Bruckner: Symphony No. 1

“Abbado uncovered the radical nature of the work with its fascinating accumulations of intensity and abrupt interruptions … Long and enthusiastic standing ovations at the end for the conductor and orchestra.” (Die Welt) – The audience experienced Bruckner’s groundbreaking Symphony No. 1 in Lucerne’s new concert hall in a spectacular performance. This uncompromising interpretation of the First reveals the originality of the composer’s musical language.

“It is enchanting the way Abbado succeeds in revealing the Janus‐faced character of the symphony … very pointed but highly elegant, in typical Abbado fashion, the pulsating, forward moving rhythms of the first movement, and truly dramatic the build‐up to the first climax – these set the parameters of this interpretation. The wonderful Adagio proceeded in a tremulous yet warm cantabile, while the energetic Scherzo, with its introverted Trio, mirrored the relationship of the two earlier movements. The Finale, then, is an almost volcanic explosion …” (NZZ, Peter Hagmann)

“Listening and marvelling is really the only option.”     Gramophone