Con­ductor Chris­tian Thiele­mann lives up to his name yet again as a “Bruckner specialist” (Klassik Akzente). The Fourth Sympho­ny is giv­en in the presumed orig­inal ver­sion recovered by Robert Haas. This ver­sion differs consid­erably from the first, ef­fectively pub­lished score, which Bruckner had only accepted as a stopgap so that the work could eas­ily be performed. Thiele­mann brings out the tone paint­ing very vividly in Baden-Baden: “These are tone paint­ings of the finest quality”, wrote one reviewer enthu­sias­tically.

Bruckner’s Ninth – presented in the unfin­ished ver­sion in three move­ments – calls for no fewer than four “Wagner tubas” at the be­ginning and end of the Adagio, an in­stru­ment which Richard Wagner had specially made for his Ring of the Nibelung. As an avowed fan of Wagner, Bruckner included them in sev­eral of his works. Thiele­mann now lets them sound at full vol­ume. The press ver­dict: “a mu­sical and spiritual event”.

Sächsis­che Staatskapelle Dresden
Chris­tian Thiele­mann, con­ductor