The approach of the Bruckner bicentennial in 2024 has brought a host of performances of his symphonies. No doubt more are on the way, but several that have already appeared have brought his music into sharper definition. Among them is the live cycle by the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, under the energetic direction of Andris Nelsons, which concludes with the present release. This volume exemplifies several strong characteristics of the whole cycle. Like others in the cycle, it includes a pair of Wagner instrumental pieces (here at the beginning), the Prelude and the "Liebestod" from Tristan und Isolde; this device has worked well throughout and is especially effective here as the Wagner pieces are followed by Bruckner's Symphony No. 1 in C minor, emphasizing the role of Wagner in defining Bruckner's vast musical spaces. Nelsons has gotten wonderful string sound from the venerable Gewandhaus Orchestra, and both of the symphonies here provide impressive examples; try the first movement of the Symphony No. 1 for the strings' rather eerie perfection in the top register, and the slow movement of the Symphony No. 5 in B flat major, for sheer melodic lyricism. Perhaps beauty in the strings is built into the performances of this great orchestra, but not so the enthusiastic forward momentum of Nelsons' readings, which are of the sort that will attract non-Brucknerites. The performances here make a nice contrast with those of Christian Thielemann and the Staatskapelle Dresden or Vienna Philharmonic; Thielemann is the great technician, while Nelsons thinks in terms of long lines. Deutsche Grammophon captures the immediacy of the live performances in this superb release.