"Given his immersion in Bruckner’s music over so short a time, you would have thought that Poschner would be a consistent guide on the podium, but in reality he has proved to be hugely erratic throughout the cycle; whether this was due to his using the revised scores of the New Anton Bruckner Complete Works or imposing his own interpretive views on the music, I could not say – but I suspect the latter."
"...imposing his own interpretive views on the music ...." Is that what is called conducting?
Any so-called consensus in critical reviews of commercially released orchestral recordings is bound to be debated. However, to take one limited example, let us dredge up that far more-useful critic than one might imagine, David Hurwitz, and his YouTube review channel in particular ("The Ultimate Classical Music Guide"):
Mr. Hurwitz rates Poschner's releases of the following Bruckner symphonies highly:
Symphony in D minor ("0")
Symphony No. 5
Symphony No. 6
Symphony No. 8 (1890 edition, Nowak)
Symphony No. 9
It would likely be far more accurate to say that some of Poschner's recordings of Bruckner's symphonies (in whatever versions) have divided critical opinion, which is the norm for almost all orchestral recordings that have been released and will be released by almost any orchestra and any conductor, on any record label.
One look at Poschner's website will show that he has conducted most of Bruckner's symphonies several times (except the Symphony in F minor) in whatever version in the lead up to each commercial recording, and then in the years thereafter.
I enjoy and even like Markus Poschner's commercial recording of Bruckner's Symphony No. 7. Do I think that it is anything like one of the best of this symphony that has ever been recorded? No -- but then only a tiny percentage of commercial recordings even qualify for such a debate.
Additionally, I have seen and heard Markus Poschner conduct my local, full-time professional orchestra, the Utah Symphony (in Abravanel Hall, in Salt Lake City, Utah), 8 times in concert in four different programs, since late November 2022. And, most recently, I saw and heard Poschner conduct the Utah Symphony just this past weekend, on May 23-24, 2025. I have also seen and heard the final rehearsal for each of those four programs.
No conductor is consistently good or close to exceptional in the works of composers who have written a half dozen (or many more) symphonies. Markus Poschner is no exception to this rule, but, in my experience, he is an excellent conductor and an excellent musician.
Message Thread Lee Denham's review of Markus Poschner's recording of Bruckner's Symphony No. 7 - Gregory Walz May 27, 2025, 4:46 am
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