Right from the opening pp tremolando you can tell that as an interpretation this is going to be something off the beaten track. Rather than cue the familiar shimmering haze, Fischer prefers a softly undulating chord so that when the cellos enter with the opening melody, the ground is already warm. That warmth remains a constant throughout the performance, though a pervading tenderness, fluidity and occasional delicacy (the violins at 1'52") lend the music an unusually sensual profile. It takes some getting used to but it’s worth making the effort to adjust. The prominence of the marching bass crotchets at 4'10" alerts us to the upcoming climax while the faster passage (ruhig, ‘peaceful’) that follows takes on an appropriately pastoral quality, though the galloping lead horns at 5'51" might have sounded rather less shy. Also the full-orchestral transformation of the opening theme (after the flute clears the way for it, at 10'13") lacks weight. The movement’s coda at 16'13" forms a well-shaped curve, slowing before the final climax sets in, which speeds alarmingly. Turn to the less interventionist Nikolaus Harnoncourt (with the Vienna Philharmonic) and you hear the benefits of a more robust approach.

The opening of the Adagio is simplicity itself (Harnoncourt’s approach is not dissimilar), especially the gentle string passage at 0'54", which verges on sounding Mozartian. Here as elsewhere Brucknerians schooled in the manners of Karajan, Furtwängler or Klemperer might find Fischer’s approach to the moderato second subject a little too hasty. Also, where Harnoncourt passes on timps and cymbals for the movement’s principal climax, Fischer engages with them. The Scherzo enjoys a winning lilt, with effectively judged climaxes (Fischer as ever a stylish dancer in interpretative terms) and an affectionate ebb and flow to the Trio, whereas the finale is welcomed with keen accents and a placidly played (if swiftly paced) second subject. Interesting the way Fischer marks hairpin dynamics just before the strutting marcato passage at 2'38", and this time the movement’s closing bars are held steady.

As to digital comparisons, in the first instance I’d try Harnoncourt, who shares with Fischer a certain penchant for luminous textures; but when it comes to a less restlessly inflected approach (which I personally prefer), Marek Janowski and Stanisπaw Skrowaczewski will take some beating.