Track Listing

Disc 1:

1. Warum Hat Man Eigentlich 100 Jahre Lang Gedacht, E - Nikolaus Harnoncourt
2. Finale. T. 1-278 - Wiener Philharmoniker
3. Gegen Ende Eine Extreme Dissonanz In Den Trompeten - Nikolaus Harnoncourt
4. Nach Dem Ende Der Durchfuhrung Folgt Eine Wilde Fu - Nikolaus Harnoncourt
5. Finale. T. 279-342 - Wiener Philharmoniker
6. Quasi En Schreckensbild Des Todes - Nikolaus Harnoncourt
7. Finale. T. 343-478 - Wiener Philharmoniker
8. Danach Fehlen 16 Takte; Dazu Ist Nichts Zu Erklare - Nikolaus Harnoncourt
9. Finale. T. 479-510 - Lucke/Fehlender Partiturbog - Wiener Philharmoniker
10. Why Did We Think For Over Hundred Years That Nothing... - Nikolaus Harnoncourt
11. WAB 109: Finale. MM. 1-278 - Wiener Philharmoniker
12. Extreme Dissonances In The Trumpets Towards The End - Nikolaus Harnoncourt
13. At The End Of The Development A Wild Fugue Begins - Nikolaus Harnoncourt
14. Finale. MM. 279-342 - Wiener Philharmoniker
15. A Sudden Vision Of Death - Nikolaus Harnoncourt
16. Finale. MM. 343-478 - Wiener Philharmoniker
17. Then There Are Sixteen Bars Missing. We Will Just... - Nikolaus Harnoncourt
18. Finale. MM. 479-510 - Gap/Missing Score Bifolio - Wiener Philharmoniker

Disc 2:

1. I. Satz. Feierlich; Misterioso - Wiener Philharmoniker
2. Scherzo. Bewegt; Lebhaft - Trio. Schnell - Scherzo - Wiener Philharmoniker
3. Adagio. Langsam; Feierlich - Wiener Philharmoniker

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #12988 in Music
• Released on: 2003-09-08
• Number of discs: 2
• Format: SACD
• Dimensions: .30 pounds
• Running time: 130 minutes

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

Customer Reviews

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.

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 [with the 5th Symphony]); 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.