Schoenberg Michael Gielen Bwv 552

Despite all the differences in the musical language of the works by the Polish composers Karol Szymanowski and Krzysztof Penderecki included on this recording, they are united by their quality as a lament: Szymanowski's Stabat mater, completed in 1926 and based on a Polish translation rather than the original Latin text of the medieval poem, is still considered one of the most important contributions to 20th-century music.

This release is the first of a ten-volume set of works conducted by legendary Michael Gielen. When it was announced on October 30, 2014 that Michael Gielen would no longer pursue conducting engagements because of health issues, it was decided that to honor this musician a detailed survey of his 50-year career would be made. Hence, the Michael Gielen EDITION was born. Volume 1, presented here, is a 6-disc set that presents works from Bach, Mozart, Haydn, Beethoven, and Schubert, recorded between 1967 and 2010.

This fifth installment of the Michel Gielen Edition contains works by Bela Bartok and Igor Stravinsky. Gielen greatly admired these composers, whose works he frequently performed. We thus continue the editorial play for the Michael Gielen Edition. Volume 5 includes many first releases or recordings of Gielen from the 1960s and 1970s. Gielen is celebrating his 90th birthday in July, 2017. The album also contains a spoken section from Michael Gielen's last concert with his SWR Sinfonieorchester Baden-Baden und Freiburg in 2014.

The Bruckner recordings on this second volume of the Michael Gielen EDITION were made principally with the SWR Symphony Orchestra Baden-Baden and Freiburg. This enables the listener to follow the orchestra's development over the years, culminating in their outstanding 2013 performance of Bruckner’s Ninth Symphony.