Bruckner concert at the Ebracher Musiksommer 2023
On August 20th, another Bruckner symphony will be performed in the Abbey Church of Ebrach! Gerd Schaller and the Philharmonie Festiva will continue to further expand their Bruckner cycle with the late 1888 version of Anton Bruckner's Fourth Symphony, the "Romantic". Hardly any other symphony was more thoroughly reworked by the composer than his Fourth Symphony, which received substantial changes ever since the revolutionary first version in 1874. In addition to Anton Bruckner himself, the conductors Ferdinand Löwe and Franz and Josef Schalk were probably also involved in the late version of 1888, making changes to the musical text that are thought to be authorised by Bruckner at a later stage. Due to the extremely turbulent history of the 1888 version of the work, it is still performed far less frequently than the much more popular intermediate version of 1878. Visitors to the concert can thus experience a paradox, because on the one hand the Fourth is one of Bruckner's most popular symphonies with the public, and on the other hand the 1888 version is performed so rarely that one can speak of a musical rarity at the same time!
Tickets are available from:
New album upcoming May, 5th!
On May 5th the Gerd Schaller’s new album will be released. After the great success of his arrangement of Anton Bruckner's ninth symphony for organ, which was even nominated for a Grammy Award in 2022, Gerd Schaller's new album picks up there again and offers a new organ arrangement of a popular Bruckner symphony.
This time it is the Fifth Symphony, which, according to Gerd Schaller's own words, is particularly well suited for an arrangement for the organ because it already contains a particularly large number of contrapuntal passages in the orchestral writing that are reminiscent of the sound of the organ.
The album, which, as usual, is published in high-quality edition by the label PROFIL Edition Günter Hänssler, can already be pre-ordered everywhere at retailers worldwide and can also be pre-ordered via the concert office of the Ebracher Musiksommer and obtained directly from there:
Spotify playlist "This is Gerd Schaller"
Digital music enjoyment no longer works only via CDs. In the age of music streaming, other forms of use have gained in importance. A younger audience in particular is using playlists from music streaming providers these days.
The streaming provider with the most users worldwide is Spotify. Now, Gerd Schaller's recordings are also available on Spotify as a playlist and can thus attract new listener groups.
The Spotify playlist "This is Gerd Schaller" comprises almost six hours of music and is regularly supplemented by new releases. By using the playlist, listeners not only get a cross-section of Gerd Schaller's catalog of recordings to date, but the goal is also to arouse curiosity about the full composition based on the selected excerpts.
The playlist is available for direct music listening at this link:
Gerd Schaller publishes an art history book
Since his youth, Gerd Schaller has been interested in the sacred buildings in his hometown of Schlüsselfeld. Now the conductor has also worked on art history and has written a book about these gems set in a dreamy landscape which was published by Vier-Türme-Verlag Münsterschwarzach.
Did you know, for example, that the Schlüsselfeld parish church houses a significant work of art with the high altar painting by Oswald Onghers – or that the Marienkapelle contains a true-to-the-original copy of the altar of grace in the famous pilgrimage town of Mariazell?
Gerd Schaller dives into the history of the churches and chapels in Schlüsselfeld and also publishes his research results on the so-called “Schlüsselfelder Altar”.
At the same time, the excellent photographs by the architectural photographer Uwe Gaasch make this book a wonderful illustrated book – a journey of discovery for those interested in art and for connoisseurs.
Gerd Schaller
Kirchen und Kapellen der Pfarrei Schlüsselfeld
Vier-Türme-Verlag Münsterschwarzach
ISBN 978-3-89680-613-0
157 pages, 22.5 x 28.5 cm, with numerous illustrations, high-quality edition with gold embossing and dust jacket
Price: 24,00 € plus shipping charges
Available in all bookstores
and at the Ebrach Summer Music Festival:
E-Mail:
Phone: +49 9552 5904 999 10
Another building block for BRUCKNER2024
BRUCKNER2024 on the home stretch
Gerd Schaller conducts Brahms
Profil Edition Hänssler has released the Second Symphony by Johannes Brahms with Gerd Schaller and the Philharmonie Festiva.
Remy Franck writes: Gerd Schaller conducts Johannes Brahms’ Second Symphony in a healthy alternation of relaxation and powerful musical flow. …Throughout, Schaller allows the wonderful woodwinds and horns of the Philharmonie Festiva to flourish, giving the movement just the tension, the passion in the cantando that has sometimes been missed in other interpretations.
Guy Engesl notes: “Blue skies, trickling springs, sunshine and cool, green shadows,” wrote a Brahms friend about this second symphony. One senses much of this in Schaller’s interpretation, except that at no moment does it sound kitschy, dreary or sentimental.
