CLASSICAL: NEW RELEASES

Bruckner Symphony No 7 Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Tintner (Naxos)

Veteran conductor George Tintner's budget Bruckner cycle is shaping up nicely. Here he tackles the imposing rockface that is the mighty Seventh, using the Haas edition with its slow movement finale devoid of percussion, sustaining the climax rather than pinpointing it. The RSNO, with burnished brass and silk-like strings, spaciously recorded, is on form throughout. HHHH

Nielsen String Quartets Nos 1 & 2 Oslo String Quartet (Naxos)

A Norwegian quartet with the first of two discs of the Dane Nielsen's four quartets. The Oslo players certainly find ample Norse ruggedness with a gritty approach that makes this music imposing and darkly etched. On the negative side, phrasing could be cleaner and shaping, together with cumulative tension, more acute. Still, a workmanlike case is made for this, perhaps unjustly, neglected aspect of Nielsen's output. HHH