Barbirolli was one of the earliest proponents of Bruckner in this country and, indeed, America. He first conducted the seventh, and arguably greatest, of the symphonies in 1939, when conductor of the New York Philharmonic. The present account was recorded in Manchester’s Free Trade Hall in 1967. A BBC Monitor profile of him, made at the time, includes memorable footage of a rehearsal of the scherzo: the light tread of its opening did not come easily. The performance’s glories are inevitably the opening arc of radiant E major melody — to a background of Barbirolli humming — and the profound adagio. Also on the disc are Beethoven’s Egmont and The Creatures of Prometheus overtures. Four star
-- Paul Driver, thesundaytimes.co.uk