Diving into the Deep End Lance Friedel conducts Bruckner's Fifth - heard by STEPHEN FRANCIS VASTA 'The final perorations are resplendent ...'

The Fifth is one of Bruckner's more intricate and ambitious symphonies, not least because of the extended fugue that occupies a big chunk of the Finale. By choosing this daunting score for his first recorded Bruckner, Lance Friedel is, effectively, diving into the deep end of the musical pool: he could as easily have opted for the user-friendly if overexposed Seventh, or the still-underrated and -underplayed Second. Still, the choice suggests a willingness to take risks, which is hardly bad; and Friedel rises to at least some of the score's challenges with aplomb.

The start is a bit clumsy: the sustained strings, entering in turn over the walking pizzicatos, 'speak' late, as can happen with conductors who were pianists...

ANTON BRUCKNER

LONDON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA

MSR CLASSICS

AUSTRIA

ORCHESTRAL MUSIC

LONDON

ENGLAND