Bruckner's Ninth arranged for organ by Gerd Schaller
The organ is Bruckner's instrument, which stayed with him all his life. Bruckner was already celebrated by his contemporaries as a great organ soloist. So what could be more natural than to arrange his phantastic Ninth Symphony for the organ and thus reveal the essence of the work?!
Gerd Schaller had already supplemented and completed Bruckner's Ninth based on original sources. Now he has arranged the completed Ninth for organ and also recorded it himself on the main organ of the former Cistercian abbey church in Ebrach. The recording was made by the Bavarian Radio Studio Franken. The double CD has been published by Profil Edition Hänssler, the organ sheet music has been published by Musikverlag Ries & Erler, Berlin.
CDs and organ sheet music available at:
Ebracher Musiksommer
Phone: +49 9552 9319300
E-Mail:
Bruckners First in the Vienna version
Bruckner's quintet — arranged for large orchestra — is released on CD
Anton Bruckner's string quintet is one of the unknown works of the composer. Wrong, according to Gerd Schaller - who has now edited the piece for a large orchestra and recorded it on CD with the Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra.
Bruckner's Ninth:
Gerd Schaller's completion is released als score edition
Anton Bruckner's last, his Ninth Symphony, remained unfinished, for the composer died during the work on the 4th movement - to which, however, numerous sketches have been preserved. Gerd Schaller reviewed this material and recently presented his own complete set of this final movement, which was recorded in July 2018 with the Philharmonie Festiva on CD. The score has been published by Ries & Erler, Berlin.
Dafür unternahm er nach sorgfältiger Analyse Brucknerscher Kompositionstechniken eine Gesamtschau des überlieferten Materials, inklusive der bisher wenig beachteten frühen Skizzen und konnte auf dieser Grundlage eine Konzertfassung des vierten Satzes vorlegen, in der die fehlenden Passagen weitestgehend mit originalen Gedanken Bruckners gefüllt werden konnten. Die verbleibenden musikalischen Lücken wurden von Schaller selbst unter konsequenter und logischer Beibehaltung der Kompositionstechniken Anton Bruckners und unter besonderer Berücksichtigung des Brucknerschen Spätstils ergänzt. Diese Fassung modifizierte Schaller nochmals und revidierte anschließend noch einige Details.
Der revidierten Partitur (120 S.) ist ein umfangreicher Textteil (87 S.) vorangestellt – zweisprachig in Deutsch und Englisch. Der Textteil umfasst ein Vorwort mit den Hintergründen und Motivationen für die vorliegende Arbeit, maßgebliche analytische Überlegungen, eine Darstellung des formalen Aufbaus des Finalsatzes, eine detaillierte Analyse mit zahlreichen musikalischen Beispielen und harmonischen Konzeptionen, eine Erörterung der relevanten Quellen sowie eine Auflistung der verwendeten Materialien. Letztere sind nochmals explizit an den entsprechenden Stellen in der Partitur kenntlich gemacht, um die Komplettierungsarbeiten nachvollziehbar zu machen.
Die Partitur ist käuflich, das Aufführungsmaterial leihweise erhältlich.
Anton Bruckner, Neunte Symphonie, IV. Satz
Ergänzt nach originalen Quellen und vervollständigt von Gerd Schaller
Revidierte Fassung 2018
Besetzung: 3 Fl 3 Ob 3 Kl 3 Fg – 8 Hr (5–6 auch TtB ,7–8 auch Btb) 3 Trp 3 Pos 1 Kbtb – Pk – Str
Dauer: ca. 25 Min.
© 2018 by Ries & Erler, Berlin
ISMN M-013-51487-8
Email:
www.rieserler.de
Ehrung in den USA: Julio Kilenyi Medaille
„...this award recognizes the tremendous accomplishment that this recording represents as one of the final pieces in the remarkable cycle of Bruckner recordings led by Maestro Schaller, including rare versions of several symphonies."
Benjamin M. Korstvedt, Board President
Bruckner-Aufnahme des Jahres
Ebenfalls von der Bruckner Society of America kam eine Auszeichnung für die kürzlich erschienene Aufnahme von Bruckners f-Moll-Symphonie (Studien-Symphonie), die zur „Besten Bruckner-Aufnahme des Jahres“ gekürt wurde. Ein Zitat aus der Würdigung:
"We salute Maestro Schaller’s interpretation, which is clear-sighted, intelligent, and highly musical. The orchestral performance is very fine, too. All in all, we find this to be a recording of high quality and, as one of the finest recordings of this underappreciated early masterwork, a valuable addition to the discography.
