Bruckner completed his First Symphony in 1866. Two years later, the composer conducted the premiere of this work in Linz. Bruckner then left Linz and lived in Vienna for the rest of his life. The First Symphony was received an unfavorable critical response. In 1877, Bruckner revised the work; this new version is misleadingly called the "Linz Version", since Bruckner had left Linz in 1868. And it is the version mostly performed now. In 1998, Dr. Carragan prepared a complete reconstruction for the original version, and Gerog Tintner conducted the score for the world premiere recording. Between the first performance and this recent recording, 132 years, audiences never heard the original First Symphony.
Sir Georg Solti
As one of the greatest conductors of the 20th century, Solti is truly a Mahlerian rather than a Brucknerian. Although he records the complete Bruckner symphonies for Decca, only the early symphonies are outstanding. This performance of the First Symphony is extraordinary successful, with the dramatic tensions of the work brightly conveyed. Solti shows his fantastic directorship with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in this recording.
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