Bruckner: Symphony No. 9

by Ivan Fischer, Budapest Festival Orchestra

Overview

There's a tendency to assign a special quality to late works, especially to final ones, but this can be misguided. Anton Bruckner was not planning on dying before he finished his Symphony No. 9 in D minor, WAB 109; in fact, he said that if he died before finishing it, he would hold God responsible. There are many fine recordings of this final Bruckner symphony, and most, like this one from conductor Ivan Fischer and his Budapest Festival Orchestra, close with the third movement rather than proceeding to one of the various completions of the unfinished finale. Fischer does well here; his Adagio third movement has a kind of transcendent momentum, and it makes a good swan song. Momentum is what Fischer's interpretation of the Ninth is all about. This will come as no surprise to hearers of his positively blistering Symphony No. 7 in E major, WAB 107, and his Ninth, fully five minutes shorter than the average, moves right along. Not only the Adagio but also the Scherzo reveals new things at this clip, most notably the daring quality of Bruckner's harmonies. In Fischer's hands, the work is less valedictory than a look forward into the 20th century. This is not the only way to look at Bruckner's Ninth, but it is powerful and coherent, and the orchestra follows Fischer at every step. Great clarity of sound from Channel Classics' crack engineering team is another draw on this release that hit classical best-seller charts in the fall of 2022. ~ James Manheim

Product Details

Release Date:	09/23/2022
Label:	Channel Classics
UPC:	0723385428220
Rank:	12888

Tracks

1. Symphony No. 9 in D Minor, WAB 109/143~I. Feierlich, Misterioso
2. Symphony No. 9 in D Minor, WAB 109/143~II. Scherzo. Bewegt, Lebhaft; Trio. Schnell
3. Symphony No. 9 in D Minor, WAB 109/143~III. Adagio. Langsam, Feierlich

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Ivan Fischer   Primary Artist,Conductor
Budapest Festival Orchestra   Primary Artist,Orchestra

Technical Credits

Anne Habermann   Liner Note Translation
Susanne Lowien   Liner Note Translation
Stephen Taylor   Liner Note Translation
Clemens Romijn   Liner Notes
Clemence Comte   Liner Note Translation
Marco Borggreve   Photography,Cover Photo
Tom Peeters   Assistant Engineer
Valerie Lagarde   Artwork,Design
Jared Sacks   Mastering,Producer,Engineer,Editing
Dennis Collins   Liner Note Translation
Anton Bruckner   Composer
Ivan Fischer   Liner Notes