Concentus Musicus Vienna with pleasant surprises in Linz

Concentus Musicus Wien has been composing music since 1953; At that time under the supervision of Nicholas Harnoncourt, who maintained his lively and scientifically grounded interpretation of historical instruments.

He sometimes performed at monastery concerts in Graz or at the Schwarzenberg Palace, but he also traveled through almost all countries of Europe and, thanks to his success story, also reached the wide world.

Stefan Gottfried has led this ensemble as a conductor and specialist in historical performance practice since 2015. The invitation to Brucknerfest 2024 makes a lot of sense – as they will also be performing music in the original sound at the Bruckner!

First, Sinfonia VIII opened at the Brucknerhaus, a string symphony in the version with woodwinds in D major by Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy. In the four movements, the composer's brilliant ideas allow the melodies to take their course in delicious Biedermeier freshness – listening to the sounds of gut strings and listening to elegantly restrained natural wind passages.

The piano wheeled onto the stage was a completely different surprise, striking from a workshop of craftsmanship and exquisite beauty, bringing Christian Bezuidenhout (*1979) to its climax with Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 2 in B major.

The South African native is a world-class piano specialist with a resounding name – he was able to encourage the beautiful instrument to “sing” beautifully while playing the elegant keys. There was great amazement and great applause for this world-class pianist, but unfortunately that did not happen again.

This was followed by Anton Bruckner's “Symphony Study” in F minor WAB 99 // 1863. The student of composition AB was often dissatisfied with his numerous works. He often showed his homework and hoped to give occasional performances. Unfortunately, this symphony was no longer performed during Bruckner's lifetime. Bruckner was always on the right track, which resulted in his wonderful musical compositions.

Concentus was also able to come up with some twists and tweaks that evening – they were reminiscent of typical listening experiences and some solid sonic twists. Memories brought back in original colors.

The enthusiasm of the concert audience, in a barely occupied hall, was so great – they thanked us with many long applause.

Written by Christine Grubauer