Anton Bruckner: Symphony No. 4 in E-Flat Major, WAB 104 (1888 Version)

Album review

The Capriccio label's series of Bruckner symphonies offers not only a full set of the composer's nine but also recordings of the individual versions the revision-happy Bruckner made over the years. It seems a lot, but for the perfect Brucknerian, it is probably just the ticket, and the recordings, with several different orchestras involved under conductor Markus Poschner, have been competently done. Here, Poschner and the ORF Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra offer the Symphony No. 4 in E flat major in its 1888 version, the one most commonly played now. The orchestra sounds terrific, and this must be credited to the work of Marin Alsop, its music director for several years when this album appeared in 2023. Poschner's reading is brisk and straightforward, with an unusually deep lyricism in the Andante (which one might sample -- it is a standout); nobody would pick this from among the better-known versions out there, but it won't disappoint listeners following the series in the least. The notes by Paul Hawkshaw and Norbert Trawöger, with the former delving into the editorial role of Bruckner's students in the development of the 1888 version, are a draw, as is Capriccio's sound from the Wien Radio Kulturhaus.
© James Manheim /TiVo