Symphony No. 8

Jaap van Zweden is currently releasing the cycle of Bruckner symphonies with the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic for Octavia and Challenge Records International, with symphonies 2, 4, 5, 7 and 9 already released to great critical acclaim. This is the 8th Symphony! "Van Zweden and the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic gave Bruckner’s opening movement an aura of mystery, as the two main themes declared themselves before modulating to remote realms. Tightly constructed in a classical manner, the movement gradually moved from darkness to light, while the Scherzo which followed wove a thickening web. If the Adagio attained a beyond-the-grave monumentality through its intricate string textures and chorale-like sub-theme, the oft-repeated descending scale in the finale became a kaleidoscope of textures and colours. Bruckner’s brass is just as busy as Mahler’s, but its moments of cloying Mahlerian fruitiness are short-lived: in Bruckner’s rinsed-clean sound-world, craftsmanship overrides sensuality, as this excellent band showed." - 5 stars, Michael Church, The Independent