Symphony No. 9 (Bruckner)
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Anton Bruckner's Symphony No. 9 in D minor is the last Symphony upon which he worked, leaving the last movement incomplete at the time of his death in 1896. The symphony was premiered under Ferdinand Löwe in Vienna in 1903, after Bruckner's death. Bruckner dedicated this symphony "to the beloved God" (in German, "dem lieben Gott").
(While it may seem logical to call this work "Symphony in D minor, opus posthumous," that usually refers to the Symphony No. 0 in D minor).
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[edit] Description
The symphony has four movements, although the fourth is incomplete and exists only in sketches. The placement of the Scherzo second, and the key, D minor, are two elements this work has in common with Beethoven's Ninth Symphony.
[edit] First movement
Bruckner's tendency to telescope sonata form development and recapitulation finds its fullest realization in this movement, the form of which Robert Simpson describes as "Statement, Counterstatement and Coda." At a point near the coda, Bruckner quotes a passage from the first movement of his Seventh Symphony. The concluding page, in addition to the usual i and V chords, uses a Neapolitan flat ii in grinding dissonance with the i and V.
[edit] Second movement
The opening chord of the Scherzo, often cited as prophetic of the harmonic advances of the 20th Century, is tonally ambiguous in regard to the principal D minor tonality of the movement. Folk elements are still in evidence like in other Bruckner scherzi, but this music is of such savagery that such naïve elements are easier to ignore.
The Trio is in the remote key of F-sharp major, and unusually fast in tempo for a Trio. The musicologist Robert Simpson found it creepy, and explained it programmatically as Bruckner observing the behaviour of less than pious individuals.
[edit] Third movement
Bruckner called this movement his "Farewell to Life." Although beginning with lyrical serenity and awe, the movement goes back to some of the troubled moods of the earlier movements. the coda alludes to the coda of the Adagio of the Eighth Symphony. This concludes most performances of this Symphony.
[edit] Fourth movement
Bruckner had conceived the entire movement; several bifolios of the emerging autograph score survived, consecutively numbered by Bruckner himself, as well as numerous discarded bifolios and particellos sketches. Because of Bruckner's individual composing habits, reconstructing the Finale is in some ways easier, and in some ways harder, than it would be to reconstruct an unfinished piece by another composer. Large portions of the movement were almost completely orchestrated, and even some eminent sketches have been found for the coda (the initial crescendo/28 bars, and the progression towards the final cadenza, even proceeding into the final tonic pedalpoint/in all 32 bars), but only hearsay suggesting the coda would have integrated themes from all four movements: The Bruckner Scholars Max Graf and Max Auer reported that they have actually seen such a sketch when they had access to the manuscripts, at that time in the possession of Franz Schalk. Today such a sketch appears to be lost. Compounding the problem, collectible hunters ransacked Bruckner's house soon after his death. Sketches for the Finale have been found as far away from Austria as Washington D.C.
The surviving manuscripts were all systematically ordered and published in a notable facsimile reprint, edited by J. A. Phillips, in the Bruckner Complete Edition, Vienna.
Bruckner knew he might not live to complete this Symphony and suggested using his Te Deum as a Finale: however this suggestion has rarely if ever been carried out.
[edit] Versions
Unlike most of his symphonies, Bruckner did not produce multiple revisions of his Ninth Symphony. However, there have been multiple editions of what Bruckner did write, as well as several attempts to complete the symphony's fourth movement, which Bruckner left unfinished.
[edit] Löwe edition (1906)
This was the first published edition of the Ninth Symphony. It was also the version performed at the work's posthumous premiere, and the only version heard until 1932. Ferdinand Löwe made multiple unauthorized changes to the Symphony amounting to a wholescale recomposition of the work. In addition to second-guessing Bruckner's orchestration, phrasing and dynamics, Löwe also dialed back Bruckner's more adventurous harmonies, such as the complete V13 chord in the Adagio. Today this version is considered an inauthentic travesty of Bruckner's intentions and is virtually never performed or recorded. It includes only the first three complete movements. It is available in recordings by Hans Knappertsbusch and F. Charles Adler.
[edit] Orel edition (1932)
This was the first edition that attempted to reproduce what Bruckner actually wrote. This version was first performed in 1932 by Siegmund von Hausegger with the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra. In the concert, the symphony was performed twice, first in Löwe's edition and then in the Orel version. It includes only the first three complete movements.
[edit] Nowak edition (1951)
This is virtually identical to the Orel edition of 1932.
[edit] Cohrs edition (2000)
This new edition of the complete three movements has been recorded by Nikolaus Harnoncourt. It contains only minor differences from the Orel and Nowak editions, but corrects several printing errors and includes extensive comments in footnotes, explaining some of the editorial problems. The separate Critical Report of Cohrs contains numerous facsimili from Mvmts. 1-3.
[edit] Completions of the fourth movement
Although Bruckner suggested using his Te Deum as the finale of the Ninth Symphony, there have been several attempts to complete the symphony with a fourth movement based on Bruckner's sketches. Indeed, Bruckner's suggestion has been used as a justification for completing the fourth movement, since it shows (according to some scholars such as John A. Phillips) that the composer did not want this work to end with the Adagio.
[edit] Carragan completion (1983)
The first musicologist to attempt a performing version of the Finale was William Carragan (who also has done work editing Bruckner's Second Symphony). His 1983 attempt was premiered by Moshe Atzmon conducting the American Symphony Orchestra at Carnegie Hall the next year. It has been recorded by Yoav Talmi.
