-
-
Ad Space
(728 x 90)
Published at 5:11pm
Survey
Sign up today!
There’s no more sober and dignified conductor working today than Bernard Haitink, and so this disc is, naturally, not going to fly off into wildly uncharted expressive terrain. But it is a superbly presented account of the work from a set of performances that stood out for the orchestra, working with instead of against its conductor, and it therefore gives a precise snapshot of how this relationship is unfolding.
Haitink doesn’t bring Daniel Barenboim’s oceanic depth to Bruckner, or the flash of Sir Georg Solti, but everything throughout is well-considered. Dynamics especially: Entrances are exquisitely balanced with what came before. Haitink locates a deep vein of longing in the first movement, a jocularity in the fourth, and lets the bounding Scherzo lurch about.
The CSO isn’t releasing this disc with an eye on posterity, in hopes that it will be the go-to version of Bruckner’s Seventh for most listeners. (If it does, hey, great.) They want to document the orchestra’s sound, and it is a fantastic sound, with woodwind principals who engage in conversational dialogue with one another, and a low-brass section that can shout down a hurricane. The strings have a high-gloss sheen and evenness that’s about as sumptuous as you could desire. Haitink’s interpretation might not wow you, but the playing and camaraderie will.
