Bruckner: Symphony No. 8 in C Minor, WAB 108 (Edition Haas)

Chronique

Bruckner's gigantic Symphony No. 8 in C minor is a formidable undertaking for an orchestra, and recordings have been relatively infrequent given the celebrity of the composer. Thus it may initially seem surprising that it has been recorded twice by conductor Christian Thielemann over less than a dozen years, in 2009 with the Staatskapelle Dresden, and here in 2020 with the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra. It's also surprising that both recordings are live, although here, one can set aside any worries: Sony did an excellent job in the warm environment of the Vienna Musikverein, and the symphony's quiet passages and sostenuto lines are unmarred by any noise. One can understand why Thielemann wanted to record this work in Vienna: it is, arguably, the most difficult work in the symphonic repertory, both musically and technically, and the Vienna Philharmonic is, when it wants to be, arguably the world's greatest orchestra. Those quiet passages are magical in this reading; listen to the magical entrances and the appearance of the first movement's Wagnerian second subject at five minutes. As for the symphony's grand climaxes, Thielemann may be a bit restrained, but he is never passive; there are more emotionalist readings of the symphony, and Thielemann lands toward the Apollonian pole. Listeners who want a big experience of grand Austrian orchestral tradition will find it here.

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