With this impressive and majestic performance conductor Georg Tintner approaches Celibidache territory, taking a full 73 minutes to explore Bruckner’s serene Austrian musical landscapes. However, as befits the work of a master Brucknerian, the symphony never feels too slow; leisurely, certainly, but also with definite momentum. It’s sort of like the difference between flying and taking a cruise: A jet will get you there sooner, but with a cruise the voyage is part of the fun, and the food’s so much better. It also helps that Tintner is working with an orchestra that has a super brass section (splendid horns in the “hunting” scherzo and in all of those exposed passages in the first two movements), and is unfailingly responsive to his way with the score. He gets a warmth and sustained singing quality from the strings that’s rarely exhibited by UK orchestras, most of which function more like brass bands with strings attached for support (a strange fact, considering the number of superb works for string orchestra by British composers). In short, this is a very distinguished, often inspired performance.