[edit] Samale/Mazzuca completion (1987)
Working independently of Carragan, the team of Nicola Samale and Giuseppe Mazzuca put together a new realization in 1987, which was recorded by Eliahu Inbal and fits in with Inbal's recordings of early versions of Bruckner's Symphonies. The coda of the Samale & Mazzuca realization has more in common with the corresponding passage of the Eighth Symphony than it does with the later Samale/Mazzuca/Phillips/Cohrs realization.
[edit] Samale/Mazzuca/Phillips/Cohrs completion (1992 / rev. 1996 / new rev. 2005)
For this venture Samale and Mazzuca were joined by John A. Phillips and Benjamin-Gunnar Cohrs. This completion proposes one way to realize Bruckner's intention to combine themes from all four movements. This version has been recorded by Johannes Wildner and also by Kurt Eichhorn, with the Bruckner Orchestra of Linz, for the Camerata label.
A new, revised edition of this completion was published in 2005 by Nicola Samale and Benjamin-Gunnar Cohrs (www.musikmph.de). Cohrs´ latest research made it also possible to recover the musical content of one missing bifolio in the Fugue fully from the particello-sketch. This new edition, in all 665 bars long, makes use of 569 bars from Bruckner himself.
[edit] Instrumentation
The score calls for three each of flutes, oboes, clarinets in A and B, bassoons, with eight horns (four of them doubling on Wagner tubas), three trumpets, three trombones, doublebass tuba, timpani and strings.
[edit] Discography
The first commercial recording was made by Siegmund von Hausegger with the Munich Philharmonic in 1938 for HMV. This recording used the Orel edition.
The inauthentic Löwe version is available on CD remasterings of LPs by Hans Knappertsbusch and F. Charles Adler. These can be as short as 51 minutes.
A recording of the three movements in the Orel or Nowak edition on average lasts about 65 minutes, though a fast conductor like Carl Schuricht can get it down to 56 minutes.
Recordings of Finale realizations are usually coupled with the Nowak edition for the first three movements. Some of these also include recordings of the fragments Bruckner left so that the listener may determine for himself how much of the realization is what Bruckner actually wrote and how much is speculation by the editor. Yoav Talmi's recording of the Carragan completion is one example of a recording that includes the fragments. With the exception of the Inbal recording of the Samale & Mazzuca 1987, any recording that includes a realization of the Finale occupies 2 CDs.
In 2003 Nikolaus Harnoncourt and the Wiener Philharmoniker recorded the Ninth as well as the Finale-Fragment for BMG/RCA, but unfortunately without the Coda sketches. In the same year, Naxos published a recommendable live-recording with the New Philharmonia Orchestra of Westphalia under Johannes Wildner, including the Samale-et-al-Version 1992/rev. 1996
[edit] Notable Recordings
- Oswald Kabasta, live performance with the Munich Philharmonic, 1943 (Music and Arts) (Orel edition)
- Wilhelm Furtwängler, live performance with the Berlin Philharmonic, 1944 (multiple labels) (Orel edition)
- Eduard van Beinum, studio recording with the Concertgebouw Orchestra, 1956 (Philips) (Nowak edition)
- Bruno Walter, studio recording with the Columbia Symphony Orchestra, 1959 (Sony/CBS) (Orel edition)
- Carl Schuricht, studio recording with the Vienna Philharmonic, 1961 (EMI) (Nowak edition)
- Eugen Jochum, studio recording with the Berlin Philharmonic, 1964 (Deutsche Grammophon) (Nowak edition)
- Zubin Mehta, studio recording with the Vienna Philharmonic, 1965 (Decca/London) (Nowak edition)
- Herbert von Karajan, live performance with the Vienna Philharmonic, 1976 (Deutsche Grammophon) (Nowak edition)
- Gunter Wand, studio recording with the Cologne Radio Symphony Orchestra, 1979 (BMG/RCA/EMI) (Nowak edition)
- Bernard Haitink, studio recording with the Concertgebouw Orchestra, 1981 (Philips) (Nowak edition)
- Rafael Kubelík, live performance with the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, 1986 (Orfeo) (Nowak edition)
- Carlo Maria Giulini, live performance with the Vienna Philharmonic, 1988 (Deutsche Grammophon) (Nowak edition)
- Daniel Barenboim, live performance with the Berlin Philharmonic, 1991 (Teldec) (Orel edition)
- Herbert Blomstedt, studio recording with the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, 1995, (Decca/London) (Nowak edition)
- Sergiu Celibidache, live performance with the Munich Philharmonic, 1995 (EMI) (Nowak edition)
- Johannes Wildner, studio recording with the New Philarmonic Orchestra of Westphalia, 1998 (SonArte/Naxos) (Nowak edition, including fourth movement completion by Samale, Mazzucca, Phillips and Cohrs)
- Stanisław Skrowaczewski, studio recording with the Saarbrücken Radio Symphony Orchestra, 2001 (Arte Nova/Oehms Classics) (Nowak edition)
[edit] External links
- Article by Peter Gutmann
- Complete discography
- Another discography with reviews in French
- Bruckner symphony versions
- Extensive, English Article by Aart van der Wal on the Finale problem (February 2006)
- The B page at the Classical Archives actually has a MIDI of a reconstruction of the Finale, as well as the completed first and second movements, but not of the Adagio.