The upcoming bicentennial of
Anton Bruckner's birth has stimulated a flood of recordings of his symphonies. Some are from the likes of the
Vienna Philharmonic -- ensembles that have had
Bruckner in their DNA almost since he wrote these works. However, this version of the
Symphony No. 7 from the
NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra should not be dismissed on that account. For one thing, the orchestra numbers several distinguished Brucknerians among its recent conductors, notably
Christoph von Dohnanyi and
Christoph Eschenbach. For another, although certainly there is competition from
Christian Thielemann's
Vienna set, this release may have the strongest engineering so far, with
Sony's team seemingly having taken the time to study the ins and outs of the Elbphilharmonie space.
Alan Gilbert's big perorations do not lose the small details in the winds and strings, and the Wagner tubas at the end sound suitably mysterious. This is
Gilbert's first recording with the
NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra, and he is a conductor for whom new chapters bring new ideas, but the biggest attraction here is simply that the recording can stand on its own merits.
Gilbert's reading is imposing, and it never drags. Sample the slow movement, the emotional center of the work; it feels confident and clear. Chalk this up as another entry in the ongoing discovery of the
Bruckner state of the art. ~ James Manheim
