Complete Symphonies 1-9 (Limited Edition)

Eugen Jochum conducts Bruckner's Symphony No. 2 with an ear for it's classical underpinnings. The music flows freely, with seamlessly dovetailed transitions between sections. The first movement's rhythmic second subject builds tremendous energy at Jochum's quick pace, but then he really pours on the speed for the coda. These same qualities grace the remainder of the performance-the adagio shimmers serenely under Jochum's elegant sensitivity, while his sense of Beethovenian drama propels the finale to a bracing close. The Staatskapelle Dresden provides spectacular playing, and the only drawback is Jochum's use of the Nowak edition of the score, which imposes extensive cuts throughout (including an especially disfiguring one in the finale).