Bruckner: Symphony No. 5

1	Symphony No. 5 in B flat,
2	Symphony No. 5 in B flat,
3	Symphony No. 5 in B flat,
4	Symphony No. 5 in B flat,
Bruckner: Symphony No. 5
1.	Symphony No. 5 in B flat ("Tragic"; "Church of Faith"; "Pizzicato"), WAB 105 (various versions) 1:22:33
	Composed by Anton Bruckner
	Performed by Munich Philharmonic Orchestra
	Conducted by Christian Thielemann

Barnes & Noble

Christian Thielemann has devoted virtually all of his recordings to the central line of German repertoire, from Beethoven through Wagner to Richard Strauss, yet Anton Bruckner's symphonies have been conspicuously absent. This recording begins to fill that gap: Thielemann chose Bruckner's Fifth Symphony (in its original 1878 version) for an important occasion, his debut as music director of the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra in October 2004, and those performances were taped live for this disc. Munich has quite a history with Bruckner, dating back long past Sergiu Celibidache's very personal approach to the symphonies during his tenure with the orchestra. It shouldn't be surprising that Thielemann, too, reveals himself here as a Brucknerian to reckon with. His typical fondness for broad tempos serves Bruckner well, even as he forces Deutsche Grammophon's engineers to squeeze more than 82 minutes onto a single disc. This is an expansive reading, but it affords the full measure of contemplation that the work deserves. Not a second of the playing time seems wasted, as each of the sonic edifices built by Bruckner in these four movements only gains in power through duration, achieving a sense of real timelessness and monumentality. Thielemann modulates dynamics, tone color, and speed with great finesse throughout, and the entire symphony flows with near-flawless pacing. Bruckner is too often given extremely resonant, cathedral-like acoustics, to accommodate the organ sonorities that his music imitates. By contrast, the admirable clarity of this recording sheds a different light on the composer, revealing more of the subtleties of his orchestration. And aside from being a superb Bruckner recording, this disc bodes well for a most fruitful relationship between Thielemann and Munich in the years ahead. Scott Paulin

All Music Guide

Because the Munich Philharmonic has a great Brucknerian tradition that extends back to the composer's lifetime, and because Christian Thielemann earnestly wished to begin his first concert season in Munich with a Bruckner symphony, this live recording of the "Symphony No. 5 in B flat major" is the impressive outcome. This work, along with the unfinished "Symphony No. 9," is commonly regarded as one of Bruckner's most deeply religious symphonies, particularly because of the blazing brass chorale at the end that seems to rise up to heaven in its grandeur. Thielemann points out in his liner notes that his is not an especially sacred interpretation, and listeners are free to imagine what they like about the music's inner meanings. Somewhat surprisingly, Thielemann's neutral outlook really benefits the piece because his movendo pacing gives the music propulsion, firmly maintains the form, and avoids pietistic slowness. Additionally, Thielemann is quite successful in conveying Bruckner's "organ effects," suggesting the changes of stops through terraced sectional dynamics. So this rendition may be taken as a clear-headed, unsentimental assessment -- rather more of a secular essay than a paean to God -- but one that may still move listeners in its many glorious moments. DG's sound quality is superb. Blair Sanderson

Gramophone

Thielemann...conjures forth a dark, dauntingly powerful sound that is never costive or unclear.... The recording is superb. Richard Osborne