Search - Bruckner, Strauss :: Bruckner: Symphony 8; Strauss: Metamorphosen

Gorgeous German Brass Playing

Michael A Pahre | Cambridge, MA | 04/10/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Giuseppe Sinopoli is best known, both in Europe and North America, as a conductor of Italian opera. He is also one of the most under-rated conductors of his generation. Orchestras that are normally laconic become infused with excitement under his baton. Here he leads what is generally regarded as a second-tier German orchestra, the Dresden Staatskapelle, in the performance of their lives: the musicians simple play their hearts out for him in an exciting and dramatic performance of Bruckner's Eighth Symphony. More so than any other work of this composer, the success of this Finale lays squarely with the brass section, and the Staatskapelle rises to the task with their classic German, burnished sound. The recording captures the winds with the right amount of both presence and reverberation (although the tympani sound like they are locked in a tunnel). Sinopoli achieves a good pace throughout the symphony, neither rushing nor dragging in this long work. The Bruckner recording alone is worth the price of this 2 CD set.The recording of Strauss's Metamorphosen, which fills out the 2nd disc of this set, is less compelling. While the strings have a beautiful sound and balance, Sinopoli never seems to give the listener an idea where the piece is headed and the work thus comes across as a bit aimless."