Symphony No. 6 in A major

"Prospective buyers can be forgiven for some trepidation when approaching this disc. Christoph Eschenbach is not widely known as a Brucknerian, and his Mahler readings can best be described as 'controversial'. He's a method man, who excels in German precision and finesse but often at the expense of the music's passion and humanity. That's fine for the modern music that he seems increasingly to be turning to, but for Bruckner? The playing from the London Philharmonic is superb. There isn't a single section of the orchestra whose performance ever drops below the superlative. One of the greatest strengths of the LPO is its low strings, and their clarity and sheer power provide an impressive foundation for this music. It's a great recording though, and worth every penny." Recording of the Month MusicWeb Dec 2010

Gramophone Magazine - Editor's Choice - February 2011

Recorded live at Southbank Centre's Royal Festival Hall, London, on 4 November 2009.

Anton Bruckner began writing his Sixth Symphony after the Third had received a disappointing public reaction, and the Fourth and Fifth symphonies still remained unheard. His indefatigable need to compose here results in a work of graceful unity; and one that contains some of the loveliest music he ever wrote.

This fine recording, under Christoph Eschenbach, is the fourth Bruckner Symphony disc to be released on the LPO Label: the Fourth, Seventh and Eighth, conducted by Tennstedt, were released in 2006, 2007 and 2008 respectively.

Eschenbach is one of the most interesting and inspiring conductors around. And this recording of Bruckner's Sixth is testimony to this inspiring talent. Eschenbach draws the most amazingly rich sonority from the LPO. Eschenbach's interpretation and intent is clear from the outset: the first movement opening with a beautifully articulated rhythmic motive in the strings, wisely with the first and second violins divided. The Adagio is not especially slow, yet never sounds hurried or pushed. As the Adagio progresses it seems to naturally slow, but not enough to ever feel as it drags. In the Finale Eschenbach is a master in conveying a sense of the mysterious or sacred emerging.