Stanislaw Skrowaczewski continues his impressive Bruckner cycle with a Symphony No. 2 that, like his recent account of No. 0, is big on dynamic impact and continuity of line. He again lets the Saarbrücken Radio Symphony brass take center stage, sometimes a little more than necessary, as in the propulsive third subject of the first movement, where they drown out the important counter-rhythms in the strings. Elsewhere, the climax of the Andante, for instance, the conductor balances the brass wonderfully, creating a truly transcendent moment. The woodwinds provide their own special resonance in the quieter passages of the first movement and finale.
Skowaczewski employs the Nowak edition of the score, which means slightly annoying but not disfiguring cuts in the first and second movements (as well as repeats in the scherzo). Thankfully, he decides against the really senseless cut in the finale’s coda, allowing us to hear the haunting reprise of the first movement’s main theme. Riccardo Chailly’s beautiful recording with the Concertgebouw features the uncut Hass texts (and more incisive playing, with better orchestral detail), while at the other extreme, Georg Tintner and the National Symphony of Ireland present the original 1872 version, more than 70 minutes long and full of those wonderful Brucknerian surprises. If that’s more Symphony No. 2 than you’d care to hear, then Skrowaczewski’s well-recorded performance makes a fine budget alternative.
