Various Artists – Bruckner: From the Archives, Vol. 2 (Remastered 2024) (2024) [Official Digital Download 24bit/44,1kHz]

Various Artists – Bruckner: From the Archives, Vol. 2 (Remastered 2024) (2024)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/44,1 kHz | Time – 02:09:35 minutes | 623 MB | Genre: Classical
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © SOMM Recordings

SOMM Recordings announces the second instalment in Bruckner from the Archives, “a major commemorative series” (ConcertoNet.com) in six double-CD volumes celebrating the 200th anniversary of Anton Bruckner’s birth in 1824.

Volume 2 offers live radio broadcasts of Bruckner’s Symphony No.2 by the Cologne Radio Symphony Orchestra (today’s WDR S.O. Cologne) under Georg Ludwig Jochum (1962) and his unnumbered Symphony in D minor “Die Nullte” by the Concertgebouw Orchestra of Amsterdam under Eduard van Beinum (1955). Joining these is the first recording in the long-play era of the Mass No.2 in E minor, made by the Berlin Philharmonic under Karl Forster with the Choir of St Hedwig’sCathedral (1956).

This is the first commercial release of the compelling performance of the Second Symphony, but all three of these works are presented here for the very first time in Lani Spahr’s expert new restoration and remastering.

The recordings are accompanied, as ever, by authoritative notes on the works’ genesis in the context of Bruckner’s life and compositional development, written by Professor Benjamin Korstvedt, President of the Bruckner Society of America and member of the Editorial Board of the New Anton Bruckner Complete Edition.

In his notes Prof. Korstvedt enthusiastically assesses the live broadcasts, noting the first release from Cologne is “undoubtedly a very good performance … which responds vividly to the contrasting moods of the music and presents the Second as a symphony of emotional depth, brilliant imagination, and sonic grandeur.” The “Nullte” from Amsterdam “conveys Van Beinum’s typical style. The tempos are generally brisk and his approach refreshingly direct, at times unabashed in its ardour, keenly alive to the vigour of the music.” The late Bruckner discographer Dr Hans Roelofs said of the Forster Mass: “The interpretation exudes power and solidity … a radiant choir, good balance with the orchestra and rather brisk tempos make the recording a real experience.”

Tracklist:
1-1. Berliner Philharmoniker – Mass No. 2 in E Minor, WAB 27: I. Kyrie (Remastered 2024) (06:12)
1-2. Berliner Philharmoniker – Mass No. 2 in E Minor, WAB 27: II. Gloria (Remastered 2024) (06:11)
1-3. Berliner Philharmoniker – Mass No. 2 in E Minor, WAB 27: III. Credo (Remastered 2024) (08:40)
1-4. Berliner Philharmoniker – Mass No. 2 in E Minor, WAB 27: IV. Sanctus (Remastered 2024) (02:16)
1-5. Berliner Philharmoniker – Mass No. 2 in E Minor, WAB 27: V. Benedictus (Remastered 2024) (04:50)
1-6. Berliner Philharmoniker – Mass No. 2 in E Minor, WAB 27: VI. Agnus Dei (Remastered 2024) (03:56)
1-7. Eduard van Beinum – Symphony in D Minor, WAB 100 “Nullte” (1924 Version, Ed. J. von Wöss): I. Allegro [Remastered 2024] (Live) (12:59)
1-8. Eduard van Beinum – Symphony in D Minor, WAB 100 “Nullte” (1924 Version, Ed. J. von Wöss): II. Andante [Remastered 2024] (Live) (11:31)
1-9. Eduard van Beinum – Symphony in D Minor, WAB 100 “Nullte” (1924 Version, Ed. J. von Wöss): III. Scherzo. Presto – Trio. Langsamer und ruhiger [Remastered 2024] (Live) (05:40)
1-10. Eduard van Beinum – Symphony in D Minor, WAB 100 “Nullte” (1924 Version, Ed. J. von Wöss): IV. Moderato – Allegro vivace [Remastered 2024] (Live) (11:23)
2-1. Cologne Radio Symphony Orchestra – Symphony No. 2 in C Minor, WAB 102 (Ed. Haas): I. Moderato [Remastered 2024] (Live) (15:43)
2-2. Cologne Radio Symphony Orchestra – Symphony No. 2 in C Minor, WAB 102 (Ed. Haas): II. Andante [Remastered 2024] (Live) (15:31)
2-3. Cologne Radio Symphony Orchestra – Symphony No. 2 in C Minor, WAB 102 (Ed. Haas): III. Scherzo. Mäßig schnell – Trio. Gleiches Tempo [Remastered 2024] (Live) (09:35)
2-4. Cologne Radio Symphony Orchestra – Symphony No. 2 in C Minor, WAB 102 (Ed. Haas): IV. Finale. Ziemlich schnell [Remastered 2024] (Live) (15:08)

Download: