Composer: Anton Bruckner
Orchestra: Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra
Conductor: Nikolaus Harnoncourt
Audio CD
Number of Discs: 1
Format: FLAC (tracks+cue)
Label: Teldec
Size: 276 MB
Recovery: +3%
Scan: yes
Symphony No. 4 in E flat (“Romantic”), WAB 104 (various versions)
Composed by Anton Bruckner
Performed by Concertgebouw Orchestra Amsterdam
Conducted by Nikolaus Harnoncourt
01. Bewegt, nicht zu schnell
02. Andante quasi allegretto
03. Scherzo: Bewegt
04. Finale: Bewegt, doch nicht zu schnell
one of the top efforts on this symphony
Bruckner’s symphony # 4, the so-called “Romantic” is probably his most popular one and hence one of the most recorded. Ample room for comparison. However, when I came across this recording, the combination of Nikolaus Harnoncourt and Bruckner did not seem like an obvious one at all. Harnoncourt’s forte clearly is early music, baroque. He is known to put a lot of knowledge and effort into the historically correct interpretation and rendition of period music. He applies the same thoroughness to understanding Bruckner in his most “wagnerian” period, when he wrote symphonies #3 and 4. With the wonderful Concertgebouw Orchestra as a willing and very able vehicle, the result is stunning and very satisfying. When I think of Bruckner’s 4th, the dominant and very memorbale themes carried by the wind instruments come immediately to mind. Harnoncourt does a wonderful job here, finding the right balance between subtle and forceful, and he gets the pace just perfectly. That goes for the whole piece. In some of his other works I have issues with his pace, but here it is just wonderful. A great recording.
Thank you
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