TORONTO STAR GIVES BRUCKNER CD A FOUR STAR REVIEW
Publicerad: 11 January 2011
"These days, every conductor with aspirations to greatness wants to record Bruckner's symphonies, but few have done it with Dausgaard's level of insight and purpose."
It may seem strange that the 38-member Swedish Chamber Orchestra would want to take up the epic sweep of a symphony by Austrian composer Anton Bruckner (1824-1896). But under the commandingly confident baton of music director Thomas Dausgaard — a regular and welcome guest of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra — Bruckner's Symphony No. 2 gets a rhythmic edge that propels its four movements along with uncommon clarity. Dausgaard uses editor Leopold Nowak's version of Bruckner's 1877 revision of the symphony, which had its premiere at the Vienna World Exhibition in 1873 (yes, things get complicated with Bruckner). Bruckner's sacred choral works are notable for their simplicity. The symphonies are the polar opposites, riddled with crazy dynamic and rhythmic shifts. But Dausgaard finds a way of communicating a bigger picture, using the underlying turmoil as a way of keeping the momentum going. These days, every conductor with aspirations to greatness wants to record Bruckner's symphonies, but few have done it with Dausgaard's level of insight and purpose.John Terauds, Toronto Star, 11 January 2011