When simon rattle was deciding what to bring to australia for this summers tour with the australian world orchestra three concerts, two in sydney and one in melbourne bruckners eighth pretty much chose itself, without rattle needing to ponder the issue for too long. During the last two years of his life bruckner struggled valiantly to finish the finale of his ninth symphony. And notwithstanding parallels with the approaches of other 19thcentury symphonists, the expressive immediacy with which bruckner developed the goalorientated dynamic of beethovens precedent is surely unique. Speaking of the finale, simon rattle has absolutely no doubt.
Bruckner symphony 9 1896 version, with reconstructed. Simon rattle and the berlin philharmonic play with genuine sympathy and deep feeling for bruckners intentions, and give the whole symphony a coherent treatment. If you love bruckners ninth, you have a duty to hear it. Rattle was principal conductor of the berlin philharmonic from 2002 to 2018.
A page from bruckners sketches for the finale to the unfinished symphony no. Apr 02, 2010 mostly these were sheets of musical manuscript from a stack near bruckners deathbed, and chiefly of his most recent work. Bruckner left 440 bars in score, and 117 bars in sketch. With the eighth there follows the composers most extensive work. Simon rattle is certain that if anton bruckner had lived only two months longer, he would have been able to complete the finale of his ninth symphony. Sir simon rattle conducts the berliner philharmoniker in anton bruckners symphony no. He has been the composer in association of the bbc national orchestra of wales for many years. Letocart, 2008 couton, 2008 bruckner journal 20 source exposition schaller rattle couton a g 1 0. Rattle s special knack for bruckner undoubtedly has a lot to do with the successful integration of the finale into the ninth, and this recording may go a long way toward winning. But here, in the ninth, i strongly felt as if bruckner was obsessed with the last things in life, or maybe.
Simon rattle and berlin philharmonic at carnegie hall the new. Bruckners ninth gets a stunning finale with simon rattle and the. While we have come to accept the threemovement ninth as definitive and emotionally whole, bruckner actually left 180 pages comprising about 15 minutes of music for a finale, ranging from sketches to fully orchestrated passages. Omnibus cbs television program in 1954 when bernstein conducted.
I love big, orchestral music, built on an epic scale with extreme dynamic range. Sir simon rattle conducts bruckners ninth symphony with performing version of the finale berliner philharmoniker. So we can blame both of these men for the situation we now have to put up with concerning the finale of symphony no. On the evidence of this recording, though, he has great empathy with bruckners musical language and unique conception of musical architecture. At least that is what a study by the software company microsoft established in 2015. Bruckner dedicated it to the beloved god in german, dem lieben gott. Simon rattle and the berliner philharmoniker have already performed bruckners seventh and ninth symphonies to great acclaim.
The three movements that bruckner actually composed in toto are very convincingly played. Bruckner was not the first to express reverence monumentally. For the berliner philharmoniker, this music has been part. Rattles special knack for bruckner undoubtedly has a lot to do with the successful integration of the finale into the ninth, and this recording may go a long way toward winning. He gives his all heart to the performance, and the results are breathtaking. For the berliner philharmoniker, this music has been part of their artistic identity for over a hundred years.
May 26, 2018 simon rattle is certain that if anton bruckner had lived only two months longer, he would have been able to complete the finale of his ninth symphony. Sir simon rattlebruckner symphony no 9 4 movement version. Simon rattle conducts the completed ninth symphony of anton. And that is exactly what simon rattle provides in this performance a finale newly reconstructed by a team of four musicologists.
Symphony no 9 in d minor wab 109 the unfinished finale obsession the first thing i noticed when studying this bruckner ninth finale were those strange transition passages you can find in any typical bruckner finale. Bruckner simply didnt have enough life left to really finish the finale in a convincing manner. Its coherence is compromised by entire missing blocks of pages thought to have been kept by associates as souvenirs. Rattles new finale is a resounding success, full of boundarypushing harmonies. Simon rattle conducts the completed ninth symphony of. Simon rattle conducts the completed ninth symphony by anton. It would be my petition as simon rattle has managed the orchestral works from many top composers including his beethoven, sibelius, his early mahler and 20th century pieces. Symphony no 9 with reconstructed 4th movement music. Classical notes classical classics bruckners symphony. The first thing i noticed when studying this bruckner ninth finale were those strange.
Simon rattle brought bruckners unfinished ninth symphony to the. Josephson, 1992 aarhus symphony orchestrajohn gibbons rec. Gramophone sir simon rattle conducts the berliner philharmoniker in anton bruckners symphony no. Perhaps the engineers have at last learned how to record in the berlin philharmonie, a cold and difficult space. For this abc classics recording of anton bruckners symphony no. Alles, was an diesem finale merkwurdig ist, ist 100 prozent bruckner. Anton bruckner, simon rattle, berlin philharmonic orchestra bruckner. Simon rattle led the berlin philharmonic in a program that included a completion of bruckners ninth symphony. It acquires its tremendous energy from the interplay of wavelike escalations the piling up of monumental blocks of sound and falling back into. For him as well, the ninth, which, like beethovens, is in d minor, was to remain his last symphony. But also in the largescale first movement, everything seems like the last word. Berliner philharmoniker orchestra sir simon rattle conductor. This is a lot of authentic bruckner, but the numbers remain deceptive.
