This recording was made under studio conditions a month before Juanjo Mena and the BBC Philharmonic performed the symphony at the 2012 BBC Proms. Although the concert performance of the symphony received mixed reviews at the time, the interpretation captured here is one of insight and imagination. Mena’s approach is distinguished by the warmth he finds at key moments in the symphony, although grander passages are also given their due. In the first movement, for example, the second subject, played slightly slower than usual, is wonderfully poetic and wistful, and the coda is the thrilling culmination it should be but frequently isn’t.

A feature of the Proms performance also found here is the very slow pace that Mena adopts for the Adagio, which runs for over 20 minutes. For the most part, Mena makes it work, helped by some deeply felt playing from the strings, but there are moments where tension threatens to evaporate. Some of Mena’s dynamics are also rather extreme. The pp rhythmic pattern played by the violins at the start of the symphony, for example, is almost inaudible at normal listening levels. Elsewhere, however, Mena’s control of balance and tone colour is acutely observed. The Scherzo enjoys some superbly articulate and exciting playing from the orchestra, and the finale is given a well-paced and stirring reading. All in all, a fresh and distinctive take on the symphony, if not quite a first choice. Chandos’s engineering is of the company’s usual high standard, allowing every detail of Bruckner’s orchestration to be heard, and the informative booklet note by Stephen Johnson is a model of its kind.