West Australian Symphony Orchestra & Asher Fisch - Bruckner: Symphony No. 8 (2019)

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West Australian Symphony Orchestra & Asher Fisch - Bruckner: Symphony No. 8 (2019)

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ABC Classic and the West Australian Symphony Orchestra today announce the launch of WASO LIVE!, a new series of digital albums that will showcase the very best of this powerhouse ensemble’s live concerts, vividly recorded by ABC Classic’s team of live music engineers.

The series will launch with Anton Bruckner’s monumental Symphony No. 8, conducted by WASO’s Principal Conductor and Artistic Adviser Asher Fisch. A renowned conductor in both the operatic and symphonic worlds, Fisch is especially celebrated for his interpretative command of core German and Italian repertoire of the Romantic and post-Romantic era. Mahler, Richard Strauss, Wagner and Verdi all feature among the plans for future volumes.

“Asher is one of the world’s finest conductors – almost unsurpassed in this repertoire – and the sound that he elicits from this orchestra is incredibly powerful,” says Hugh Robertson, Label Manager of ABC Classic. “I’m so excited that these scintillating live performances are now going to be available for everyone in the world to hear at any time.”

”WASO LIVE! is an exciting new collaboration and we are delighted to partner with ABC Classic to capture WASO’s exceptional performances,” says Mark Coughlan, WASO’s Chief Executive. “I am especially thrilled that the initial release showcases the outstanding artistic relationship that exists between Asher Fisch and his orchestra and the exhilarating music making that results.”

The WASO LIVE! series artwork will feature bright, bold and iconic images of the unique natural landscapes of WASO’s home, Western Australia.

Having celebrated its 90th year in 2018, WASO is already looking forward to its centenary. ABC Classic and WASO LIVE! will be there to bring you the very best from one of Australia’s great orchestras.

The final symphony completed during Bruckner’s lifetime, the 8th is quite simply one of the most thrilling orchestral works ever written.

Mahler once famously said, ‘My symphonies represent the contents of my entire life’; Bruckner seems to go one step further, as if fitting the entire sweep of the universe into his epic orchestral works. His Eighth Symphony is the ultimate example of this: the hellish, dissonant nightmare of the first movement, the counterpoint of that sublime, radiant adagio before – finally – we reach a state of cosmic bliss and serenity as motifs from all four movements are brought together in one perfect C major chord.