Anton Bruckner composed his Symphony No. 5 in B flat major as his contrapuntal summa, and structured it so the massive Finale -- a combination of an expanded sonata form and an elaborate multi-subject fugue -- would be perceived as the culmination, with the three earlier movements acting as a long, discursive introduction. In theory, this is an interesting use of form, but in practice, it takes extraordinary skill to maintain tension for the first 50 minutes and get a satisfying payoff at the conclusion.
Marcus Bosch and the
Aachen Symphony Orchestra are among the few artists who make the symphony sound as it was intended, and despite the numerous pauses and the puzzle-like nature of this work, their control and energy sustain the listener's interest from the mysteriously fragmented beginning to the glorious peroration at the end. Their performance is enhanced by the marvelously sensitive reproduction of this hybrid SACD, which presents the music with extraordinary depth and nuance, and captures the full frequency range to striking effect. The resonance of this recording may at first seem extreme and perhaps a little too echoic, but the interior of St. Nikolaus Church, Aachen, contributes ideal acoustics to Bruckner's towering climaxes, and the multi-channel sound gives the music an expansiveness that is often lacking in other recordings. This is one of a growing number of impressive SACDs that
Bosch and his orchestra have made for Coviello, and their live Bruckner recordings are especially worth investigating for their fine musicianship and terrific audio quality.