[ Harmonia Mundi Musique d'abord / CD ]
Release Date: Friday 21 July 2017
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Rarely did the première of a Bruckner symphony arouse such enthusiasm; even if, in this case, the first performance took place nearly 20 years after its composition, the work captivated listeners with its ineffable mystery, one thinks of late Beethoven, combining 'Baroque' logic with Romantic introspection. Parting company with Wagner, Bruckner had found his own path . . .
"Herreweghe's Bruckner symphony cycle with the period instruments of his Orchestre des Champs-Elysees reaches the tremendous Fifth, a pivotal work in the composer's development. As usual it's a sober account, and nicely tailored, though the conductor's knack for shaving away the sharp edges can be a mixed blessing." The Times, April 4 2009
"Philippe Herreweghe's ongoing Bruckner cycle with the Orchestre des Champs Élysées present the Belgian conductor as a perplexing Brucknerian. The period instruments of his orchestra are less weighty in tone than their modern counterparts, and the outcome allows light into some unexpected corners...The massive and monumental aspects are played down, and ... the quality you'll find is an often coolish, Mendelssohnian neatness and balance." Irish Times, 17 April 2009