Philharmoniker Hamburg / Simone Young

Simone Young’s Bruckner cycle with the Hamburg Philharmonic Orchestra has been praised for its »analytical, yet impulsive« approach to this music. Six of Bruckner’s nine symphonies have already appeared on CD, as well as his symphony in D Minor known as »Die Nullte« (»The Zeroth«) and an early study symphony. The remaining symphonies will follow in the course of the current season, which is Young’s last in Hamburg. Bruckner’s Fifth Symphony is appropriately on the programme of Lux aeterna. Because of its vast dimension and choral-like character it has sometimes been labeled »Church of Faith« or »Catholic«. Bruckner himself called it his »fantastical« symphony. There are indeed moments when the music seems to come from a different sphere, giving witness to the composer’s deep Catholic faith, and constituting a worthy finale to the Lux aeterna festival.