Bruckner: Symphony No 8

No orchestra in the world, not even the Vienna or Berlin Philharmonics, can match the Concertgebouw's pedigree in Bruckner. Each of its music directors since the second world war (Van Beinum, Jochum, Haitink and now Riccardo Chailly) has made a speciality of the symphonies, and the orchestra - which is founded on a string section of incomparable flexibility - wraps itself around Bruckner's long-limbed melodies with total familiarity. Chailly's approach to the most monumental of the canon makes a virtue of that lyrical potential; there is no shortage of fierce drama when that is required in the first and last movements, but the heart of his performance lies in the perfectly prepared slow movement, buoyed up on ultra-refined textures. Others may detect a shortage of granitic strength overall. For me, the balance between power and expressivity seems just right.