harmonic = London Sym. Orch. Archive

BRUCKNER: Symphony No. 5 in B-flat (Nowak Edition) – London Sym. Orch./ Lance Friedel – MSR Classics

by Audiophile Audition | Mar 13, 2016 | SACD & Other Hi-Res Reviews

Could we be witnessing the birth of a born Brucknerian? Yes, if this recording has anything to say about it. BRUCKNER: Symphony No. 5 in B-flat (Nowak Edition) – London Sym. Orch./ Lance Friedel – MSR Classics multichannel SACD MS 1600, 73:19 [Distr. by Albany] *****: Not since 2010, as far as I can tell, has MSR ventured into Super Audio territory. I made a comment back then on their piano disc, the first they offered, that if subsequent issues were like this, then we were in very good hands. Well, listening to Lance Friedel’s Bruckner offering only confirms that assessment. Friedel, known to me only once previously from a marvelous Nielsen album, has got the measure of this sometimes elusive, yet rather editorially stable Fifth Symphony. Bruckner’s second longest work has been accused of being difficult to hold together, yet if the truth is told it is one of the most successful works of his found on record. Perhaps there are just fewer interpretative decisions to make due to the numerous detailed instructions that the conductor left in the score, maybe partially inspired by a visit to Bayreuth to hear Wagner’s orchestral inklings up close and personal. He seems […]