Dohnányi’s Bruckner Fifth humanizes the work to a degree that some hard-core Brucknerians tend to dislike. With the exception of the adagio, taken at the traditionally slow tempo–in four–rather than the swifter alla breve that the notation suggests, the performance is uncommonly lively and unpretentious. This pays the largest dividends in the finale, which has one of the clearest and least soggy fugues on disc. Nor does the lightness of texture mean that the brass playing isn’t powerful, or that the Cleveland Orchestra isn’t its usual excellent self. Some listeners might object to the soft-grained timpani tone, but this strikes me as a contributing factor to the organ-like sonority that Dohnányi evokes so successfully and that is so much a characteristic of the work. This version may not be “the” performance for everyone, but it is distinctive and very enjoyable, offering a fine alternative to more traditional readings–and it’s good that Arkivmusic.com has made it available as one of its “on demand” titles.
