Herbert von Karajan, Wiener Philharmoniker - Bruckner Symphony No 8 - Esoteric ESSG-90181
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Herbert von Karajan conducts the Wiener Philharmoniker in Anton Bruckner's Symphony No. 8 in C minor.

Recorded the year before he died, this might stand as a spiritual testament to Karajan's relationship with this work.
~ Record Review / James Jolly, Gramophone (London) / 01. December 2005

Herbert von Karajan identified with the 8th perhaps more intensely than with any other score in the repertory; it is significant that in February 1989, in what proved to be his last performances outside of Austria, he brought it to New York with the VPO & made it the centrepiece of a 3-concert engagement.

The air of finality was heavy at those concerts, & Karajan, determined to go out as a conqueror, did just that. This 1988 recording comes very close to recapturing the experience of that live performance. Karajan's careful pacing gives the 8th time to unfurl, allowing the mystery & tenderness of Bruckner's vision to radiate from some place deep within the paroxysmal intensity of the symphony's argument. The cumulative effect is shattering. Throughout, the Viennese play beyond their limits, as if their lives depended on it. The recorded sound is vivid & of very wide dynamic range.

. . . a wonderful reading it is, as authoritative as its predecessors & every bit as well played but somehow more profound, more humane, more lovable . . . at its best, the recording surges with an almost animal impulse that recreates the pull of a live performance & puts most recordings - by anyone, including Karajan himself in the shade. 
~ Richard Osborne, Peter Quantrill, Christian Hoskins, Gramophone, March 2016

 . . . this 1988 Karajan account holds a special place . . . it was in the 8th Symphony that, for me, Karajan achieved the greatest recording of his last decade . . . Whether one comes to this performance as a doubter or believer, an impalpable 'something' runs through it that no other modern recording has. 
~ Huntley Dent, Fanfare, August 2016


Featuring ESOTERIC’s Proprietary Re-Mastering Process to Achieve the Highest Level of Sound Quality!
Japanese Pressing, Deluxe Digi-pak Packaging, THE definitive Classical Performance on SACD!

Technical:
The criterion of re-mastering is to faithfully capture the quality of the original master. ESOTERIC’s flag ship gear, was used for this re-mastering session. This combination of highly advanced technology greatly contributed to capturing the high quality sound of the original master.

Esoteric Equipment list for this re-mastering:
• D-01VU (D/A Converters)
• Grandioso G1 (Rubidium Master Clock Generator)
• ESOTERIC Mexcel Cables


    Tracks:

Anton Bruckner (1824-1896)
Symphony No. 8 in C minor
Version: 1890, Edition: Robert Haas
1. I. Allegro moderato
2. II. Scherzo. Allegro moderato - Trio. Langsam
3. III. Adagio. Feierlich langsam, doch nicht schleppend
4. IV. Finale. Feierlich, nicht schnell

    Time: 01:22:53

    Musicians:

Wiener Philharmoniker
Herbert von Karajan, conductor

Recorded: November 1988, Wien, Musikverein, Grosser Saal

Remastering:
Producer: Motoaki Ohmachi (ESOTERIC COMPANY)
Mastering Engineering: Kazuie Sugimoto (JVC Mastering Center Daikanyama Studio)