Search - Bruckner, Blomstedt, Sfs :: Symphony 6

Surprisingly warm and touching Bruckner

Matthew Vaughan | Palo Alto, CA United States | 05/16/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Some critics slammed this Bruckner 6 for having eccentrically slow tempos at times (it starts off farily normally, but the speed drops by half at the second theme, for instance). But I think it really works--it almost NEEDS to be that way, or else it sounds like it's being rushed through to little effect (as in Karajan's Berlin Phil. recording). The result is remarkably poignant--I never thought Bruckner could be so emotional! The second movement is also especially fine (again, slow and richly tender). This makes it a perhaps unique recording that Bruckner fans should try to hear. It is wonderfully played by the San Francisco Symphony and recorded very nicely by Decca/London (with their usual fairly close perspective). The Wagner Siegfried Idyll is also quite fine and beautifully played, if not as distinguished as the Bruckner. (Incidentally, I found this recording and performance much warmer and more satisfying than the same team's recording of Bruckner 4.)"