One of the measures of how good conductor Christian Thielemann is with Bruckner is that with different orchestras, he can forge interpretations that have different strengths (and occasionally weaknesses). Consider this reading of the Symphony No. 4 in E flat major, the "Romantic," recorded with Thielemann on the podium, leading the Wiener Philharmoniker (Vienna Philharmonic) in a live performance at the Salzburg Festival. The orchestra is, in a word, perfect. There is nothing to excuse by saying it was a live performance; ...
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One of the measures of how good conductor Christian Thielemann is with Bruckner is that with different orchestras, he can forge interpretations that have different strengths (and occasionally weaknesses). Consider this reading of the Symphony No. 4 in E flat major, the "Romantic," recorded with Thielemann on the podium, leading the Wiener Philharmoniker (Vienna Philharmonic) in a live performance at the Salzburg Festival. The orchestra is, in a word, perfect. There is nothing to excuse by saying it was a live performance; the brass plays as if part of a single motion; the winds trace every detail in perfect accordance with Thielemann's wishes. It's also a performance that somehow reflects less of the essence of the music than do Thielemann's performances with his own Staatskapelle Dresden, an ensemble where Bruckner is bred in the bone. It unfolds like clockwork, but the deep immersion into Romantic imagery is missing. Consider the triumphal brass blasts in the Scherzo here; they are flawlessly...
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