Norrington’s Bruckner symphony cycle with his Stuttgart Radio Orchestra reaches the Seventh: not as mighty as it should be, because of the conductor’s often swift speeds, which improve structural coherence but knock out grandeur. Add that to his religious avoidance of the heart-tugging wobble that is string vibrato and you get a performance that’s clean, lightweight and strange. The live audience at the end begin by offering very tentative applause — quite right, too.
(Hanssler Classic)