The collage consists of three images: Anton Bruckner, the Chicago Symphony, and an erupting volcano.
"They want me to write differently. I could, but I must not. God has given me this talent out of a thousand people, and it is to Him that I must give account. How would I stand before Almighty God if I followed the others and not Him?"
Quote by Anton Bruckner. We shamelessly stole it from Wikipedia.
|
Bruckner at the Millennium
Download our 2 minute and 47 second promo for Anton Bruckner's Ninth Symphony. It's an MP3 file (1.2M ).
The musical excerpts are from the recording by Yoav Talmi and the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra.
Bruckner's Ninth is a truly amazing symphony. A mysterious tremolo opens into a glowing horn theme, the moment that Peter Guelke described as "nuclear fission," and the stupendous main theme. And that's just the first three minutes!
When the main theme returns in the middle of the first movement, it erupts like a volcano.
The Adagio third movement is a haunting spiritual journey with a coda that is - for us - one of the great passages in Western music.
A famous composer concurs: "I think that the Adagio of the Ninth Symphony [of Bruckner] must be accounted one of the most truly inspired of all works in symphonic form." (Who made that statement? Take our quiz!)
We would love to hear our favorite orchestra, the Colorado Symphony, perform Bruckner's Ninth. And we have a sneaking suspicion that if Marin Alsop ever decides to add Bruckner's Ninth to her repertoire, we will be in for a mind-boggling experience!
Go to the Composer page.
|
Bruckner, Symphony #9 including the Finale in a "Documentation of the Fragment" by John A. Phillips. Performers: Harnoncourt, Vienna Philharmonic. CD and SACD. Stellar playing by the VPO and a strong interpretation by Harnoncourt.
Bruckner, Symphony #9, including the performing version of the Finale by Samale, Phillips, Cohrs & Mazucca. Performers: Wildner, New Philharmonic Orchestra of Westphalia. CD. This orchestra is not in the same league as the VPO (few are!), but the performance of the three completed movements is solid. The reason to buy this recording is the performing version of the Finale.
|
Postscript on the Finale
For those of you who know and love Bruckner's Ninth in its commonly performed three-movement version, we highly recommend exploring what John A. Phillips calls "the emerging autograph score of the Finale."
Current critical opinion maintains that Bruckner finished the Finale in continuous string scoring with cues for wind and brass.
Unfortunately, after Bruckner died, friends and students took pages of the Finale as souvenirs, not realizing that Bruckner had composed the first draft of the coda. Many pages of the Finale have been lost, including the entire the coda with the exception of a few sketches.
For an excellent introduction to the Finale, download "New Recordings Cast Light on Bruckner's Ninth Symphony" by James Cyphers.
The article is a PDF file at The Mahler Archives.
Cyphers' article reviews two recordings of Bruckner's Ninth with versions of the Finale:
- Harnoncourt and the Vienna Philharmonic playing the "Documentation of the Fragment" by John A. Phillips.
- Wildner and the New Philharmonic Orchestra of Westphalia playing a performing version of the Finale by Samale, Phillips, Cohrs, and Mazucca.
Another intriguing recording is the completion of the Finale by William Carragan, recorded by Yoav Talmi and the Oslo Philharmonic. You may be able to find used copies at Amazon.
|
