London Philharmonic Orchestra/Skrowaczewski

Bruckner Symphony no 3

(LPO)

I find myself attracted to this warm performance of Bruckner’s Third Symphony by the London Phil and its conductor, Stanislaw Skrowaczeski, now well into his nineties and sounding like a man completely on top of his game who’s seen it all, done it all, probably thought it all too, and who has long-since purged the concept of “pressure” from his activities. There’s a marvellous ease in his unfolding of the music: yes, you can still hear those darned blocks of musical stone, which build Bruckner’s monolithic structures, being lowered into place and assembling interminably into a cathedral pile. But the conductor doesn’t shove it down your throat. He doesn’t shout, but does it all so gently, fluidly and expressively that the music has a rare charm: it’s not often one could use that word about Bruckner’s music. Good playing from the orchestra, though I find the live recording from the Royal Festival Hall last March a bit one-dimensional.

Michael Tumelty