Anton Bruckner (1824 – 1896)
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Yevgeny Mravinsky, Conductor
Leningrad Philharmonic Orchestra
Leningrad Master Archive Recording from 1980
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ONE-SENTENCE REVIEW:
Boom! A great recording from the Soviet era, this one tees up Mahler nicely
ORIGINAL LINER NOTES by Soviet Archivist (translated by Someone Who Didn’t Know Russian Very Well)
BRUCKNER – SYMPHONY NO. 9 IN D MINOR
Born in St. Petersburg on June 4, 1903 and died in Leningrad on January 20, 1988, Yevgeny Mravinsky is one of the greatst musicians Russia has produced in the last century.
He completed his training at the St. Petersburg Conservatoire. His teachers were Sherbachov, Gauk and Malko until 1931. At the same time, Mravinsky occupied the post of pianist at the ballet school in his home city.
After being appointed conductor at the Kirov Theatre Orchestra, the Russian artist, as a prize in the national competition, was awarded the post of principal conductor of the Leningrad Philharmonic Orchestra in 1938.
Thanks to the hard work and the artistry of Mravinsky, the Symphony Group become one of the best in the world.
His love for the music of his contemporary colleagues prompted him to concentrate his repertoire on composers such as Tchaikovsky and, in particular, Sergei Prokofiev and Dmitri Shostakovich, many of whose works Mravinsky premiered.
This recording gives us the opportunity to listen to Mravsinky interpreting the music of a composer not considered to be one of his specialties: Anton Bruckner.
The composer began writing the first outlines of his Symphony No. 9 in 1887. His death occurred in the October 1896, leaving behind an unfinished work of three magnificent movements.
Bruckner first encountered the music of Wagner in 1863, the year in which he composed his first and unnumbered symphony. Thereafter, days on end of working obsessively, as well as romantic and professional misfortune, led to a deterioration in his health almost to the point of losing his sanity.
All of this suffering is heard in the magnificent music of the Ninth Symphony.
TRACK LISTING:
Anton Bruckner (1824 – 1896) – Symphony No. 9 in D Minor
- Feierlich (misterioso) [23:24]
- Scherzo (bewegt lebhaft) [ 10:04]
- Sehr langsam (feierlich) [26:11]
FINAL THOUGHT:
Regardless of the poor audio on these Leningrad Masters recordings, the performance of the Leningrad Philharmonic and Mravinsky’s conducting shines through – and Brucker definitely goes out with a bang.
Emily Sachs – President – Manka Music Group (A division of Manka Bros. Studios – The World’s Largest Media Company