Sir Roger Norrington was chief conductor of the former Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra (today the SWR Symphonieorchester) for thirteen years. During that time he caused an international stir with what came to be known as ‘The Stuttgart Sound’, a synthesis of historically-informed performance practice with the technical capabilities of a
modern orchestra. Whether in Mozart, Haydn, Bruckner or Brahms, Norrington sought to capture the performance experience of the time, adjusting the orchestra’s size and seating plan to create an authentic sound without vibrato.
In these reissued recordings of Bruckner symphonies, Norrington and the SWR present the human face of a composer whose image in the public mind has sometimes been reduced to that of someone in a quasi-religious retreat. Bruckner’s symphonies, however, were distinctly secular works written with the Musikverein Vienna in mind. They describe journeys, nature and birdsong; there is dance music, humour, unexpected drama and pauses. In his entirely individual style, albeit with subtle influences of Beethoven, Schubert, Mendelssohn and Wagner, Bruckner conjures memories of his youth, from playing violin at village weddings to the sounds of the St Florian organ loft.