Customer Reviews

Bruckner: Symphony No. 9 - The Unfinished (Bruno Walter Edition)

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Regardless of which incarnation of Bruno Walter's "Indian summer" Bruckner Symphony No. 9 you collect, you will be getting the most communicative version of the symphony available. Many German conductors take a far differenct view of the 9th, making it more monumental, displaying more fervor and emotion during the peaks of the first movement, and mercilessly driving the music forward in the scherzo. Walter takes a Viennese view that incorporates music logic and inevitability into his intrepretation of the score. Every phrase seems to be more thought out than in other performances. While Walter underplays the emotional weight of the music compared to a conductor like Karajan, Bruckner's message of end of life resignation and fulfillment -- especially in the closing pages of the finale -- is more truthful and compelling than in more dramatic versions. It is as if Walter, at the end of his illustrious career, was perfectly suited to conduct this music, which was composed at the end of Bruckner's life. The two make perfect collaborators on the musical message about the end of life and prospective afterlife. The recording, from 1959, is balanced, honest and lifelike. I think of this as one of the two best Bruckner symphony recordings ever, the other being Gunther Wand's third recording of the 8th Symphony from Lubeck in 1987 (see my review). I cannot imagine a more convincing recording of the Bruckner 9th Symphony than this one.

I once read a quote which said, in effect, that Beethoven climbs the steep, craggy mountainside, while Bruckner stands at the summit and surveys the far horizons. This image is especially fitting for this great, sadly unfinished symphony. "Sadly", yes--but it's hard to imagine what could possibly have come after that glorious adagio that now concludes the work.

Bruno Walter conducts this masterpiece as he did Mahler's Ninth, as if he were preparing himself for his own impending departure from life. His famously light but firm touch is in evidence with the singing violins and not-too-overbearing brass. Certainly, many other conductors have wrung more bombast from the scherzo (Solti), or more plaintiveness from the adagio (Furtwangler). But this horse doesn't *need* the whip. Walter keeps the symphony unified, without sounding episodic or repetitive, and brings out as much *soul* as I can imagine anyone ever getting out of this work. It really is a last testament, with all of life's accretions stripped away, leaving only the man before his God. (Bruckner dedicated this symphony, "To God", IINM) The 40-year-old recorded sound holds up quite well for all but the most finicky audiophiles (I use my computer, or a boom box in the kitchen, myself).

This is a noble, beautifully simple piece of music, in a performance to be treasured by one of the 20th century's short list good guys.

In this 1959 recording, Bruno Walter does something that few conductors and orchestras have ever been able to do: he finds - and maintains - exactly the right balance of elements necessary to realize Bruckner's extraordinary symphonic vision of spiritual ascension. Walter never lets the sprawling outer movements of this masterpiece lose their shape or thrust, and no one before or since has ever gotten the diabolical Scherzo so 'right'. Happily, Columbia's remix for CD captures the expansive sonorities of this performance in all their rapturous glory.

There are a few good versions of Bruckner's 9th in the catalog, but this is the one for the desert island. Enjoy!

In this recording of Anton Bruckners' Ninth Symphony, both composer and conductor had something in common-they were nearing their final days on this earth. Bruckner left the finale unfinished, and was even working on it the day he died. Bruno Walter had not much longer to live, and, having had some serious health difficulties, knew his days were numbered. This studio, stereo recording is a miraculous achievement. This Bruckner Ninth is very "gothic" , and is an approach only possible from an interpreter that had actually lived in the late nineteenth century when the work was written, as Bruno Walter had.
There is a real spirituality pervading the work -indicative of someone who is bidding farewell to life, but also anticipating something beyond-a higher reality. Many other conductors have tried to capture this, but none surpass Bruno Walter. The pace of each movement is perfect, and the "soul" of the work renders it unified and complete, despite the fact that Bruckner did not include the finale.
I find this interpretation very positive and uplifting, and other recordings, like those of Furtwangler, Klemperer, or conductors of a later time period, do not stand a chance. A must for all Brucknerians.

Bruno Walter once described his experience of understanding Bruckner. He said that for many years he didn't especially like the music. Then one day he heard a Bruckner work (don't remember if he said which one) while ill in bed. Disarmed, receptive and uninhibited by prejudice, the music overpowered him. Suddenly he understood.

That must have been an astounding epiphany, because this 9th could not be more subtle, more beautiful, exquisite, loving, serene, plumbing ... I don't have the words. (You can't put Bruckner in words anyway. He transcends words). Walter's 9th is perfection as one seldom hears - like von Karajan's early Columbia recording of the Mozart "Kleine Nachtmusik" with the Vienna Phil., or Pablo Casal's Bach, or Richter's Prokofiev or Furtwaengler's Beethoven. You get the idea.

