Lahav Shani, Chief Conductor of the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra for the past five years, conducts the Dutch ensemble in Bruckner's epic Symphony No 7. He admires the Austrian composer for his proverbially grand musical architecture, but also for his vision and the atmosphere he creates as he builds to mighty climaxes over extended periods "... from a hint of light to the whole world". Shani's sense for symphonic structure and drama, and the Rotterdam Philharmonic's response to it, was evident in their Warner Classics recording of Shostakovich's Symphony No 5 (released in 2022). Gramophone magazine's reviewer praised "... an account where the feeling is refreshingly one of rediscovery... Shani has a wonderful nose for atmosphere... [He] reminds me just how achingly beautiful the slow movement of this piece is... and I don't think I have ever heard the transition into the hushed final pages sound quite as breathtaking... A terrific disc."
