LSO to release Bruckner’s fourth symphony, conducted by Sir Simon Rattle, September 16.

About the release

“The entire evening was a Brucknerian labour of love, mixing the obscure and the familiar, and provided further proof that Rattle has increasingly embraced this composer as he has aged. … Climaxes were unforced and majestic, with some persuasively idiomatic slowings-down at key moments. Throughout, the LSO played with searing commitment and a genuine bloom to their sound.” – Martin Kettle, The Guardian

Sir Simon Rattle loves Bruckner’s Fourth, and on this new recording from LSO Live, he conducts the work in all its splendour: music that never gets any less stirring, and has never sounded so fresh. He is aware, too, that Bruckner’s inspiration burned so brightly that he ended up with more ideas than he could actually use. “There is much wonderful music which remains almost entirely unplayed” he says. On this album he steps inside Bruckner’s workshop, bringing to light some of the music that didn’t make the final cut.

This edition of the symphony and its discarded Scherzo and Finale by Benjamin-Gunnar Cohrs was published in 2021. The world premiere performance with Sir Simon Rattle and the LSO is a must-listen for lovers of Bruckner’s music, and gives us a glimpse into the composer’s untold musical thoughts.

About the music

The air shimmers and glows, and somewhere in the mists, a solitary horn gives a lonely call. The stuff of fairytales? The truth is, it’s impossible to write about Bruckner’s majestic Fourth Symphony without letting the imagination soar; he never wrote anything more colourful, or more poetic. In Germany, they call it the ‘Romantic’ symphony, and it’s easy to hear why.

Hear the symphony come to life in this concert footage from the audio recording.