Marek Janowski

Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Marek Janowski – Anton Bruckner – Symphony No. 5 (2010)
DSF Stereo DSD64/2.82MHz | Time – 01:13:53 minutes | 2,91 GB | Genre: Classical
Official Digital Download – Source: nativeDSDmusic | Digital Booklet |  © Pentatone Music B.V.

In his novel “The Discovery of Slowness”, the German writer Sten Nadolny describes the life and death of the English naval officer and Arctic explorer John Franklin. The book is a subtle study on time. Franklin was a slow human being. He spoke slowly, thought slowly, and was slow to react. And even if he failes outwardly at the end, he yet emerges victorious, as in the old paradox of the race between Achilles and the tortoise. Because, from the perspective of slowness, the world does change. And the reader feels this. So what has that got to do with Anton Bruckner and his Fifth Symphony in B flat major? Well, at first glance, not a lot. But if we look more closely, it is not so difficult to credit this late Romantic composer with the “discovery of slowness”. The Fifth, like Nadolny’s book, is a deeply personal study on time.

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Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Marek Janowski – Anton Bruckner – Symphony No. 4 (2013)
DSD64 (.dsf) 1 bit/2,8 MHz | Time – 01:03:27 minutes | 2,5 GB | Genre: Classical
Official Digital Download – Source: nativeDSDmusic | Digital Booklet | © Pentatone Music B.V.

Anyone who seriously and intensively studies Anton Bruckner’s Symphonies, i.e.: the scores of these works, can, in good conscience, not only consider him/herself a detail-obsessed musical researcher, but clearly a kind of musicological secret agent, as well. For, as recently as the early eighties of the last century, just these versions were regarded as Bruckner’s best protected ‘intelligence material’ (Vetter). It would, above all, be due to the ground-breaking work of Manfred Wagner, Wolfram Steinbeck and Thomas Röder that an unnecessarily long period of darkness came to an end. For far too long, the public in the ‘hard-core’ Bruckner nations, Germany, Austria and the Netherlands, had stood in total confusion before this version-conundrum because the requisite clarification on the part of musicologists – a clarification that stood at the intersection of musical theory and practice – had hardly commenced. Today, professionals in the field of music are very careful in their use of terms which were once bandied about without hesitation – terms like ‘original version,’ ‘Urtext,’ final version’ or ‘ideal version. The problems concerning the different versions of Bruckner’s symphonies are now finally receiving the attention they deserve.

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Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Marek Janowski – Anton Bruckner – Symphony No. 3 (2012)
DSF Stereo DSD64/2.82MHz | Time – 00:53:18 minutes | 2,10 GB | Genre: Classical
Official Digital Download – Source: nativeDSDmusic | Digital Booklet |  © Pentatone Music B.V.

It was by chance that Anton Bruckner’s Symphony No. 3 in D minor received the nickname of the “Wagner” Symphony. Early in September 1873, Bruckner set out for Bayreuth after taking the waters in Marienbad to submit and dedicate to Wagner – whom he greatly admired – his new symphonies No. 2 in C minor and No. 3 in D minor (in which he had as yet, incidentally, only outlined the finale). Bruckner wrote as follows: “It was about the beginning of September 1873 (the Crown Prince Frederick was in Bayreuth for a few days) when I asked the master if I could present to him my Symphony No. 2 in C Minor and Symphony No. 3 in D minor. He turned down my request, the glorious man, due to lack of time (the construction of his theatre), and said that he could not review the scores at that moment as he had still had to put pen to paper for the Nibelungen. I answered: ‘Maestro, I have no right to deprive you of even a quarter of an hour, I simply trust that, considering the Maestro’s great perspicacity, a glance would suffice for him to understand the matter at hand.’. Whereupon the Maestro answered, patting me on the shoulder: ‘Well, come then,’ and went into the salon to take a look at my second symphony.

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Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Marek Janowski – Anton Bruckner – Symphony No. 2 (2013)
DSF Stereo DSD64/2.82MHz | Time – 00:54:50 minutes | 2,16 GB | Genre: Classical
Official Digital Download – Source: nativeDSDmusic | Digital Booklet |  © Pentatone Music B.V.