Digital booklet anton bruckner is a composer with an unmistakable musical language. Symphony 9 with finale simon rattle, berlin philharmonic emi classics 9 52969 2 cd. Anton bruckner did not quite reach the since beethoven magical boundary of nine completed symphonies. Unlike many contemporary conductors who favor the 1887 original, on the theory that bruckners earliest versions reflect his truest intentions and show more of his originality, rattle has chosen one of the more familiar. What remained passed into the possession of first josef schalk, a pianist, writer, and former student of brucknersand, four years later. First movements loudly thema repeats in the finale, and it sounds stunning. Jan 24, 2017 that is what i meant, if there is going to ever be a full bruckner set released with a no. Simon rattle conducts bruckners eighth symphony berliner. The fact that bruckners ninth symphony is a farewell to the world is shown firstly in the composers intention to dedicate the symphony to the beloved god. But i have to admit that the very scale and range of bruckners eighth presents both orchestra and conductor with significant difficulties. Anton bruckner is a composer with an unmistakable musical language.
Simon holts music is full of iridescent timbres and is created with great attention to detail. Simon rattle and the berlin philharmonic play with genuine sympathy and deep feeling for bruckner s intentions, and give the whole symphony a coherent treatment. Moments of bruckner greatness from rattle and the lso by. The berlin strings pronounced sostenuto sometimes coats the sound in a hard glaze that consumes much air, but not nearly so much as in their and rattles recording of bruckners symphony 4 2007. Sir simon rattles recent releases include anton bruckners symphony no. Sir simon rattle conducts the berliner philharmoniker in anton bruckners. In a magnificent farewell gesture, the berlin philharmonic escorted him.
He envisaged the movement in terms of a mighty tussle between the forces of life and death a conflict that would ultimately be resolved in a grand coda, modelled on those of the fifth and eighth symphonies, in which all the main motifs from earlier in the work would come together. Sir simon denis rattle om cbe born 19 january 1955 is a british conductor. Symphony with simon rattle and the berlin philharmonic orchestra bpo provides a firm idea of what will be the approach to the music, and especially to give a foretaste of what is to come with the realised fourth movement. There are several editions of the three more or less completed movements more or less because bruckner never finished revising them, the most recent being the 2000 edition by benjamingunnar cohrs and used in this recording. The completed symphony is performed here by the berliner philharmoniker and sir simon rattle. The opening passages of this recording of bruckner s 9th. That is what i meant, if there is going to ever be a full bruckner set released with a no. It was performed in berlin on 9 february 2012 by simon rattle and the berlin philharmonic and can be watched on the internet. At the barbican last night, the lso and their music directortobe simon rattle.
In an appreciative tribute to the four musicians who put together the performing version of the finale featured on this gloriously played new version of bruckners ninth, sir simon rattle observes that there is much more bruckner here than there is mozart in the requiem. The finale of the ninth in this version lasts 653 bars, of which 96 are completely conjectural, having been filled in by the editorial team of samale, phillips, cohrs, and mazzuca. Interview with simon rattle on bruckners ninth symphony in the. Anton bruckner, simon rattle, berlin philharmonic orchestra. On the evidence of this recording, though, he has great empathy with bruckner s musical language and unique conception of musical architecture. The opening paragraph builds beautifully to the first sonorous climax, and rattles pacing about 26 minutes aptly reflects the ability of the orchestra to sustain mahlers long melodic lines. So, for the real reason we must look further back to bruckners reverence for god and his creation. Over many decades there have been attempts to complete the finale.
As detailed notes explain, of the finales 650odd bars, nearly 600 are either written in full score by bruckner or can be clearly reconstructed from his extensive sketches. Sinfonie 9 4 satze rattle, simon, bp, bruckner, anton. A complete bruckner ninth from rattle and berlin classicstoday. B ruckners ninth symphony is generally regarded as one of the great musical torsos, alongside other unfinished works such as mahlers 10th symphony and elgars third. Sir simon rattle, for better or worse, in 2012 attached his good name. Berliner philharmonikers tone is rich and resonantly. Simon rattle led the berlin philharmonic in a program that included a. Sinfonie hrsinfonieorchester stanislaw skrowaczewski duration. May 23, 2012 simon rattle and the berlin philharmonic tackle the conclusive revised edition of bruckners ninth symphony. The title of this important release is somewhat is a misnomer, since properly speaking there is no fourmovement version of the 9 th symphony composed by anton bruckner. This is a miracle to surpass even that of schuberts. In a sensational concert in 2011, rattle presented a reconstruction of monolithic, threatening presence gramophone magazine, based on bruckners extensive sketches. Bpo rattle\berliner philharmoniker, simon rattle 2012 bruckner 9 four movement version flac\04 finale. Bruckners last symphony, the ninth, is another important example of a work left.
Mar 22, 2016 during the last two years of his life bruckner struggled valiantly to finish the finale of his ninth symphony. And it doesnt come much more epic or extreme than bruckners symphony no. There is what i can best describe as a barbirollilike quality to sir simon rattles conducting of the finale of bruckners fourth symphony. The opening passages of this recording of bruckners 9th. Mostly these were sheets of musical manuscript from a stack near bruckners deathbed, and chiefly of his most recent work. Sir simon rattle talks about the four movement version. Rattle is not a prolific recorder of bruckner symphonies, with extant recordings of the 4 th, 7 th, and 9 th. Completions of finale carragan, 19832010 schaller, 2010. Sir simon rattle conducts bruckners ninth symphony with. Simon rattle and the berlin philharmonic tackle the conclusive revised edition of bruckners ninth symphony.
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