The Münchner Philharmoniker have arguably given more performances of Anton Bruckner’s music than any other orchestra. A great number of Bruckner recordings led by the many legendary conductors that have worked for and with the Münchner Philharmoniker are stored in the historical archive of the MPHIL Label including magnificent pieces with Sergiu Celibidache, Christian Thielemann, Rudolf Kempe, Günter Wand and Oswald Kabasta.

Having started in September 2017 at the Monastery of St. Florian, a setting with unique historical significance in this context, the Münchner Philharmoniker and Valery Gergiev present a most spectacular cycle of Anton Bruckner’s symphonies. All performances take place at the Monastery of St. Florian near Linz, a venue inextricably linked to the composer and his final resting place. The cycle was continued this past September 2018 and shall be completed in September 2019. All symphony recordings will be made available on the orchestra’s very own label MPHIL by 2020/2021.

Valery Gergiev on the experience of making these recordings: “The Münchner Philharmoniker are incredible, talented players. They combine this technical ability with a deep group experience in the music of Bruckner. I treasure and am fortunate to have the opportunity to work with these musicians and want people around theworld to hear the music we make together.” This spring the Münchner Philharmoniker make live recordings at St. Florian of Bruckner’s Symphonies No. 2, 8 and 9 available to audiences around the world. Bruckner’s Second Symphony already reveals all the hallmarks of the fully developed “Bruckner style”: powerful agglomerations of sound in its outer movements, the “atmosphere of a moonlit night” in its slow movement and a rustic dance scene in its Scherzo. This Scherzo is arguably the reason why this work is also known as Bruckner’s “Upper Austrian Symphony”.

• 1. Moderato (17:50)
• 2. Andante (14:04)
• 3. Scherzo. Massig Schnell - Trio. Gleiches Tempo (06:56)
• 4. Finale. Mehr Schnell (16:38)