On 13 January 2017, two days following the Elbphilharmonie Grand Hall’s festive inauguration, Kent Nagano, supported by approximately 300 musicians on stage, conducted the highly acclaimed world premiere of Jörg Widmann’s oratorio “Arche” in the Grand Hall. The concert met with many ecstatic reviews, with the Hamburger Abendblatt suggesting that Widmann’s “Überoratorio” was “in its own way, more creative than Haydn’s Creation.”
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"Lush orchestra, bouffant choires, first class soloists: not a production you could easily pull through. […] The apocalypse-party rocked the house, because the live recordings from June 2015 really grab you. We all join in for a final Hallelujah." (KulturSPIEGEL)
"It is said to be the most beautiful music I have written," Bruckner commented on the choral episode in the Adagio of his Symphony No. 9. While the composer completed the first three movements shortly before his death, only sketches remain of the final fourth movement, completed by various arrangers after his death. "In my opinion, the incomplete version in three movements has a particularly strong poetry and spirituality," says Simone Young about the recording.
"Highly recommended – not only if one wants to hear the symphony in its first version." (FONO FORUM)
Symphony No. 7 meant a breakthrough for Bruckner in the audience’s favour – the melodic warmth and beauty of its themes opened his contemporaries’ hearts, which had held little understanding for Bruckner thus far. The world premiere under the baton of Arthur Nikisch in Leipzig in 1884 was dedicated to the spirit of Richard Wagner, deceased one year previously, and the revenue from the performance was donated to a fund for a memorial for the master of Bayreuth.
"How profoundly the orchestra and its chief conductor are familiar with Anton Bruckner’s tonal idiom could be experienced after the intermission. The Philharmonic turned its rendition of Symphony No. 6 in A-Major into a feast of precision and punctuality. No wonder: Simone Young led with organic tempi and was united with her musicians in a convincing mix of fire and soul." (Hamburger Abendblatt)
"With this contrapuntal masterwork, Young completed her Bruckner cycle. The ambition and energy she invested in this project could be seen and heard here once again." (Hamburger Abendblatt)
"More analytic than her role model Daniel Barenboim, but also more impulsive than the unforgotten Günter Wand, Simone Young revives the early Bruckner to orchestral life" (KulturSPIEGEL)
"Simone Young firmly believes in the originality and genius of this symphony, and conducts it with the corresponding fervour" (Rheinischer Merkur)
"With breathtaking verve, she leads the Hamburg Philharmonic through this score, which is much more radical than its later versions" (Kieler Nachrichten)
"Young’s Bruckner is clearly phrased, sensuous and somehow also poetic. The Philharmonic presents itself at the top of its game, with an exquisite culture of playing." (Hamburger Abendblatt)
"Thus, this Bruckner sounds remarkably fresh again" (FONO FORUM)
"This moves to the top of my Bruckner 1 list" (Audiophile Audition)
"Here the conductor was visibly in her element; here the Philharmonic also played at the highest level, optimally in tune, reacting to the tiniest gestures, piling up crystal-clear, monumental mountains of brass, varying its string sound from sumptuous, creamy ‘Brucknerity’ to sprightly, bubbling scherzos." (Hamburger Abendblatt)
"The Philharmoniker Hamburg approach the material with poker-faced restraint and delicacy. This is a disc that makes you listen with fresh ears to this slice of Brucknerian juvenilia." (Grammophone)
"A highly intriguing glimpse into the composer’s workshop" (NDR Kultur)
"The balance of events gave the music the room, the largesse and depth that ultimately distinguishes the decent from the extraordinary." (Hamburger Abendblatt)
"Gripping Brahms recordings, full of character and personality, far from the mainstream." (pizzicato)
"fine release" (Gramophone Magazine)
"The present recording is yet another testament to the great ability of this ensemble and its conductor." (Der Neue Merker)
"Powerful Brahms from Hamburg!" (Gramophone Magazine)
"Smashing!" (HR 2)
"This recording is in many ways a continuation of Young`s outstanding work in field of late romantic symphonic music. Highly recommended." (AllMusic)
"In this demanding Mahler symphony, the Hamburg Philharmonic presented itself as a technically excellent orchestra with a wonderfully homogeneous and highly transparent sound. That is not a matter of course, given the monumental sound produced by the instrumentation at times." (NDR Kultur)
"Electrifying radiance" (Das Orchester)
"Young and the Hamburg Philharmonic perfom the Resurrection with transparent clarity, subtle dynamic balance, and stunning force to bring the symphony dramatically to life" (Allmusic)
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