Bruckner: Symphony No. 9 (with Documentation of the Finale Fragment) ~ Harnoncourt [Hybrid SACD - DSD]

Anton Bruckner (Composer), Nikolaus Harnoncourt (Conductor), Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra (Orchestra) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Orchestra: Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra
• Conductor: Nikolaus Harnoncourt
• Composer: Anton Bruckner
• Audio CD (October 21, 2003)
• Number of Discs: 2
• Format: Hybrid SACD - DSD
• Label: RCA / BMG
• ASIN: B0000AF1IG
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #9,490 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

34 of 38 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Harnoncourt roars, but Wildner rages, January 4, 2004

By 

Neil E. Schore (Davis, CA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Bruckner: Symphony No. 9 (with Documentation of the Finale Fragment) ~ Harnoncourt (Audio CD)

As the other reviewers note, this release is essential for anyone interested in this work, for the workshop and documentation of the currently surviving material from the final movement of the symphony. Another important aspect of the release is the use of a new "critical edition" of the initial three movements of Bruckner's 9th, which contains a number of very evident modifications, particularly in orchestration. All the same, it is a concert recording, and, at least in the usual CD format, balances aren't always optimal, trumpets and trombones often too forward, at the expense of the Vienna Phil's strings and (especially) glorious horn section, and timpani are somewhat reticent, especially in the first movement. Harnoncourt also tends to push a bit hard, lacking the natural plasticity in tempo that marks the greatest performances of the first three movements of this work. The impression is one of roaring power, building and receding throughout. Of the 4th movement sketches, Harnoncourt plays exactly what survives, except he omits the 50-odd bars of three coda fragments that have turned up.

Just a few months ago, a recording of the 9th including a reconstruction/completion of the 4th movement, based on the same body of fragments and sketches (including the coda) and prepared by the same editors, was released on Naxos(8.555933-34). The orchestra is the New Philharmonia of Westphalia (Germany) and the conductor is Johannes Wildner. Now, finally, we can hear this work in a form tantalizingly close to the way Bruckner intended. Furthermore, unlike Harnoncourt's Vienna Phil performance, Wildner and his astonishiingly capable Westphalians present what I can only describe as a ferocious performance, with horns and timpani cutting through the fabric of the orchestra at key points, and effectively flexible tempos. It's a performance unlike any I've heard since Furtwangler's furious and terrifying recording made in Berlin during the darkest days of World War II. If you've gotten the Harnoncourt (or even if you haven't), you have to get the Wildner, too.

As an aside, these recordings render superfluous the 1986 Chandos recording by Yoav Talmi and the Oslo Phil of a 4-movement version of Bruckner's 9th. That documented a brave effort by William Carragan to reconstruct a finale. Unfortunately he had barely 3/4 of the body of sketches to work with that we have now, and nothing of the coda at all.

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Not the Last Word, November 12, 2003

By 

kakistocracy "kakistocracy" (Omaha, NE United States) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Bruckner: Symphony No. 9 (with Documentation of the Finale Fragment) ~ Harnoncourt (Audio CD)

In his talk on the second disc, Harnoncourt asserts that Bruckner essentially completed the 4th Movement, except for the orchestration, and that the missing (numbered) pages of the manuscript were probably taken as curios or momentos by admirers shortly after his death. The commentary and 4th Movement excerpts are fascinating, leading to the impression that this incredible masterpiece is even more so than we had the temerity to believe.

The live performance of the torso (a new critical edition by Benjamin-Gunnar Cohrs) is exciting and clarifying, though I concur with the previous reviewer's comments about the Giulini performance. The sound of the CD layer is typical of RCA--very good, but a little less in-your-face than on DG.

I have also listened to the SACD stereo layer, and it is practically a different animal. Instrumental groups that are somewhat de-emphasized or out of focus on the CD layer come through with stunning immediacy and precision. Unlike a number of other SACD's I own, it makes an impressive case for the new format. Unfortunately, I'm not equipped to comment on the surround sound layer.

This is the most gratifying Bruckner release to come along in some time. Don't miss it, especially at such a great price!

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Extraordinary Document, October 31, 2003

By 

Iyer (Bethesda, MD) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Bruckner: Symphony No. 9 (with Documentation of the Finale Fragment) ~ Harnoncourt (Audio CD)

This is an immensely valuable document, and is worth much more than the purchase price for the first CD alone. The first CD is a workshop that Harnoncourt conducted during the Salzburg Festival, 2002 on the elusive 4th mvmt. of Bruckner's 9th. It is extraordinary to learn how close Bruckner was to a complete manuscript of this movement. Harnoncourt's bilingual (in German, tracks 1-9, then English) commentary is filled with insights and reflects his deep knowledge and love for Bruckner's text and idiom. A must for Bruckner devotees, this CD will also provide fascinating listening for those new to Bruckner's music.

The second CD has the actual performance, recorded live after the workshop. This is a new critical edition (Benjamin-Gunnar Cohrs) of the the first three movements. Bruckner's vast and complex landscape is lovingly painted by Harnoncourt and the VPO. Every detail is ravishingly rendered by the superb sectional playing of the Viennese (note, for example, the luminous pizzicato exchanges starting at 2:59 in 1st mvmt). Some versions, notably Giulini/VPO/DG, have a greater sense of mystery, especially in the last movement. Maybe this is intentional on Harnoncourt's part--he seems to not interpret the great adagio as a final document. Many great recordings have treated the adagio's last peroration as Bruckner's passing over to the great other, as it were (none more so than Celibidache/Munich PO/EMI). Harnoncourt seems to suggest that there is more!

All in all, this is a very fine recording. Perhaps not the definitive Bruckner 9th, but one that will have great appeal to the Bruckner initiate.