Fiona Maddocks 

Bruckner: Symphony No 7 review – Iván Fischer and co pick up the pace

Fischer and his Budapest Festival Orchestra make Bruckner fly, writes Fiona Maddocks
  
  


The works "lithe" and "Bruckner" don't tend to go together. Iván Fischer and his Budapest Festival Orchestra force you to break with habit. This account of the expansive Seventh Symphony is at once vigorous and lean. Dedicated to Wagner's patron, Ludwig II of Bavaria, it exists in countless famous recordings, some nearly 10 minutes longer than Fischer's. The Adagio is marked "very solemnly and very slowly". Fischer skims over the "very", increasing the pace and, in this clear, detailed performance, bringing a glowing transparency to the work. The sound quality is superb. It won't be to all tastes. It suits mine.

 

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