The Cleveland Orchestra in Performance Bruckner Symphony No. 5

Under the baton of Music Director Franz Welser-Möst, The Cleveland Orchestra's sold-out performances of Anton Bruckner's Symphony No. 5 were recorded at the Abbey of St. Florian in Austria during the 2006 Brucknerfest. Produced by Clasart and directed by Felix Breisach, the performance was first broadcast on Austrian public television in November 2006 and followed by broadcasts throughout Europe. Thanks to an extensive partnership between The Cleveland Orchestra and WVIZ/PBS ideastream, this PBS broadcast marks the first widely-available broadcast of The Cleveland Orchestra's performance of Bruckner's Symphony No. 5 in the United States.

The Cleveland Orchestra

Long considered one of America's great orchestras, The Cleveland Orchestra stands today among the world's most revered symphonic ensembles. The Orchestra has a long and distinguished recording and broadcast history, with performances broadcast on radio stations throughout North America and Europe. In concerts at home in Severance Hall, at its summer home in Blossom Music Center and on tour, The Cleveland Orchestra continues to set standards of performing excellence and imaginative programming that serve as models for audiences and performers alike.

Anton Bruckner's Symphony No. 5 and the Abbey of St. Florian

Anton Bruckner's 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 for a year before completing his revisions a few years later. Bruckner never heard his Fifth Symphony performed due to his illness at the time of its premiere in 1894.

The Abbey of St. Florian served as the training ground for Bruckner as a young choirboy, who subsequently served there as chorister, teacher and monastery organist. The Abbey is also the composer's final resting place; he is buried directly below the organ he played for so many years. A native Austrian, Franz Welser-Möst has a special relationship to Bruckner's music and the Abbey of St. Florian.

In a special interview featured in the broadcast, Welser-Möst discusses this relationship and reflects on his first five years as Music Director of The Cleveland Orchestra:

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.

Set in this enchanting location, The Cleveland Orchestra in Performance: Bruckner Symphony No. 5 brings viewers a magnificent visual and musical performance by a world-renowned ensemble.

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