Bruckner: Symphony 9 with Finale Reconstructed by Samale, Phillips, Mazzuca, & Cohrs (2-CD Set)

Bruckner (Artist), Eichhorn (Artist), Bruckner Orchester Linz (Artist) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (December 28, 1995)
• Number of Discs: 2
• Label: Camerata
• ASIN: B000001ZJ3
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #983,260 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

Disc: 1

1. Symphony No. 9 in D minor, WAB 109

2. Symphony No. 9 in D minor, WAB 109

Disc: 2

1. Symphony No. 9 in D minor, WAB 109

2. Symphony No. 9 in D minor, WAB 109

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Don't Let This One Get Away!, June 22, 1999

By 

Dr. Patrick D. Enright (Tahlequah, OK, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Bruckner: Symphony 9 with Finale Reconstructed by Samale, Phillips, Mazzuca, & Cohrs (2-CD Set) (Audio CD)

Were one simply to compare this recording's first three movements to any other performance on CD, one would have to think of Furtwängler's sense of structure, coupled with a fine feeling for dynamics that comes out in the shading of every phrase. Kurt Eichhorn's reading of Bruckner's final symphony is, in the literal sense of the word, stunning: any sensitive listener will be awed by both the delicate insights and the raw power of this recording. But there is more--the performance continues on with the fourth movement as completed by Nicola Samale, John Phillips, and Giusseppe Mazzuca. Don't confuse this completion with that by William Carragan from 1983. Whereas the earlier attempt has a tendency to sound silly at times, as if Bruckner had completely lost his ability during his final illness, this later offering has grandeur and dignity, a stature that makes one think "this is the real Bruckner." According to the notes (which do not mention the Carragan completion by name), Bruckner's friends walked off after his death with parts of this movement as mementos; these bits and snippets have been slowly resurfacing over the years, and one gets the impression that Samale et al. had more of the original to work with than had Carragan. Their use of Bruckner's methods of development, too, add to the credibility of this version. In toto, then, one gets with this recording a memorable performance from Kurt Eichhorn and the Linz Bruckner Orchestra, one which comes, I believe, as close as we'll ever get to hearing the full symphony as Bruckner conceived it. Keep checking this site, and grab a copy when you can--don't let this one get away.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Must-Have Historic Recording, July 8, 2008

By 

Frederick T. Williams "Rick Williams" (San Francisco, CA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Bruckner: Symphony 9 with Finale Reconstructed by Samale, Phillips, Mazzuca, & Cohrs (2-CD Set) (Audio CD)

I basically agree with the other reviewers of this recording. The first three movements are close to perfect. I've never heard the Adagio as well or sensitively played. However, I do think Eichhorn conducts the completed Fourth Movement way too slowly. It sounds downright lugubrious at the tempo Eichhorn has chosen. For my money, the completed Fourth Movement sounds more convincing on the recording done by Marcus Bosch with the Aachen Symphony, a 2007 recording on Coviello Classics. Paradoxically, Bosch's recording of the first three movements is much too fast. Nevertheless, Bosch's tempo for the Samale-Phillips-Cohrs-Mazzuca completed Finale seems about right -- not too fast and not too slow -- and makes this controversial "completion" sound quite convincingly Brucknerian. Additionally, it is important to note that the Bosch recording uses the most recent revision by those editors, which is considerably more convincing than the one recorded in 1993 by Eichhorn. Consequently, the Bosch recording of the Ninth is essential for anyone interested in the completed Fourth Movement.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Majestic Progress, January 26, 2006

By 

Colin Fortune (Birmingham, UK) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Bruckner: Symphony 9 with Finale Reconstructed by Samale, Phillips, Mazzuca, & Cohrs (2-CD Set) (Audio CD)

Eichorn's overall conception of the symphony is noble and affectionate. The performance is, to say the least, one of the most unhurried that I have ever heard: Celibidach/Munich Philharmonic seems just a bit slower and Giulini (DGG/Vienna Philharmonic) slightly faster - though there is no completion of the unfinished finale in either of these. The phrasing in the more lyrical music is very affectionate. The interpretation is one for the committed lover of Bruckner who is used to the vast time-scale and slow development of his music. The effect of this is is a downplaying of the dramatic contrasts in the music though I admit to a certain personal tension whilst listening to the "completion" of the final movement whilst I waited for something to happen! I prefer Carrigan's version of this last movement as the prolonged fanfare of the coda seems to me to be crying out for a restatement of the chorale theme in the manner of, say, Symphony 5 (though that said I think that Carrigan's trumpet decorations sound more like Sousa than Bruckner). The Bruckner Orchestra of Linz's playing does not really rival ensembles like the Berlin or Vienna Philharmonics or the Chicago Symphony or Amsterdam Concertgebouw Orchesters in the first three movements. Comparing like with like, however, the Camerata disc is better than Wildner/Naxos in orchestral playing (though it is also much more expensive) but does not rival Inbal's version of the "Committe Completion". Talmi on Chandos uses Carrigan's first version and so there are substantial differences in the coda. All of the three versions mentioned so far are also much quicker and dramatic and whether or not you prefer this is just a matter of taste. I also found the sound rather dense and bass-heavy and this made orchestra detail rather difficult to hear in the louder passages.