I like Jochum for all the other Bruckner symphonies but not this one. Jochum's 9th verges on the vulgar, actually, with overly quick tempi, blaring horns & trumpets, insufficient tenderness when it's desperately needed, etc.

Get this one & you will know what heaven is like.

lay ill in bed & a Bruckner work

... is how I would describe Walter's unique approach to the brass entries in the scherzo. No other conductor I know of -- no other recording -- approaches these passages in this manner. It is this, perhaps, that caused the Penguin review to note the special quality Walter brings to this movement. His moderate tempo in the scherzo grew out of his reassesment of the symphony after Orel's edition of the "original version" appeared in the early 30's -- according to R.(?) Wolf, in an early book on Bruckner that argued against the then emerging original versions.

What matters is that the Hollywood band (aka the Los angeles Philharmonic) plays its heart out for Walter, who guides them through a score as familiar to him as anything by Schubert. The original analog recording has never sounded better; it has both impact and warmth in this incarnation.

Since it was made in 1959, Walter's Bruckner Ninth has been acclaimed for its melodic grace, absence of grandiosity, and warm personal expression. It's one of a kind, a treasure from his last period that never hints at end of life, either Walter's or Bruckner's. My hat goes of to Mr. VanDeSande's review above--he expresses clearly how this recording differs from the run of German interpretaters who "take a far differenct view of the 9th, making it more monumental, displaying more fervor and emotion during the peaks of the first movement, and mercilessly driving the music forward in the scherzo."

At 58 min. Walter is on the fast end of a scale that stretches to 68 min. at the other extreme (Giulini on DG). Mr. VanDeSande finds the perfect word for this reading: Viennese. In its infectious joy Walter's performance removes the clouds from the Bruckner Ninth and lets the sun shine through, just as Johann Strauss did for the good burghers of the city.

I recently re-listened to this classic recording of Bruckner's final symphony and was "bowled over" by the luminosity of the recording, the virtuosity of the players (the Columbia Symphony Orchestra was largely comprised of the LAPO with some VERY talented free-lancers), and the essential "rightness" of Bruno Walter's inspired conducting.

As in his recording of the 4th Symphony ("The Romantic"), Walter has captured the essence of Bruckner and we are lucky indeed to have the genius and insights of Bruno Walter as evidenced by his conducting of Bruckner.

The recording belies it 40-some years age and puts to shame some of the more recent recordings - with the notable exception of Georg Tintner and the Royal Scottish National Orchestra in their recording. Tintner is firmly in the Bruno Walter school of conducting - they were both Austrian, as was Bruckner - and a recording by either of any Bruckner symphony is something to be savoured.

I highly recommend this recording and its bargain price is a further inducement to purchase.

Tim Wingate, Ottawa CANADA

All of Bruckner's symphonies are, of course, meant to be majestic in a way that is supposed to reflect God's grandness; but the Ninth is different in that it is also the most intense. With no finale, it ends with a rather serene (and long) adagio. Could the composer have realized his own death? The march movement is especially thunderous. Like Gustav Mahler, Bruckner composed long (very long) symphonies influenced by the Romantic music of Wagner; an obsession with Beethoven's mighty Ninth Symphony; and Viennese folk songs. Both composers are spiritual; though Bruckner is a devout Catholic and Mahler is a seeker (a Jew turned Protestant turned Catholic turned to Chinese philosophy). The intensity and passion that Bruckner brings to his Ninth, makes this symphony somewhat of a meeting point between Mahler and Bruckner. This version, conducted by Bruno Walter (a student of Mahler), balances the passion, intensity, serenity and Viennese touch; and keeps this very long piece interesting to the end.

Comparison: Bernstein/VPO

This recording is one of the classics of the Walter discography and enjoys a formidable reputation; the editors of the Penguin Guide put this performance at the very top of their list regardless of cost. Speaking only for myself, I do not share their opinion. This symphony presents more difficulties than usual in trying to critique, and I think it's fair to say that Walter's phrasing was a bit gentler than some of this peers, whether this serves the spritual side of the music or not is debatable. The outer movements work well indeed but I find the Scherzo is a bit too relaxed, although the Penguin editors argue that Walter's approach to this movement is consistent with the rest of the score. The mysterious opening chords of the final movement are managed superbly, and the rest of the finale goes well too. The orchestral playing is in my view not equal to that of the Berlin Philharmonic under Jochum - or Karajan for that matter. The recording quality is also unexceptional; you could even argue the Helmut Haenchen Laserlight disc for $4 has better stereo definition. The documentation is well done. Overall, this is worth hearing, and for some it will be an indispensable CD. Recommended.