Description
Download package contains mp4 video and pdf booklet.
Klaus Tennstedt conducts Bruckner’s Symphony No. 7
Boston Symphony Orchestra, 1977
Tennstedt duly made his US debut in December 1974, conducting the Boston Symphony Orchestra in an all-Brahms programme and then in Bruckner’s Symphony No.8. A legend was born and a career was made. One headline the next day ran: “Bruckner – Tennstedt – BSO – Once in a Lifetime.”
Klaus Tennstedt went on to develop a special relationship with the BSO, conducting it regularly until 1987. An unlikely superstar was now burning brightly in the classical music firmament. And this excerpt is remarkable for many reasons. It brings the first public release of a full-length symphonic work played by the BSO under Tennstedt. Also, it is, by some way, the earliest concert footage we appear to have of Klaus Tennstedt.
The critics were unanimous in their praise of Tennstedt conception of Bruckner’s Symphony No. 7. The staff critic of the Boston Globe was impressed by a man he described as “the towering Tennstedt”: “Tennstedt’s tall and angular body is a contrapuntal instrument and he uses it to dramatize and elicit the mounting tentions and releases of this music… The string tone, dark and weighty, was something fabulous…”
Program
Anton Bruckner, Symphony No. 7 in E Major, WAB 107
1. Allegro moderato
2. Adagio. Sehr feierlich und sehr langsam
3. Scherzo. Sehr schnell – Trio. Etwas langsamer
4. Finale. Bewegt, doch nicht schnell
Directed by: Russ Fortier
Venue: Boston Symphony Hall (Boston, USA)
Production date: 2012
Recording date: 05/11/1977
Duration: 1 h 06 min
Production: © Boston Symphony Orchestra & WGBH Educational Foundation under exclusive licence to International Classical Artists Ltd
Tennstedt formed a remarkable relationship with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, of which this outstanding performance of Bruckner’s Seventh Symphony is testimony. It represents some of the earliest concert footage that exists of the great conductor from this key chapter in his career.
The ICA Classics Legacy series represents an historic account of performances by some of the world’s greatest artists. This DVD features the first public release of a full-length symphonic work with the Boston Symphony Orchestra under Klaus Tennstedt.
While the material has been restored using the greatest care and state-of-the-art techniques, certain visual artefacts and distortions remain in some instances due to the age of the film. Despite this, it remains of exceptional musical interest and historic value and is released here for the first time on DVD.
Preview Clip
