Bruckner: Symphony No. 7
In contrast to previous CD editions, Sony's new transfer boasts greater definition in the treble and bass, with extra bloom in the strings. What's more, the finale no longer spills over to a second disc, enabling the listener to hear Bruno Walter's Bruckner 7th uninterrupted on one CD.  The high point is Walter's meditative Adagio, shorn of its traditional cymbal crash. Elsewhere, one misses the thrust, energy, and sense of cumulation other conductors achieve in the outer movements. Be that as it may, Walter communicates his kinder, gentler vision of this music with love, authority, and conviction.--Jed Distler