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Past releases of this particular Das Lied von der Erde recording have received high praise in various Kleiber internet forums. But owing to the fact that needed adjustments and final editing did not take place, these recordings were of such poor quality that knowledgeable Kleiber fans simply could not listen to them. Judging by the condition of the source material, we were working with a second or even a third generation of the original recording. In this regard, however, several traps inevitably lay in store for the person charged with remastering. This was the second important and challenging assignment for our recording engineer; it follows on the heels of Celibidache‘s rendition of Brahms, which appeared as WS 002 on the Wiener Symphoniker label. To bring new life to this historic recording, which cognoscenti considered very marginal and barely listenable, was certainly our challenge.

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Doctors interviewed by the newspapers also confirmed the cause of death as uremia due to cholera. But soon there were an increasing number of medically corroborated dispatches that hardened suspicions of premeditation and even spoke of suicide by poison. Then the idea of the Symphony in B minor as a requiem for himself began to circulate, and a myth was born.

December 14, 2013: A recording session in the Golden Hall of the Vienna Society of the Friends of Musicmarks the dawn of a new era for the Wiener Symphoniker. The history of this traditional Viennese orchestra is filled with 282 celebrated performances of P. I. Tchaikovsky’s Pathétique. And now the orchestra’s new chief conductor Philippe Jordan will show what he’s made of by interpreting this highly significant work. The orchestra’s intense involvement with Tchaikovsky’s Sixth began in 1903 with the legendary Russian conductor Vasily Safonov and the previous ensemble, the Wiener Concertverein.

Other colleagues of equal stature absolutely demonstrated their abilities by way of this final opus: Seiji Ozawa, Václav Neumann, Yakov Kreizberg, Hans Knappertsbusch, Otto Klemperer, Karl Böhm, Sergiu Celibidache, Lorin Maazel, and nearly every chief conductor of the Wiener Symphoniker, including Herbert von Karajan, Wolfgang Sawallisch, Carlo Maria Giulini, Georges Prêtre, Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos, Vladimir Fedosejev, and Fabio Luisi.What particular aspect(s) will Philippe Jordan emphasize? The mystical aspect? The hopeful secondary themes? The harsh fate that reveals the inexorable power of destiny? Maestro Jordan has been preparing for this great task with incredibly precise attention to detail.As a result, listeners can enjoy every facet of Tchaikovsky’s life [and work], no matter how small.

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In the numerous establishments of the Viennese suburbs, the ensembles of rivaling bandmasters Joseph Lanner (1801 – 1843) and Johann Strauss I (1804 – 1849) publicly played dance music and hence they may be considered as the actual„inventors“ of the Viennese Waltz as it is commonly understood and loved all over the world today.

After the early death of Johann Strauss Sr., his oldest son Johann (1825 – 1899), the „Waltz King“, assumed leadership of the orchestra and diversified the area of activity significantly. The youngest of the sons of Strauss Sr., Eduard (1835 – 1916), also trained as a musician and joined his brother‘s ensemble at the age of 20. The middle son, Josef (1827 – 1870), had different plans for his life and became a technician. However, when in 1852 his brother returned from a concert tour completely exhausted, Josef needed to step in as conductor of the Strauss orchestra the following year. He composed his first waltz, believing it would be his last. Nevertheless, as his brother Johann travelled abroad more and more frequently, Josef needed to substitute for him in Vienna. At the same time, he took violin lessons, learned to compose properly and thus became a musician as well. As a composer he was certainly on par with his older brother. His dances often display a certain wistfulness and sometimes seem to come straight from Schubert.
This CD unites compositions of all three sons of the Strauss dynasty‘s founder.

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Produktbeschreibung

Live – Aufnahme aus dem großen Saal des Musikvereins in Wien

Mit Gustav Mahlers Symphonie Nr. 6 in a-moll veröffentlicht das Label „Wiener Symphoniker“ eine weitere denkwürdige Aufnahme als Doppel-CD.

Aufgenommen unter der Leitung von Chefdirigent Fabio Luisi, steht diese Symphonie in einem direkten, historischen Bezug der Wiener Symphoniker zum Komponisten: die Wiener Erstaufführung der 6. Symphonie fand mit den Wiener Symphonikern – damals noch unter ihrem Gründernamen „Wiener Concertverein“ – und Gustav Mahler selbst am Dirigentenpult statt.

Ort dieser Premiere am 4. Jänner 1907 war der Große Saal des Musikvereins Wien. Bemerkenswerte geschichtliche Notiz am Rande: auf dem Programmzettel zu diesem Konzert findet sich der später gebräuchliche Beinamen „Tragische“ wieder – ganz im Gegensatz zur ebenfalls von Mahler geleiteten Uraufführung in Essen und dem Folgekonzert in München im Jahr zuvor. Offensichtlich stammt diese Ergänzung nicht vom Komponisten, wurde aber von diesem für das Konzert in Wien akzeptiert.

94 Jahre danach bildet der Musikverein Wien wiederum den Rahmen dieser spannungsgeladenen Liveaufnahme aus dem Jahre 2011, die sich an der von Gustav Mahler autorisierten Satzfolge – Andante vor dem Scherzo – orientiert.