Composer: Anton Bruckner
Performer: Elisabeth Höngen, Nicolai Gedda, Walter Kreppel, Wilma Lipp, Wiener Singverein
Orchestra: NDR Sinfonieorchester, Wiener Philharmoniker, South German Radio Symphony Orchestra
Conductor: Christoph von Dohnányi, Herbert von Karajan, Han Müller-Kray
Number of Discs: 2
Format: FLAC (tracks)
Label: SOMM
Catalogue: ARIADNE 5033-2
Release: 2024
Size: 691 MB
Recovery: +3%
Scan: yes
CD 01
Symphony No. 6 in A Major, WAB 106 (1881 Version, Ed. L. Nowak)
01. I. Maestoso
02. II. Adagio. Sehr feierlich
03. III. Scherzo. Nicht schnell – Trio. Langsam
04. IV. Finale. Bewegt, doch nicht zu schnell
Te Deum, WAB 45
05. I. Te Deum laudamus
06. II. Te ergo quaesumus
07. III. Aeterna fac
08. IV. Salvum fac populum tuum
09. V. In te, Domine, speravi
CD 02
Symphony No. 7 in E Major, WAB 107 (1885 Version, Ed. L. Nowak)
01. I. Allegro moderato
02. II. Adagio. Sehr feierlich und sehr langsam
03. III. Scherzo. Sehr schnell
04. IV. Finale. Bewegt, doch nich schnell
The Somm label’s “Bruckner from the Archives” series, featuring remastered performances from Germany and Austria in the 1950s and ’60s, has attracted audiences beyond historical recording fans and audio restoration specialists; indeed, this fifth volume landed on classical best-seller lists in the late autumn of 2024. There are several reasons for the attraction, but one is that the recordings — many of them originally made at airchecks for broadcasts by German radio orchestras — featured little-known work by important conductors. This virtue is on full display. Bruckner’s Symphony No. 6 in A major, with the NDR Symphony Orchestra, is conducted by Christoph Eschenbach, just 21 years old when the recording was made in late 1961. Even at this precocious age, Eschenbach was onto something new with Bruckner, something less lushly Wagnerian. Sample the Scherzo movement, and also check out the contrast in approach with the Symphony No. 7 in E major, led by the considerably less well known Hans Müller-Kray (who may, of course, be an interesting figure himself for those interested in the period). The other highlight is the performance of the Bruckner Te Deum by Herbert von Karajan, leading the Vienna Philharmonic and Vienna Singverein choir, with a quartet of soloists that includes the superb Nicolai Gedda and the far-from-superb Wilma Lipp. Even in this warm-up for a live radio broadcast of a festival performance, there is absolutely no mistaking Karajan’s imperious style, and the album makes a nice find for Karajan buffs for this reason alone. It also might make a good gift for Eschenbach fans from his tenure in Houston. All in all, an impressive entry in Somm’s series.
SOMM Recordings continues its six-volume Bruckner from the Archives series in celebration of the bicentennial of Anton Bruckner with the penultimate Volume 5, featuring his Sixth and Seventh Symphonies and the Te Deum.
The series owes its unprecedented success to SOMM Executive Producer and Audio Restoration Engineer, Lani Spahr. He conceived and designed the series in collaboration with Professor Ben Korstvedt, author of the authoritative notes, and John F. Berky, Executive Secretary of the Bruckner Society of America and Series Consultant.
Bruckner thought of his Symphony No. 6 in A major (1881) as his boldest, his “sauciest,” symphony. Sadly, it was not published during his lifetime, and he heard only the Adagio and Scherzo performed. When the first full performance was given by Gustav Mahler in 1899 and published that same year, it was with cuts and edits. The original version of Bruckner’s score was not published until 1935, and this version is performed here in a 1961 recording with Christoph von Dohnanyi conducting the North German Radio Symphony Orchestra.
