Bruckner's Fifth Symphony has been called the 'Medieval' because of its multi-layered, Baroque, contrapuntal tonal textures and the 'Catholic' because of its solemn majesty. These designations are uniquely fitting to the work, Bruckner himself called it his 'Fantastic,' especially when it is performed at the Monastery of St. Florian, as on this recording. It is not without reason that Bruckner also called the Fifth his 'contrapuntal masterpiece.' Indeed, the incredible prominence of the finale arises from an almost fanatical contrapuntal interplay that bundles together the structures of the entire symphony into one homogeneous form and leads them together into a grandiose double fugue that is unique even for Bruckner. Franz Welser-Möst, Music Director of both The Cleveland Orchestra and the Zurich Opera, brought his U.S. ensemble to St. Florian in September 2006 for performances at the Linz Brucknerfest. Bruckner wrote the Fifth in 1875/76, but the work was not premiered until 1894, after it had undergone many revisions by the composer.
