A new door to Bruckner's music has been opened by Gerd Schaller
This is an amazing recording of Bruckner's 5th Symphony in transcription for organ, that helped me to understand Bruckner much
better and it came with many surprises for me. Actually, I cherish all of Gerd Schaller's symphonic recordings of Anton Bruckner, as he masterly finds the exact right fine timing and grand pulse of this music to let it become great and impressive, so that this music opens up to the next dimensions, Bruckner certainly had in mind. There are only few conductors in all recording history to be gifted to reach that level and I consider Gerd Schaller as one of the few if not the leading Bruckner interpret of our time. Hearing him playing Bruckner on organ himself opens a direct access to his inner musicality and personality without the orchestra as mediator and translator. Before, with his symphonic completion of the 9th Symphony of Bruckner, Gerd Schaller has shown, that he deeply understands the music and structure, Bruckner has created. Also the Ninth has been transcribed by Gerd Schaller for organ, where he already proved to be able to masterly extract the core of a symphonic work and transfer it to organ as it were originally written for that instrument in form of an organ symphony. And the same here, if even not improved in his skills, he
has masterly created this transcription of the Fifth. To my total surprise is the modernity of Bruckner, when you just listen to the
absolute music extract, it becomes so clear and perplexing at the same time, what is usually a bit hidden from our ears in the symphonic version, where Bruckner managed to orchestrate elegantly the shocking moments of modernity a bit away from our ear's focus. In parts of the Fifths I would guess that passages of this music belong far into the 20ths century. You may even think: what, is this really Bruckner? This could be the reason, why Bruckner has created such a polarity and diversity from absolute admires to Bruckner-haters that is still valid today. As this recording is a must for Bruckner enthusiasts, I would also recommend it to the haters, as it would maybe help them to find way to understand Bruckner's music in a more favourable way. Schaller said in the interview that not all symphonies of Bruckner are suitable for a translation to organ. Well, I truly hope, that this will not stop him to transcribe at the end all of the symphonies. Bruckner has not left us with man works for organ, although he was known to be a
master on that instrument, and having some transcriptions in an organ symphony like style is certainly favourable for the music history to partly fill the gap, Bruckner has left for his beloved instrument. This transcription of the Fifth may also give us a hint,
how skilled Bruckner must have played his famous improvisation. It is due to the amazing abilities of Gerd Schaller to open the door of our imaginations, how it must have been at that time. Just listen!
