This recording of Bruckner’s Eighth Symphony, taped during a live concert in 2010, is distinguished by Jukka-Pekka Saraste’s brisk, focused approach and the quality of the WDR Symphony Orchestra’s playing. Saraste brings the symphony home in under 75 minutes compared to the 80 plus-minute performances more regularly heard. This is largely a result of the consistent onward pulse he maintains throughout the symphony rather than the adoption of any particularly fast tempos. Only at the beginning of the finale does Saraste’s pacing seem unduly hasty, his tempo of minim=94 being somewhat at odds with the score’s suggested minim=69 and marking of Feierlich, nicht schnell (‘solemnly, not fast’). Overall, this is a performance that follows the direct and objective school of Bruckner interpretation exemplified by conductors such as van Beinum and Schuricht, as opposed to the more interventionist styles of Barenboim and Venzago or the more monumental approaches of Giulini and Wand.

The WDR orchestra deliver a richly detailed, burnished sound and splendidly characterised solos, particularly from the woodwinds. The recording captures all but the busiest tuttis with clarity and warmth. There’s no obvious audience noise, although there is what sounds like a mismatched edit at 7'16" in the Adagio and no one seems to have picked up on the fact that the flutes omit two notes at 18'48" in the finale (bar 674 of the Haas score). These details aside, the new recording nicely fills a gap in the market for those who prefer their Bruckner lithe and energetic, although some may feel that an additional quantum of spiritual depth is warranted in this most profound of symphonies.