Giulini’s answer to the question of what fascinated him about making music amounted to his Credo: “Music is a great miracle and a great mystery. Even a single note is a mystery, a miracle in itself. The note appears quite suddenly and as it is born it has already passed away. Everything to do with music is fascinating – whether conducting or playing.”

For the concerts of 17 & 18 January 1977 Giulini chose works by Webern, Beethoven (not on this CD) and Mussorgsky. Contemporary music was something of a rarity in Giulini’s programmes. The quietly concentrated start of the concert featured Webern’s Six Orchestral Pieces, Op.6, expressive miniatures for a fully engaged orchestra but always refined and economical, hardly ever playing as a complete ensemble. “Symbols of expression in symphonic shorthand – the orchestra cleverly traces their musical significance.” wrote Klaus Geitel in Die Welt. Sybill Mahlke commented in Der Tagesspiegel that Giulini had managed sensitively to bring out the romantic elements in these pieces.

Hans-Jörg von Jena’s review stressed an underlying feature of Giulini’s conducting: “Giulini’s aims are different from those of a conductor like Herbert von Karajan. Our maestro explores the contrasts and tensions, brings out the broad contours, sets the music from the outset on its final triumphal path; the Italian proceeds thoughtfully, inductively, striving for the moment of fulfilment.” The process was particularly clear in the Pictures from an Exhibition, the climax of the concert. “The persuasive energy at the end of the Pictures in Ravel’s orchestration of the work confirmed the music’s irresistible stature, a musical and interpretative dynamic reflected in that of the audience’s appreciation - a ‘Great Gate’, indeed a ‘triumphal arch’ for the conductor. Giulini’s reading could not be called particularly economical. The ‘Promenades’ were relatively heavy-footed, and through a powerful intensity of expression, bar for bar there was an accentuating of what an orchestra like the Berlin Philharmonic might play, or at least understand, independently in its own right. Nonetheless there was a considerable impetus and fire transmitted to the audience on this occasion.” (Sybil Mahlke)

Excerpt from the note: Helge Grünewald, 2011 (translation: Jonathan Katz)