With a running time of less than an hour, an orchestral canvas full of striking and memorable ideas, and one of the most affecting adagios in all music, Bruckner's Sixth Symphony ought to be one of his most popular and approachable works.
In fact, it is one of the least played and appreciated of the great Austrian composer's symphonies. Why this should be is something of a puzzle; perhaps it has something to do with the lack of recommendable recordings of the work. It has been recorded many times, but even Bruckner conductors of the stature of Karajan, Wand and Barenboim have not had complete success with it.
This mid price Telarc release of the Sixth performed by the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra under Jesús López-Cobos dates from 1991. Given that Cincinnati is not known for its Bruckner tradition, how does the performance compare with the other eight or nine versions in my collection?
The answer is: extremely well. In the first movement, López-Cobos is a little detached and the music's martial sections could be more exciting, but afterwards the performance gains in stature as it proceeds. In the Adagio, he fully captures the combined yearning and aspiring nature of the music, and the radiant concluding pages of the movement are immensely moving.
The brass playing of the Scherzo has a crispness and bite which is tremendously exciting, contrasting nicely with the sensitive and perceptive performance of the Trio. In the riotous Finale, López-Cobos is alive to every twist and turn of the music, and the symphony's majestic conclusion brings playing of enormous power.
Telarc's recording is well balanced and wide ranging, although ideally there could be a little more transparency to the sound. There is a very good booklet note written by William C Baxter.
To sum up, it's a pity that the performance of the first movement is not quite on the same level as the rest, but nevertheless López-Cobos's interpretation comes very near the top of the list of recommendable recordings of Bruckner's Sixth Symphony.
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