Bruckner: Symphony No. 8 in C Minor, WAB 108 Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks & Mariss Jansons

• Anton Bruckner (1824-1896): Symphony No. 8 in C Minor, WAB 108 (Ed. L. Nowak 1890):
• 1 I. Allegro moderato 16:38
• 2 II. Scherzo. Allegro moderato 15:24
• 3 III. Adagio 24:50
• 4 IV. Finale. Feierlich, nicht schnell 23:16
• Total Runtime 01:20:08

Info for Bruckner: Symphony No. 8 in C Minor, WAB 108

The genesis of Anton Bruckner's Eighth Symphony was probably affected by a bout of sudden fame that boosted the composer’s constantly shaky self-confidence. After the performance of Bruckner’s Seventh, the famous conductor Hermann Levi had hailed him as "the greatest symphonist since the death of Beethoven". Frequently ridiculed in Vienna, Bruckner had finally been taken seriously in Munich: his importance had been recognized, and the Austrian emperor had awarded him the Order of Franz Joseph – something that filled Bruckner with very special pride. In the summer of 1884 he set to work on a new symphony, and in August 1887, after three years of work, the symphony was completed. Because of energetic objections from Levi, however, it was not immediately performed. Bruckner revised his work thoroughly between October 1887 and March 1890, and the premiere of the Eighth Symphony in its new version finally took place on December 18, 1892, performed by the Vienna Philharmonic under Hans Richter. It was an extraordinary success. Hugo Wolf described the concert as follows: "It was an absolute victory of light over darkness, and the storm of delighted applause was like some elemental manifestation of nature. In short, it was a triumph as complete as any Roman emperor could have wished for."

Since then, Bruckner's Eighth Symphony has been an integral part of the symphonic repertoire, yet it still continues to present a huge challenge to performers. Mariss Jansons and the musicians of the Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks are however more than equal to the extraordinary demands made by this masterpiece. The recording of the Munich concert event of November 2017 has now been released by BR-KLASSIK: it is an exemplary performance of one of the most important compositions of the Late Romantic symphonic repertoire, in its version of 1890.

Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks
Mariss Jansons, conductor

Mariss Jansons
son of conductor Arvıds Jansons, was born in Riga in 1943. He studied violin, piano, and conducting at the Leningrad Conservatory, completing his education as a student of Hans Swarowsky in Vienna and of Herbert von Karajan in Salzburg. In 1971 he became a laureate of the Karajan Competition in Berlin and began his close partnership with the St. Petersburg Philharmonic, first as an assistant to Yevgeny Mravinsky and then as a permanent conductor. From 1979 to 2000 Jansons served as Music Director of the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra. Under his tenure, the orchestra earned international acclaim and undertook tours to leading concert halls around the world. Between 1997 and 2004 he was Principal Conductor of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, and in the 2003–2004 season he took over leadership of the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, where he is extending his contract until 202; he began his tenure as head of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra in the 2004–2005 season, and ended it in 2015. Jansons is guest conductor of the Berlin and Vienna Philharmonic Orchestras (in Vienna in 2016 he will be conducting the New Year’s concerts for a third time); he has additionally conducted the leading orchestras in the U.S. and Europe. His discography comprises many prizewinning recordings, including a Grammy for his account of Shostakovich’s 13th Symphony. Mariss Jansons is an honorary member of the Society of Friends of Music in Vienna and of the Royal Academy of Music in London; the Berlin Philharmonic has honoured him with the Hans-von-Bülow Medal, the City of Vienna with the Golden Medal of Honour, and the State of Austria with the Honorary Cross for Science and Arts. In 2006 Cannes MIDEM named him Artist of the Year, and he received the ECHO Klassik Award in 2007 and 2008. In June 2013, for his life’s work as a conductor, he was awarded the prestigious Ernst von Siemens Music Prize, and on 4 October 2013, he was awarded the Federal Cross of Merit 1st Class by German Federal President Joachim Gauck in Berlin. In France in 2015, the Ministry of Culture named Mariss Jansons “Commandeur des Arts et des Lettres“.

Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks
Not long after it was established in 1949, the Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks (Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra) developed into an internationally renowned orchestra. The performance of new music enjoys an especially long tradition, and right from the be- ginning, appearances in the musica viva series, created by composer Karl Amadeus Hartmann in 1945, have ranked among the orchestra’s core activities. On extensive concert tours to virtually every country in Europe, to Asia as well as to North and South America, the Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks continually con rms its position in the first rank of top international orchestras. The history of the Symphonieorchester is closely linked with the names of its previous Chief Conductors: Eugen Jochum (1949–1960), Rafael Kubelík (1961– 1979), Sir Colin Davis (1983– 1992) and Lorin Maazel (1993–2002). In 2003, Mariss Jansons assumed his post as new Chief Conductor. With a number of CD releases, among others a series of live recordings of concerts in Munich, Mariss Jansons continues the orchestra’s extensive discography. Maestro Jansons, the Chor and Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks were honoured for their recording of the 13th Symphony of Shostakovich when they were awarded a Grammy in February of 2006 in the “Best Orchestral Performance” category. In December, 2008, a survey conducted by the British music magazine Gramophone listed the Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks among the ten best orchestras in the world. In 2010, Mariss Jansons and the Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks received an ECHO Klassik Award in the category “Orchestra/Ensemble of the Year” for their recording of Bruckner’s 7th Symphony on BR-KLASSIK. The complete Beethoven symphonies, performed by the Symphonieorchester under Mariss Jansons in Tokyo in the autumn of 2012, were voted by the Music Pen Club Japan – the organisation of Japanese music journalists – as the best concerts by foreign artists in Japan in 2012.

Booklet for Bruckner: Symphony No. 8 in C Minor, WAB 108