Founded in 1841 with the participation of Constanze Mozart, the Mozarteum Orchestra Salzburg enjoys a worldwide reputation for its lively and stylistically aware interpretations. It combines Viennese classical music with the music of the 19th, 20th and 21st centuries in a variety of ways. The orchestra’s constant engagement with its core repertoire also shapes its approach to the music of later eras.
In collaboration with Berlin Classics, the orchestra has set out to released a series of six albums showcasing the diversity and joy of playing of the ensemble from Mozart’s birthplace. Following the Mozart Serenades, music by Richard Strauss and Hans Werner Henze, the fourth album will now be released on August 16. With Bruckner: Symphony in D minor “Nullte” WAB 100, the Mozarteum Orchestra Salzburg pays tribute to the great Austrian Romantic composer in the year of his 200th birthday. In the year of his death, Bruckner, who was always plagued by self-doubt, wrote on the score of his Symphony in D minor “Discarded, completely invalid, annulled, only an attempt”. A crossed-out zero was to declare it null and void. This is how the work got its nickname “Zeroth”, although chronologically it is his second symphony. It was not premiered until 100 years after Bruckner’s death and is still rarely found on concert programs today, although it offers all the merits of a Bruckner symphony.
This captivating recording is conducted by the British-Austrian conductor Ivor Bolton. He was musical director of the Mozarteum Orchestra Salzburg from 2004 to 2015 and is still its honorary conductor today. Under his direction, a performance cycle was created in Salzburg that included all nine “official” Bruckner symphonies. This was followed in 2018 by a performance of the unofficial “Zeroth”, which will now be released on CD in the Bruckner Year 2024. The strong connection between ensemble and conductor can be felt and heard on this recording.
As unrivaled interpreters of the Mozart style, the Mozarteum Orchestra Salzburg makes an absolutely worthwhile contribution to the stylistics of Romanticism with Bruckner: Symphony in D minor “Nullte” WAB 100. A recording that should not be missed!
