Karina Canellakis conducts Bruckner's Symphony No. 5

Bruckner’sFifth Symphonyis a monumental work and a highlight of his oeuvre. Think: thrilling brass sections and delicate violin plucking. All the interconnections between them are also perfectly captured in this performance by chief conductor Karina Canellakis and the Radio Philharmonic Orchestra.

Architectural Structure
Bruckner himself was very pleased with hisFifth Symphony, which he proudly called his “contrapuntal masterpiece.” It has sometimes been claimed that his earlier symphonies were somewhat lacking in structure, but that certainly does not apply to this one. It is no coincidence that its “architectural” construction is often compared to a cathedral: seemingly simple building blocks form an impressive whole and lead to a finale that is unparalleled.

CathedralThe cathedral metaphor is also thematically relevant to theFifth Symphony. For instance, chorales and fugues—traditionally church genres—play an important role. Bruckner, the quintessential late Romantic composer, also quotes Mozart’sRequiem, which he regarded as the greatest religious masterpiece ever composed.