Bruckner – Symphony No. 9 – Bruno WalterAnton Bruckner (1824 – 1896)
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Bruno Walter, Conductor
Columbia Symphony Orchestra
Recorded 1959, CBS Studios, New York
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ONE-SENTENCE REVIEW:
You gotta love Bruno Walter: “Brass, play as loud as you can – and THEN PLAY LOUDER!” – love it!
ORIGINAL LINER NOTES by Uwe Kraemer
BRUCKNER – SYMPHONY NO. 9 IN D MINOR
Anton Bruckner (1824-1896) considered himself Beethoven’s successor in the realm of the symphony, and there are those who feel that he was justified.
These protagonists of Bruckner’s music point out his expansion of the symphonic form, his intensification of a poetic idea, and the grandeur and nobility of his musical speech. But there are others – and they are equally articulate – who feel that Bruckner’s gradeur is only bombast, his poetry only overwritten prose, his expansive style and form only so much pomposity.
And so, the battle over Bruckner has been waged for many years – and for that matter is being waged – making him one of the most provocative figures in music.
Born in a the small Austrian town of Ansfelden, Bruckner spent most of his life in his native country. For a while he taught music at the St. Florian secular music school, which he had formerly attended as a pupil; it was in this post that, in 1849, he wrote his first talented work, a Requiem.
In 1853, he settled in Vienna, with whose musical life he was henceforth to be intimately associated. For a while he served as a choral director; then, in 1868, he was appointed Professor at the Vienna Conservatory, filling this position with great honor for many years.
Meanwhile, he heard Wagner’s Tannhauser, an experience that overwhelmed him and henceforth made him a passionate disciple of the master. Wagnerian influences are frequently in evidence in his music, while his Third Symphony is openly dedicated to Wagner.
The controversy over Bruckner’s music began early – indeed, with the very first performances of his first symphonies. One of the officials at the Conservatory, studying his early manuscripts, advised him to throw his symphonies in a trash basket. The first performance of the Third Symphony was an outright fiasco. The critics were savage in their denunciation; and famous musicians, among them Brahms, were undisguisedly hostile to him.
Toward the close of his life, Bruckner found a certain measure of recognition and appreciation. Performances of his later symphonies by Nikisch, Hans Richter, Mottl, Hermann Levi, and Karl Muck were comparatively successful.
In 1891 Bruckner received an Honorary Doctorate from the University of Vienna and a few years later the Empereor presented him with a stipend and a decoration. His seventieth birthday was the occasion for a nationwide celebration. However – despite the increasing favor – Bruckner still had his hostile critics. And, after his death in 1896, his symphonies still continued to arouse controversy outside of Austria.
Of all his symphonies, Bruckner’s Ninth suffered most, perhaps from editing. Bruckner died without completing it, and Ferdinand Loewe had a free hand in revision. He went at it with a will, and it was not until 1934 and the publication of the original manuscript that the real stature of this symphony, Bruckner’s last will and testament, was revealed.
The composer had struggled with his gigantic Eighth Symphony for six years and had begun the Ninth while the Eighth as being revised, working on it from September 21, 1887, until the day of his death, October 11, 1896.
Brucknerites tend to rejoince that the Ninth was never finished, contending that the great Adagio is a farewell to life and that anything following it would be anticlimactic. Nonethless, Bruckner wrestled with a finale for two years and finished the greater part of it in full score.
But he was haunted by the fear that he would not have time to complete the symphony. The physician who attended him in his final illness (in the luxury of the Belvedere Palace, where the Emperor had belatedly granted him an apartment) once discovered him on his knees praying ‘Dear God, let me get well soon. You see, I need my health to finish the Ninth.’
The Symphony is indeed dedicated to ‘Dear God’ (‘Dem lieben Gott’).
TRACK LISTING:
Anton Bruckner (1824 – 1896) – Symphony No. 9 in D Minor
- Feierlich (misterioso) [23:53]
- Scherzo (bewegt lebhaft) [ 11:32]
- Sehr langsam (feierlich) [23:17]
FINAL THOUGHT:
I don’t want to say it’s the definiitive performance – but damn – it’s pretty close. Bruckner seemed to hate strings and love brass – and Bruno Walter is a brother in arms. Considering so many people hated the symphony (and Bruckner) – I must disagree. I think this is awesome.
Emily Sachs – President – Manka Music Group (A division of Manka Bros. Studios – The World’s Largest Media Company