Analogphonic / Deutsche Grammophon - DG40021 - 180 Gram Virgin Vinyl

- Limited Edition - Mastered by Maarten de Boer

DG 4292261-1 - Pressed at Pallas Germany

Cut to lacquer by Maarten de Boer at Emil Berliner Studios

Herbert von Karajan conducts the Vienna Philharmonic for this recording of Bruckner's Seventh Symphony.

Conductor Herbert von Karajan recorded this performance of Bruckner 7 with the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra in April 1989. It was to be his final recording — underlined by the valedictory photograph on the cover — and for that reason it has historic significance to collectors and to those who have admired Karajan's interpretations of Bruckner over the years.

"I'm convinced that Karajan's Bruckner cycle for DG remains one of his finest achievements. While I can understand and appreciate a host of different interpretative approaches to Bruckner, Karajan's way with the music couldn't be clearer: For him, sumptuous, majestic sound is an absolutely essential element to a great Bruckner performance. And throughout Karajan's cycle, Bruckner's writing for strings and brass is revealed in all its ravishing splendor." — Albert Imperato, Gramophone, March 2010

Anton Bruckner was an Austrian composer known for his symphonies, masses, and motets. The first are considered emblematic of the final stage of Austro-German Romanticism because of their rich harmonic language, strongly polyphonic character, and considerable length. Bruckner's compositions helped to define contemporary musical radicalism, owing to their dissonances, unprepared modulations, and roving harmonies. 

 

Herbert von Karajan was an Austrian orchestra and opera conductor. To the wider world he was perhaps most famously associated with the Berlin Philharmonic, of which he was principal conductor for 35 years. He is generally considered to have been one of the greatest conductors of all time, and he was a dominant figure in European classical music from the 1960s until his death.

 

Part of the reason for this was the large number of recordings he made and their prominence during his lifetime.

 

By one estimate he was the top-selling classical music recording artist of all time, having sold an estimated 200 million records.

 

 

Vienna Philharmonic

Herbert von Karajan, conductor

 

Selections:

 

Anton Bruckner (1824 - 1896)

Symphony No. 7 in E major

Side 1:

1. Allegro moderato

Side 2:

1. Adagio. Sehr feierlich und sehr langsam

Side 3:

1. Scherzo. Sehr schnell 

Side 4:

1. Finale. Bewegt, doch nicht Schnell