For this 2016 release on Philharmonia Records, Fabio Luisi presents the original 1887 version of Anton Bruckner's Symphony No. 8 in C minor, which is increasingly performed as an alternative to the well-established 1890 version. Here, Luisi joins several contemporary conductors in favoring the original versions of Bruckner's symphonies, in the shared belief that the composer preferred them to his later revisions, and wanted them to be preserved as the definitive versions. Perhaps the most controversial feature of the Eighth ...
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For this 2016 release on Philharmonia Records, Fabio Luisi presents the original 1887 version of Anton Bruckner's Symphony No. 8 in C minor, which is increasingly performed as an alternative to the well-established 1890 version. Here, Luisi joins several contemporary conductors in favoring the original versions of Bruckner's symphonies, in the shared belief that the composer preferred them to his later revisions, and wanted them to be preserved as the definitive versions. Perhaps the most controversial feature of the Eighth in its first state is the conclusion of the first movement, with its bombastic peroration in C major; in subsequent revisions, a quiet ending in C minor was substituted, thus saving the triumphant ending for the symphony's finale. Beyond that quirk, the popularity of the Eighth is quite high, in any version, and the monumental quality of this work is always impressive. Luisi provides many moments of drama and grandeur, and the Philharmonia Zürich plays with high energy and...
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