A conductor still active at over 80 years of age. A truly unique perspective on the relationship between the individual and his calling, one that naturally raises questions about the driving forces and dynamics of this bond—with music, with the audience, but, above all, with himself. After all, what exactly drives an octogenarian conductor to choose the hustle and bustle of concert life over a well-deserved retirement?

Always radiating balance, a sober warmth, classicism, and introspection, Cristian Mandeal allows you to discover in everything he does a personality for whom music is not merely a vocation, but part of his very nature. This is the only way to explain, for example, his return to the work of a composer like Anton Bruckner, with whose music he has had a connection for decades—a connection that runs like a common thread through the fabric of his artistic concerns:

The distinctive feature of a Bruckner symphony is this cohesion, this connection he forges between humanity and the Divine. Perhaps this is the difficult hurdle that every listener must overcome when engaging with a Bruckner symphony. One should not necessarily expect approaches directly addressed to humanity, to the individual, but rather try to transcend a certain individuality that each of us possesses and understand things on a level of communion and a more metaphysical perception. – Cristian Mandeal

This album offers an experience of balance, composure, reflection, discretion, and humility toward the score, with the National Radio Orchestra serving as a mature and stylistically perfect partner for Cristian Mandeal’s entire artistic vision.

(Excerpts from the album presentation by musicologist Ştefan Costache)