Herbert von Karajan, Wiener Philharmoniker – Bruckner: Symphony No. 8 (1988/2018) [SACD / Esoteric Company – ESSG-90181]

Title: Herbert von Karajan, Wiener Philharmoniker – Bruckner: Symphony No. 8 (1988/2018)
Genre: Classical
Format: SACD ISO + Hi-Res FLAC

A wonderful reading it is, as authoritative as its predecessors and every bit as well played but somehow more profound, more humane, more lovable if that is a permissible attribute of an interpretation of this Everest among symphonies. […] It is the sense of the music being in the hearts and minds and collective unconscious of Karajan and every one of the hundred and more players that gives this performance its particular charisma and appeal. Richard Osborne, Gramophone, October 1989

Recorded the year before he died, this might stand as a spiritual testament to Karajan’s relationship with this work. ~ Record Review / James Jolly, Gramophone (London) / 01. December 2005 Herbert von Karajan identified with the 8th perhaps more intensely than with any other score in the repertory; it is significant that in February 1989, in what proved to be his last performances outside of Austria, he brought it to New York with the VPO & made it the centrepiece of a 3-concert engagement. The air of finality was heavy at those concerts, & Karajan, determined to go out as a conqueror, did just that. This 1988 recording comes very close to recapturing the experience of that live performance. Karajan’s careful pacing gives the 8th time to unfurl, allowing the mystery & tenderness of Bruckner’s vision to radiate from some place deep within the paroxysmal intensity of the symphony’s argument. The cumulative effect is shattering. Throughout, the Viennese play beyond their limits, as if their lives depended on it. The recorded sound is vivid & of very wide dynamic range. . . . a wonderful reading it is, as authoritative as its predecessors & every bit as well played but somehow more profound, more humane, more lovable . . . at its best, the recording surges with an almost animal impulse that recreates the pull of a live performance & puts most recordings – by anyone, including Karajan himself in the shade. ~ Richard Osborne, Peter Quantrill, Christian Hoskins, Gramophone, March 2016 . . . this 1988 Karajan account holds a special place . . . it was in the 8th Symphony that, for me, Karajan achieved the greatest recording of his last decade . . . Whether one comes to this performance as a doubter or believer, an impalpable ‘something’ runs through it that no other modern recording has. ~ Huntley Dent, Fanfare, August 2016

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Tracklist:

1. Allegro moderato [Symphony No.8 in C minor]
2. Scherzo. Allegro moderato – Trio. Langsam [Symphony No.8 in C minor]
3. Adagio. Feierlich langsam, doch nicht schleppend [Symphony No.8 in C minor]
4. Finale. Feierlich, nicht schnell [Symphony No.8 in C minor]

Personnel:

Wiener Philharmoniker
Conducted by Herbert von Karajan
The reissue of classical music masterpieces by ESOTERIC has attracted a lot of attention, both for its uncompromising commitment to recreating the original master sound, and for using hybrid Super Audio CD (SACD) technology to improve sound quality. This series marks the first hybrid SACD release of historical recording selections that have been mainstays of the catalog since their initial release.
These new audio versions feature ESOTERIC’s proprietary re-mastering process to achieve the highest level of sound quality.

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