[.ca] Bruckner: Symphony No. 9

Chronique amazon.fr:
Avec Harnoncourt, nous ne risquons pas de découvrir une nième version de cette Symphonie ! Dans le premier disque, nous écoutons la conférence qu'il donne avec exemples à l'appui sur la reconstitution des fragments du finale de la Symphonie n°9 de Bruckner, inachevée et dont on ne joue que les trois premiers mouvements. Le quatrième est une sorte de "Toccata diabolique". Après cette écoute, l'interprétation de l'œuvre s'éclaire d'une tout autre manière. Harnoncourt comme Boulez sont convaincus de l'audace et de la modernité de cette écriture. Le chef autrichien bénéficie de l'exceptionnelle plastique des pupitres du Philharmonique de Vienne. Nous sommes en concert et le résultat est splendide. Ce n'est certainement pas une version mystique, mais sur le plan de la sonorité, peu d'interprétations peuvent rivaliser avec celle-ci : la douceur et le velouté des cordes de Vienne, les teintes fruitées des vents sont uniques. Quel autre orchestre peut aujourd'hui se prévaloir de pupitres aussi personnalisés et inventifs ? --Étienne Bertoli

Unconvincing performance; interesting commentary:
First off, I do not like the performance. Harnoncourt's tempi are erratic, particularly in the adagio (where he speeds up the second theme-group to the point he cheapens it). Secondly, I found his commentary on the 4th movement "chunks" informative. They could easily have been printed in liner notes; instead, we have each of the chunks played twice, followed first by commentary German, then in English. Thirdly, I see no reason why he should not have recorded the full movement as completed by someone -- by William Carragan (Chandos: Yoav Talmi, Oslo Philharmonic); by Nicola Samale & Giuseppe Mazzuca (Teldec: Inbal, Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orch \owith the 5th Symphony\c); or by Samale, Mazzuca, and John A Phillips (Camerata: Eichhorn, Linz Bruckner Orch). My first choice is the Carragan: though the Oslo band takes third place among those in these recordings, it is good enough and I find Carragan's completion the most convincing.* (In January 1984 I went to New York and Carnegie Hall to hear the American Symphony Orchestra perform the premier of the 9th with Carragan's finale. The performance was reviewed the next day in the Times. I immediately wrote Joel Flegel, editor of Fanfare, asking if he knew whether a recording was planned. Joel was dubious and dismissive: "If that college professor really....") As Carragan noted in his program notes for the ASO "premier," the finale includes the greatest of Bruckner's chorales. That magnificent theme cannot be understood or appreciated by hearing it only in Harnoncourt's chunks. It needs to be heard in context -- and that context can only be provided in a "performing version." In my opinion, Harnoncourt does a disservice to Bruckner and to listeners by not offering a completed finale. There is certainly room for one in this two-disk set. * But Carragan will either produce a new version or be superseded as pages not available to him have since been found -- and as still more come to light.

Harnoncourt roars, but Wildner rages:
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.

Depends what you consider good:
Harnoncourt has done some great things for music in his career, but I would not consider this one of them. He achieves an "authentic" performing style from the Vienna Philharmonic with a thin string sound and little or no vibrato. So anyone expecting that sweet Vienna sound will be disappointed. But his conducting does not meet that goal of authenticity, because he varies tempos too much. It draws attention to itself and weakens the cohesiveness of the work as a whole. There are other versions, many of which are mentioned by the other reviewers below (Giulini, Karajan, et al.), which communicate this great work more simply and effectively. They are also unique and full of interesting details (some attention to detail is good). In light of them, Harnoncourt's view is radically different. Experience has taught me that subtle differences in interpretation give pleasure with repeated listening. Radical differences are OK in a live performance (which this is), but do not stand the test of time. So I do not recommend this as a first recording to have of Bruckner's 9th.

Terrific performance!:
The symphony recording is damn good, and the extras are very interesting (to hear Harnoncourt speaking German and English, to hear the sketches of the last movement). In my mind, this ranks among the very best -- with Celibidache on EMI, Giulini on DG, Bernstein on DG, and don't forget the second movement of the Jochum on EMI.

Symphony No 9:
The most intriguing part, and what gives this recording a unique flavour and sense of purpose, is Harnoncourt's workshop in English and German. It contains a public appeal. In case someone missed it, it is spelled out in clear by Gunnar Cohrs in the booklet: "\oI\c WOULD BE MOST HAPPY TO RECEIVE ANY INFORMATION ABOUT THE LOCATION OF UNKNOWN BRUCKNER MANUSCRIPTS AND DOCUMENTS, WHICH WILL, OF COURSE BE TREATED IN CONFIDENCE. EVEN PHOTOCOPIES SENT ANONYMOUSLY, IF PREFERRED, WOULD BE OF INVALUABLE ASSISTANCE." Followed by a street address in Germany. It would be terrific if the complete finale showed up one day as a result. The VPO is in great form. Recorded sound and performance are excellent, and the price is right. Go for it.

• Warum Hat Man Eigentlich 100 Jahre Lang Gedacht, E - Nikolaus Harnoncourt
• Finale. T. 1-278 - Wiener Philharmoniker
• Gegen Ende Eine Extreme Dissonanz In Den Trompeten - Nikolaus Harnoncourt
• Nach Dem Ende Der Durchfuhrung Folgt Eine Wilde Fu - Nikolaus Harnoncourt
• Finale. T. 279-342 - Wiener Philharmoniker
• Quasi En Schreckensbild Des Todes - Nikolaus Harnoncourt
• Finale. T. 343-478 - Wiener Philharmoniker
• Danach Fehlen 16 Takte; Dazu Ist Nichts Zu Erklare - Nikolaus Harnoncourt
• Finale. T. 479-510 - Lucke/Fehlender Partiturbog - Wiener Philharmoniker
• Why Did We Think For Over Hundred Years That Nothing... - Nikolaus Harnoncourt
• WAB 109: Finale. MM. 1-278 - Wiener Philharmoniker
• Extreme Dissonances In The Trumpets Towards The End - Nikolaus Harnoncourt
• At The End Of The Development A Wild Fugue Begins - Nikolaus Harnoncourt
• Finale. MM. 279-342 - Wiener Philharmoniker
• A Sudden Vision Of Death - Nikolaus Harnoncourt
• Finale. MM. 343-478 - Wiener Philharmoniker
• Then There Are Sixteen Bars Missing. We Will Just... - Nikolaus Harnoncourt
• Finale. MM. 479-510 - Gap/Missing Score Bifolio - Wiener Philharmoniker
• I. Satz. Feierlich; Misterioso - Wiener Philharmoniker
• Scherzo. Bewegt; Lebhaft - Trio. Schnell - Scherzo - Wiener Philharmoniker
• Adagio. Langsam; Feierlich - Wiener Philharmoniker