensured record attendances at the Salzburg Easter Festival. No wonder, for “Jonas Kaufmann, for whom it was in both cases his role debut, was on stellar form twice” (Daily Telegraph). “Kaufmann sings both parts so lyrically, with such italianità, mellow with impeccable highs, as to be a pure delight.” (Kurier) Equally impressive are Thielemann – “the uber-conductor” (Telegraph) – and the Dresdeners, who “take time for sensitive, melodious soul portraits, while delivering consummate drama at just the right moment. What we hear from the pit is sensational in its nuances.” (Kurier) The scene is set by film and opera director Philipp Stölzl, contributing to the performance’s huge fascination: Stölzl divides the stage into several levels, staging crowd scenes below, private feelings above – the latter projected with filmic close-ups – doubling and trebling the action. Productions like this, insists Kurier, “simply must be described as worldclass”. “Thrilling” concludes the Telegraph.