- Franz Welser-Most, Born in Linz, Austria, Conducts Bruckner's Towering Symphony in the Abbey of St. Florian, Bruckner's Resting Place - "On this night, the Cleveland Orchestra, one of the most highly regarded orchestras in the world, interpreted Bruckner's Fifth Symphony in B-flat major in a breathtaking way." - Liechtensteiner Vaterland
"An hour before the concert, the orchestra members had made the pilgrimage to the grave of the monastery's one-time organist [Bruckner], right under the instrument bearing his name. The search for inspiration was apparently successful -- the orchestra played at the top of its form." - Der Standard
"When Franz Welser-Most is good, he is very, very good. And Mr. Welser-Most, who was born in Linz, Austria, is superb in the music of Bruckner, Linz's favorite son." - The New York Times
Rarely in classical music performance do all the elements -- the composer, the musicians, the conductor and the setting -- come together in a more harmonious way than in THE CLEVELAND ORCHESTRA IN PERFORMANCE: BRUCKNER SYMPHONY NO. 5. As one reviewer summed it up: "To listen to this masterpiece in this setting is to stand at the door of heaven."
Under the baton of music director Franz Welser-Most, the Cleveland Orchestra's sold-out performances of Anton Bruckner's Symphony No. 5 were recorded under the magnificent soaring arches of the Abbey of St. Florian in Linz, Austria, during the 2006 Brucknerfest. The critically heralded performance airs Wednesday, June 11, 2008, 9:00-10:30 p.m. ET on PBS.
The Fifth Symphony is a symphonic colossus that occupied Bruckner for almost three years. He composed the work between February 1875 and May 1876, but put it aside before completing his revisions a few years later. Ill at the time of its 1894 premiere, he never heard his Fifth Symphony performed.
The Abbey of St. Florian served as the training ground for Anton Bruckner as a young choirboy, who subsequently served there as chorister, teacher and monastery organist. It is also the composer's final resting place; he's buried directly below the organ he played for so many years.
A native Austrian, Welser-Most, the music director of the Cleveland Orchestra, has a special relationship to Bruckner's music, which he discusses in an interview that is part of THE CLEVELAND ORCHESTRA IN PERFORMANCE: BRUCKNER SYMPHONY NO. 5. Says Welser-Most, speaking near his hometown of Linz, "The Abbey of St. Florian is a magical place for me. The living history is palpable, and the walls seem to absorb what has been heard here over so many years. Bruckner's works often allow the music to fade into silence and long rests, and performing Bruckner's Fifth with its expression of faith, love and hope in a church that is also a quiet place creates a special atmosphere filled with extreme tension."
This PBS special marks the first widely available broadcast of the Cleveland Orchestra's performance of Bruckner's Symphony No. 5 in the United States.
Underwriters: The J.M. Smucker Company and Raiffeisenlandesbank Oberosterreich.
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