Sound and space are mutually dependant. Which works sound best in which environment? Where can the spirit and character of the music most clearly be expressed? These questions are what inspired the conductor Gerd Schaller to embark on an ambitious major project in 2007: in the impressive environment of the abbey church that once formed part of Ebrach’s Cistercian monastery in Franconia, he directed his festival orchestra, the Philharmonie Festiva, in recordings of all of Anton Bruckner’s symphonies.

Nearly all the recordings were made during concerts in the cathedral acoustics of Ebrach’s abbey church. The location Schaller chose for the recordings of the F minor Symphony, the early D minor Symphony and the Fourth Symphony with its Volksfest (fair) finale is the Regentenbau building in Bad Kissingen, which likewise has outstanding acoustics.

What is special about this Bruckner cycle is that Schaller in some cases selected less well-known, “interim” versions or variants that had previously never been performed but give revealing insights into Bruckner’s compositional approach. Featured for the first time ever in this CD edition are Bruckner’s Third in its first revised form of 1874 and his Eighth in the interim version of 1888. The cycle of symphonies is supplemented by the F minor Mass, the rarely performed Psalm 146 and his organ works.

To crown the Bruckner cycle, the unfinished Ninth has been recorded twice, augmented by a different finale each time: once with the final movement added by William Carragan and once with Gerd Schaller’s own recreation of the finale.