Herbert von Karajan & Wiener Philharmoniker - Bruckner: Symphony No 8 (2018) [SACD + Hi-Res]

Deutsche Grammophon icons are back on Hybrid SACD from Esoteric. This series features some of the most virtuosic recordings ever made for the label from great artists Maurizio Pollini, Friedrich Gulda, Nathan Milstein and Emil Gilels.

Herbert von Karajan identified with the Eighth perhaps more intensely than with any other score in the repertory; it is significant that in February 1989, in what proved to be his last performances outside of Austria, he brought it to New York with the VPO and made it the centerpiece of a three-concert engagement.

The air of finality was heavy at those concerts, and Karajan, determined to go out as a conqueror, did just that. This 1988 recording comes very close to recapturing the experience of that live performance. Karajan's careful pacing gives the Eighth time to unfurl, allowing the mystery and tenderness of Bruckner's vision to radiate from some place deep within the paroxysmal intensity of the symphony's argument. The cumulative effect is shattering. Throughout, the Viennese play beyond their limits, as if their lives depended on it. The recorded sound is vivid and of very wide dynamic range.

The reissue of classical music masterpieces by ESOTERIC has attracted a lot of attention, both for its uncompromising commitment to recreating the original master sound, and for using hybrid Super Audio CD (SACD) technology to improve sound quality. This series marks the first hybrid SACD release of historical recording selections that have been mainstays of the catalog since their initial release.

Experience the legendary performance in this new Super Audio CD/CD format. Not only for new followers, but also for well experienced followers of these recorded materials. All will be equally impressed by the "soul" hidden within the notes, but never before found in previously released recordings in any format.