Stefan Blunier

Beethoven Orchester Bonn, Stefan Blunier – Anton Bruckner: Symphony No. 8 WAB 108 (Version 1890) in C minor (2011)
2xSACD | SACD ISO (2.0/MCH): 4,62 GB | 24B/88,2kHz Stereo FLAC: 1,34 | Full Artwork
Label/Cat#: MDG “Live” # 937 1713-6 | Country/Year: Germany 2011 | 3% Recovery Info
Genre: Classical | Style: Romantic, Orchestral

Review by Blair Sanderson
Even though Stefan Blunier’s 2011 recording of Anton Bruckner’s Symphony No. 8 in C minor is a lot to digest, timed at over 88 minutes and stretched almost to the breaking point, this is a deeply compelling performance and an impressive recording that deserves all the time listeners devote to it. Blunier leads the Beethoven Orchester Bonn at surprisingly slow tempos in the first and third movements, which, with some extra time taken in the Scherzo’s Trio and the Finale, add approximately nine minutes to this already expansive symphony. In other conductors’ hands, the drawn-out pacing could be lugubrious and lethal, yet the highly nuanced interpretation and sensitive playing keep this music at a level of nervous energy that tenaciously holds the listener’s attention, even when the beat is at its slowest. The Eighth is frequently cited for its power and severity, but this rendition is fascinating for its delicacy and moving in its tenderness, particularly in the dark conclusion of the Allegro moderato, and in the heartbreaking aftermath of the Adagio’s climax. This, along with the unmistakable feeling that every note has a pulse and a presence of its own, makes the music play out like a profoundly emotional drama that receives just the time it needs to resolve to a satisfying conclusion. MDG’s natural, unprocessed sound is a great aid to capturing the orchestra’s subtle dynamics, and the live recording has very few extraneous sounds. Highly recommended. allmusicguide

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Beethoven Orchester Bonn, Stefan Blunier – Beethoven: Symphonies Nos. 1 & 5 (2012)
SACD ISO (2.0/MCH): 3,23 GB | 24Bit/88,2kHz Stereo FLAC: 985 MB | Full Artwork | 3% Recovery Info
Label/Cat#: MDG “Gold” # 937 1756-6 | Country/Year: Germany 2012
Genre: Classical | Style: Classical Period, Symphony

Review by Blair Sanderson

In light of the increasing number of historically informed performances of Beethoven’s symphonies that have been available since the 1990s, the novelty of hearing them played in authentic Classical style may have worn off a little. Even conventional, long-established symphony orchestras have adopted many period practices, so they are becoming commonplace features, if not yet completely absorbed into the mainstream. Of course, knowledgeable listeners seek out high-quality performances that have aspects of period practice, even if the music is played on modern instruments, and look for recordings that also have strong audiophile appeal. This super audio disc by the Beethoven Orchester Bonn, a 106-member orchestra conducted by Stefan Blunier, should fill the bill admirably, for the Symphony No. 1 in C major and the Symphony No. 5 in C minor receive impeccable performances in astonishing multichannel sound that should satisfy the most demanding connoisseurs. Musikproduktion Dabringhaus und Grimm produced this gold SACD with its customary unprocessed digital sound, so the reproduction is as faithful to the actual performances as can be managed, and the presence of the orchestra is truly something to behold. While purists may still take issue with the use of modern instruments, the large size of the orchestra, and a few minor issues, even they will recognize that Blunier has learned a great deal from the early music camp and that his interpretations are intelligent and insightful. They also have an appealing warmth that is sometimes lacking in versions with original instruments, and the vigorous playing certainly keeps the music from seeming fussy or sterile. allmusicguide

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Beethoven Orchester Bonn, Stefan Blunier – Franz Schreker – Irrelohe, Opera In 3 Acts (2011)
SACD ISOs: 7,05 GB (Stereo + MCH DSD) | FLAC @ 24bit/88.2kHz: 2,09 GB | Full Artwork | 3% Rec. Info
Label/Cat#: MDG “Live” # 937 1687-6 | Country/Year: Germany 2011
Genre: Classical | Style: Opera, Late Romantic

Franz Schreker (originally Schrecker, March 23, 1878 – March 21, 1934) was an Austrian composer, conductor, teacher and administrator. Primarily a composer of operas, his style is characterized by aesthetic plurality (a mixture of Romanticism, Naturalism, Symbolism, Impressionism, Expressionism and Neue Sachlichkeit), timbral experimentation, strategies of extended tonality and conception of total music theatre into the narrative of 20th-century music.

The opera was first performed on 27 March 1924 at the Stadttheater Köln, conducted by Otto Klemperer. Productions in a further seven cities followed (including Stuttgart, Frankfurt and Leipzig), but critical response was mixed and, together with changing audience tastes and the complexity of the score, the work failed to maintain its place in the repertoire.

The first production in modern times was at the Bielefeld Opera in 1985. The work was also staged at the Vienna Volksoper in 2004 and at the Bonn Opera in 2010. Wikipedia

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Beethoven Orchester Bonn, Stefan Blunier – Eugen D’Albert – Der Golem: Opera in 3 Acts (2010)
2xSACD ISO: 6,53 GB (Stereo + MCH DSD) | FLAC @ 24bit/88.2kHz: 1,96 GB | Full Artwork
Label/Cat#: MDG “Live” # 937 1637-6 | Country/Year: Germany 2010
Genre: Classical | Opera, Early 20th Century

Almost everything about the opera Der Golem is unusual, including its composer, Eugen D’Albert (1864-1932). Born in Glasgow to an English mother and German-born father of French and Italian extraction, he won a scholarship to the National Training School of Music in London at age twelve, studying under John Stainer and Arthur Sullivan. D’Albert began establishing himself as a piano virtuoso while still a student but in his late teens repudiated both his English citizenship and English musical training, becoming a German citizen and embracing German culture and language so thoroughly that he changed his first name from Eugène to Eugen and refused to write operas (of which he produced twenty-one) in any language other than German. Even when he embarked on his most popular opera, Tiefland (1903), which takes place in Spain and is based on a Spanish novel, D’Albert adamantly rejected the idea that it be in any language but German. So he produced a strange cross between Latinate verismo and early German Expressionism.

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