Kent Nagano Conducts Classical Masterpieces 5 Anton Bruckner - Symphony No. 8

Product Description Kent Nagano conducts the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin in this performance and documentary feature with Nagano interview and rehearsal footage. Animated sequences portray episodes from Bruckner's life. The performance was made at the Philharmonic H Review As to the performance itself, the Orchestra has given a memorable reading of Bruckner's score, with a rich, full sound, and remarkable ensemble. The brass are strong without resorting to stentorian tactics, and the chorale-like passages wonderfully resonant. Likewise, the woodwinds work well together, with the resulting precision bringing the score to sonic life. Percussion with Bruckner sometimes serve a supportive role, but with the Finale, the timpani are prominent and lead the ensemble in conveying the driving rhythms that are essential to the movement. In fact, all the forces of the Deutsches Symphonie Orchester come together with conviction in a powerful reading of the concluding movement in which Nagano demonstrates his mastery of the score. Dramatic without pandering to cliché, thunderous without playing for sheer volume, the Finale works well in Nagano's hands, and it summarizes, in a sense, his efforts in bringing this work into the series of masterpieces that are the subject of the DVD recordings -- Operatoday.com, James L. Zychowicz, April 2008