Album: Bruckner, Symphony No 3 - Norrington/Radio-Sinfonieorchester Stuttgart des SWR (Hänssler Classic)

Hailed by some critics as superlative, derided as folly by others, Sir Roger Norrington's series of Mahler Symphonies with the Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra provoked some passionate notices.

Will his Bruckner do the same? Very likely. Norrington's reading of the 1873 version of Bruckner's Third Symphony features a brisk Polka and a pragmatic Chorale. But let's not get hung up on tempi. And let's not fret about the lack of vibrato on Bruckner's cadences. The most seductive aspect of this performance is the clarity of the numinous orchestral textures, and the powerful sense of struggle, awe and exaltation.

Pick of the Album: Bruckner's radiant fourth movement 'Finale, Allegro'