To this day, Anton Bruckner’s Symphony No. 2 in C minor is the least frequently performed of all his symphonies. Rather odd, as the composer described the work in a letter dated October 9, 1878 as “probably, first and foremost, the symphony that is easiest for the audience to understand”, and the first performance, given in Vienna on October 16, 1873 was a great success for the composer. How can one explain this peculiar contrast? On the one hand, considered objectively, the audience could easily follow the work; yet on the other hand, the public at large displayed a predominant lack of interest in the symphony. Is there more involved in this case to fully comprehend precisely this symphony, than simply an understanding of its very clear formal concept? Or had the Symphony No. 2 simply fallen between two creative stools, thanks to its direct symphonic predecessors and successors? Let us take a brief look at the works in its direct vicinity.

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Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Marek Janowski – Anton Bruckner – Symphony No. 1 (2012)
DSF Stereo DSD64/2.82MHz | Time – 00:47:05 minutes | 1,86 GB | Genre: Classical
Official Digital Download – Source: nativeDSDmusic | Digital Booklet |  © Pentatone Music B.V.

Linz, the summer of 1861. Anton Bruckner sits hunched over a sheet of music paper. He is doing his homework. Today the curriculum set by his teacher Otto Kitzler includes a dance. In itself, not an unusual situation for a student; at least, were the “student”, Anton Bruckner, not already 37 years old. After six years of intensive instruction in music theory with Simon Sechter, he has now decided to also study “free composition”. And so once again, he has elected to return to the school benches, this time under the tutelage of the Linz conductor Otto Kitzler. Again, theory is the core subject, but this time placed in a more practical setting, dealing with form and instrumentation. For Bruckner is interested in composing. On July 10, 1863, after two years of study, he feels ready and receives his requested, formal “acquittal” from Kitzler, as was formerly given to the apprentice. Now, once again he is staring down at his sheet of music paper: the familiar blank page that needs to be filled. With bold ideas, new concepts, individual solutions. Although Bruckner probably never actually said that he felt “like a yard dog, which has broken loose from its chain” (Max Auer probably pu these words in the composer’s mouth) after his acquittal, he now felt safe in his acquired creative freedom.

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Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, Marek Janowski – Johannes Brahms – Symphony No. 4 & Hungarian Dances (2008)
DSF Stereo DSD64/2.82MHz | Time – 56:55 minutes | 2,25 GB | Genre: Classical
Official Digital Download – Source: nativeDSDmusic | Digital Booklet |  © Pentatone Music B.V.

The brotherhood of writers likes to get hold of a slogan in order to effectively and boldly describe a composer and his oeuvre. However, such an abbreviated description is not without danger, if not followed by subtle arguments for the choice of the words. Nevertheless, please permit the undersigned also to mention a catchy phrase in the case of Johannes Brahms, which concentrates the mind on the essential. Therefore, should one wish to label Brahms as a composer, then it would most certainly not bear the inscription of a “symphonic” or “Lied” composer, but – if the word existed – of a “variationalistic” composer. After all, the main purpose of Brahms’ life as a composer was the constant transformation of the musical material at hand, the re-examination of traditional elements and forms. And also during the course of his four contributions to the symphonic genre, which indeed caused him such great problems at first, the variation model was ceded an increasingly important role.

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Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, Marek Janowski – Johannes Brahms – Symphony No. 1 & Haydn Variations (2007)
DSF Stereo DSD64/2.82MHz | Time – 01:01:24 minutes | 2,45 GB | Genre: Classical
Official Digital Download – Source: nativeDSDmusic | Digital Booklet |  © Pentatone Music B.V.

There is no doubt about it, great things were expected of Johannes Brahms, as is clear in these sentences penned by Robert Schumann in 1855. Schumann had already showered him with praise in his article “Neue Bahnen”, and now expected Brahms to finally alter course in the direction of the larger-sized works, such as the symphony: it was essential for the young composer to once and for all outdo the “giant” Beethoven in this field. Brahms was under double pressure: on the one hand, his circle of friends led by Schumann, as well as the music world, were anxiously awaiting his first symphony; on the other, he was struggling with himself and with his relentless self-criticism. Was he truly already up to the challenge?

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Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, Marek Janowski – Johannes Brahms – Symphonies Nos. 2 & 3 (2008)
DSF Stereo DSD64/2.82MHz | Time – 01:19:13 minutes | 3,14 GB | Genre: Classical
Official Digital Download – Source: nativeDSDmusic | Digital Booklet |  © Pentatone Music B.V.

