Herbert Blomstedt on Bruckner’s Eighth Symphony (27 min.)

Bruckner’s symphonies are considered an area of expertise of experienced conductors; Firstly, because their interpretation benefits from the patience that comes with age, and secondly because understanding the dimensions of their depths requires decades of study. Herbert Blomstedt is not only one of the greatest Bruckner interpreters of our time; in interview he, while discussing it and singing its themes, can make the work more accessible to the public better than anyone else. On the occasion of a performance in January 2015, the Swedish conductor here sheds light on the Eighth, Bruckner’s largest and possibly most complex symphony. We learn how the individual sections of the work are built up, how in the finale themes from all four movements are heard simultaneously, why the composer used harps here for the first time, and how much the musical architecture is reminiscent of Gothic cathedrals.