Bruckner: Symphony No.7, Wagner: Siegfried's Funeral March

Album review

Andris Nelsons continues his complete collection of Bruckner's symphonies with the Leipzig Gewandhaus, where he is now the musical director. At the head of this fabulous orchestra with its golden sounds, the Latvian conductor throws himself into the era of such legendary recordings of Bruckner as those by Jochum, Böhm, Haitink and Wand. Orchestral perfection, plasticity of sonic masses, coherence across all the music stands, and incredible reserves of power make this new recording a real event.
Andris Nelsons gave a perfect summary of Bruckner's music when he said that it "elevates the soul". Under his baton, the music of the great Austrian becomes a real spiritual experience, going beyond Catholic mysticism to reach a metaphysical plane, an opening onto a new level that opens up infinite vistas. The tempo is ample, the music wreathed in mystery, the nuances subtle, the structure carefully thought-out. The whole musical canvas is alive and swells with a style of singing which is at once intense, luminous, supple and beautiful: it intoxicates the audience, but without ever being overbearing.
Bruckner's worship of his god Wagner is well-known, but it takes on a whole new dimension with the addition of a dose of Wagner to round off each symphony. Here, Siegfried's Funeral March taken from the Götterdämmerung makes a lot of sense when we realise that Bruckner had written the marvellous Adagio of his 7th as an homage to Wagner, who died while the symphony was being composed. © François Hudry/Qobuz