Anton Bruckner - Symphony No. 9 (Carlo Maria Giulini)

Information

Composer: Anton Bruckner

1. Symphony No. 9 in D minor (1894, ed. Nowak): 1. Feierlich. Misterioso
2. Symphony No. 9 in D minor (1894, ed. Nowak): 2. Scherzo (Bewegt, lebhaft) - Trio (Schnell)
3. Symphony No. 9 in D minor (1894, ed. Nowak): 3. Adagio (Langsam, feierlich)

Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra
Carlo Maria Giulini, conductor
Date: 1988
Label: Deutsche Grammophon
http://www.deutschegrammophon.com/en/cat/4273452

--------------------------------------------------------------------

Review

AllMusic Rating: *****

Carlo Maria Giulini recorded Bruckner's Symphony No. 9 with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra for Angel in 1976, and that album has long been considered a superb achievement and difficult to surpass. Yet Giulini's 1988 performance with the Vienna Philharmonic matches the older recording in every important detail and exceeds expectations by sounding richer in the digital format. As wonderful as Chicago's sound was, the Vienna Philharmonic offers more varied and subtle timbres, a result of its long history of Bruckner performances. Using the Nowak edition, Giulini takes this unfinished symphony into dark places, making it the full realization of the Romantic idea of Sturm und Drang. The opening movement is one of Bruckner's most commanding essays in sonata form. Through its explicit parallels with Beethoven's Ninth, Bruckner clearly points to his source of inspiration. The terrifying Scherzo, with its stacked dissonances and pounding rhythms, creates a mood of violence and instability that the nervous Trio does little to alleviate. Resolution -- indeed, an apotheosis -- comes in the glorious Adagio. Giulini elicits the most sumptuous sounds from the orchestra, particularly in the ecstatic opening measures. After hearing this movement, any thought of adding a finale must seem pointless, for this is a sublime valedictory and nothing more is needed.

-- Blair Sanderson, AllMusic

More reviews:
http://www.amazon.com/Bruckner-Symphony-No-9-Anton/dp/B000001GAM
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Bruckner-Symphony-No-9-Anton/dp/B000001GAM

--------------------------------------------------------------------

Anton Bruckner (4 September 1824 – 11 October 1896)) was an Austrian composer. His symphonies are considered emblematic of the final stage of Austro-German Romanticism because of their rich harmonic language, strongly polyphonic character, and considerable length. Bruckner composed eleven symphonies, scored for a fairly standard orchestra. His orchestration was modeled after the sound of his primary instrument, the pipe organ.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anton_Bruckner

***

Carlo Maria Giulini (9 May 1914 – 14 June 2005) was an Italian conductor. He was appointed principal guest conductor of the Chicago Symphony in 1969, and was the director of the Vienna Symphony Orchestra from 1973 to 1976. He succeeded Zubin Mehta as musical director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic in 1978, remaining at that post until 1984.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carlo_Maria_Giulini
http://www.allmusic.com/artist/carlo-maria-giulini-mn0000661735

--------------------------------------------------------------------

FLAC, tracks

Links in comment

Enjoy!