With the greatest of approval, critics and audience alike had greeted the première of the symphony, which was given a brilliant performance on December 30, 1877 by the Vienna Philharmonic under Hans Richter. All the worries and problems which had dogged and tormented Brahms for almost 15 years during the composition of his Symphony No. 1 were now forgotten. Finally, the breakthrough had come about, after years of battling with the symphonic form and his own selfdoubt, and this second symphony provided a magnificent confirmation of the fact. The shadow of the “giant” Beethoven had definitely been cast off.

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Arabella Steinbacher, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Marek Janowski – Bela Bartok – The Two Violin Concertos (2010)
DSF Stereo DSD64/2.82MHz  | Time – 01:01:11 minutes | 2,41 GB | Genre: Classical
Source: ISO SACD | ©  Pentatone Music B.V.

Whilst unfulfilled passion and unre- quited love have driven many to depression, Béla Bartók was able to sublimate such personal disappointment into exuberant creativity. In February 1908, after his passionate courting attempts had been rejected by the Swiss violinist, Stefi Geyer, Bartók wrote her: “Having read your letter, I sat down at the piano – and had the sad premonition that, in life, music is to be my only consolation.” He illustrated these lines with a musical quotation which included the broken major-seventh chord, c-sharp – e – g-sharp – b-sharp, adding the words: “This is your leitmotiv.” It will have been particularly bitter for the composer that he had completed the score of the violin concerto, which had been written for Stefi, and into which he had poured his profound feelings for her, just a few days before her rejection. It is also to her that he dedicated the concerto, which, as in “a narcotic dream” (Römer), had been inspired a year earlier by his intoxicating love for her, but he did not do so without adding a tragic poem by Béla Balázs to the autograph score. Stefi Geyer kept the score until her death in 1956, with- out every performing the concerto publicly. It was not until 30 May 1958, thirteen years after Bartók’s death, that the concerto finally had its first public performance, in Basel, under the baton of Paul Sacher, with Hansheinz Schneeberger as soloist.

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Richard Wagner – Tannhäuser und der Sängerkrieg auf Wartburg WWV 70
Albert Dohmen / Robert Dean Smith / Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin / Marek Janowski
3xSACD ISO (2.0/MCH): 7,82 GB | Full Artwork
Label/Cat#: Pentatone # PTC 5186 405 | Country/Year: Netherlands 2012
Genre: Classical | Style: Romantic, Opera

This is the 6th instalment of PentaTone’s successful Wagner Edition. It is the first time in the recording history that a label records all major Wagner opera’s with the same orchestra, choir and conductor. This makes the PentaTone Wagner Edition a great collector’s item. After this release follows Der Ring des Nibelungen. The 4 opera’s of the “The Ring” will all be released in the course of 2013, The WAGNER YEAR (Celebrating the 200th anniversary of his birth in 1813)

All operas are recorded live in the Philharmonie in Berlin. The first five recordings were awarded with “Editor’s Choice” (Gramophone), Recording of the Month and Opera Choice of the Month (BBC Music Magazine), CD of the week (Sunday Times).

Based on the reviews of the concert we expect high scores for the Tannhäuser recording as well. prestoclassical

“Janowski keeps the score, which has some longueurs, moving and builds up impressive climaxes in each act…Prudenskaya, though her enunciation is vague, is adequately sexy…Stemme sound[s] too heroic for the part…but she makes an impression. All told I would say that this is the best recording since that made in Bayreuth in 1962.” BBC Music Magazine

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Richard Wagner – Das Rheingold WWV 86a
Tomasz Konieczny / Christian Elsner / Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin / Marek Janowski
2xSACD ISO (2.0/MCH): 6,49 GB | Full Artwork
Label/Cat#: Pentatone # PTC 5186 406 | Country/Year: Netherlands 2012
Genre: Classical | Style: Romantic, Opera

PentaTone’s epic project, to record the ten mature Wagner operas in concert performances conducted by Marek Janowski, has now been completed. The six operas already issued have garnered wide critical acclaim, and Wagnerians eagerly awaiting the release on SACD of the four operas that comprise ‘Der Ring des Nibelungen’ are unlikely to be disappointed by this first instalment of the cycle – ‘Das Rheingold’.

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