Bruno Walter - Bruckner: Symphony No. 9 (1959) Hi-Res

Bruno Walter (1876-1962) remains for many the quintessence of the Austrian Great Tradition in music-making, “the conductor of humanity.” Born in Berlin, he left Germany in 1933 to escape the Third Reich, settling finally in the United States in 1939. He worked closely with Gustav Mahler, whose music he helped establish in the repertory, held major positions with the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, New York Philharmonic, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Salzburg Festival, Vienna State Opera, Bavarian State Opera, Staatsoper Unter den Linden and Deutsche Oper Berlin, among others, made recordings of historical and artistic significance, and is widely considered one of the great conductors of the 20th century. Walter “discovered” the music of Anton Bruckner relatively late in his career, in the 1920’s, when Walter himself had been ill and was convalescing. Reading through a composer whom he had felt at best ambiguous, Walter suddenly felt the spiritual power of Bruckner’s often intricate and meandering scores, and the “revelation” came as a “burst of great light.” He made a succesful commercial recording of the Ninth Symphony in 1953 with the New York Philharmonic, and then recorded it in Los Angeles with members of the Philharmonic (aka Columbia Symphony Orchestra) in 1959, a product of Walter’s so-called “Indian summer.” Less driven than the first inscription, this second bears witness to a lofty, synoptic vision of the score, as seen from “above the fray” of human conflicts. While some reviews of Walter’s later performance are less enthralled with his vision, others find only masterful glory in the inscription: “In this 1959 recording, Bruno Walter does something that few conductors and orchestras have ever
been able to do: he finds - and maintains - exactly the right balance of elements necessary to realize Bruckner's extraordinary symphonic vision of spiritual ascension. Walter never lets the sprawling outer movements of this masterpiece lose their shape or thrust, and no one before or since has ever gotten the diabolical Scherzo so 'right.' There are a few good versions of Bruckner's 9th in the catalog, but this is the one for the desert island.” “Regardless of which incarnation of Bruno Walter's "Indian summer" Bruckner Symphony No. 9 you collect, you will be getting the most communicative version of the symphony available. Many German conductors take a far different view of the 9th, making it more monumental, displaying more fervor and emotion during the peaks of the first movement, and mercilessly driving the music forward in the scherzo. Walter takes a Viennese view that incorporates music logic and inevitability into his interpretation of the score. Every phrase seems to be more thought out than in other performances. While Walter underplays the emotional weight of the music compared to a conductor like Karajan, Bruckner's message of end of life resignation and fulfillment -- especially in the closing pages of the finale -- is more truthful and compelling than in more dramatic versions. It is as if Walter, at the end of his illustrious career, was perfectly suited to conduct this music, which was composed at the end of Bruckner's life. The two make perfect collaborators on the musical message about the end of life and prospective afterlife. I cannot imagine a more convincing recording of the Bruckner 9th Symphony than this one. The recording, from 1959, is balanced, honest and lifelike.”

Tracks:

01. Feierlich, Misterioso 23:52
02. Scherzo. Bewegt 11:29
03. Adagio. Langsam, Feierlich 23:19

Personnel:

Bruno Walter
The Columbia Symphony Orchestra