Elemental, metaphysical, primordial - these are some of the terms used to
describe Bruckner's nine symphonies and which fully apply to his Fourth
Symphony, the "Romantic." Though Bruckner provided programmatic
explanations to the music, one seeks in vain the "medieval city" and
"leaping steeds" in this work, which disregards conventions and
expectations. Monolithic blocks of sound derived from the simple horn
melody of the opening measures, sweeping themes that hypnotically revolve
around themselves, long build-ups that suddenly break off when a climax
is imminent - the Fourth is a milestone in Bruckner's symphonic oeuvre.
Bruckner originally wrote the Fourth Symphony in 1874, but revised it
thoroughly in 1880 before its premiere in Vienna in 1881, which was a
resounding success. Although he continued to revise it in later years,
the version most often played today is the first revised version of 1880.
This is also the version featured on this recording of a concert held at
the Festspielhaus Baden-Baden, which was greeted with storms of applause.
Leading the Münchner Philharmoniker in this concert is its principal
conductor Christian Thielemann, a maestro internationally known and
admired above all as a specialist of Romantic music. Having mastered the
repertoire of Wagner and Strauss operas during his tenure as General
Music Director of the Deutsche Oper Berlin, Thielemann became a
sought-after interpreter of German opera. He debuted at the Bayreuth
Festival in 2000 and has been conducting there regularly ever since. Also
available from UNITEL CLASSICA is Bruckner's Seventh Symphony and
excerpts from Pfitzner's Palestrina, which Thielemann performed with the
Münchner Philharmoniker, also in Baden-Baden. Thielemann also led the
Münchner Philharmoniker and the Regensburger Domspatzen in the first
concert given in honor of Pope Benedict XVI in Vatican City in October
2005, which was also recorded by UNITEL CLASSICA.
