Search - Bruckner, Eichhorn, Bruckner Orchester Linz :: Bruckner: Symphony 9 with Finale Reconstructed by Samale, Phillips, Mazzuca, & Cohrs (2-CD Set)

YES! YES! YES!

Ralph J. Steinberg | New York, NY United States | 01/08/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Well,here is a Bruckner Ninth to reckon with! I fully agree that the first three movements have the kindof ferocious intensity that Furtwaengler brought to the score, and the addition of the reconstructed Finale makes this indepensible. This movement is truly the crown of his symphonic finales, and Eichhorn makes it sound glorious. Among modern Ninths, I still love the Tintner on Naxos, but the Eichhorn is even more a MUST. Avoid the Wildner performance on Naxos, it is very lax and sounds like the conductor is basically unsympathetic to the music."

A Must-Have Historic Recording

Frederick T. Williams | San Francisco, CA United States | 07/08/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I basically agree with the other reviewers of this recording. The first three movements are close to perfect. I've never heard the Adagio as well or sensitively played. However, I do think Eichhorn conducts the completed Fourth Movement way too slowly. It sounds downright lugubrious at the tempo Eichhorn has chosen. For my money, the completed Fourth Movement sounds more convincing on the recording done by Marcus Bosch with the Aachen Symphony, a 2007 recording on Coviello Classics. Paradoxically, Bosch's recording of the first three movements is much too fast. Nevertheless, Bosch's tempo for the Samale-Phillips-Cohrs-Mazzuca completed Finale seems about right -- not too fast and not too slow -- and makes this controversial "completion" sound quite convincingly Brucknerian. Additionally, it is important to note that the Bosch recording uses the most recent revision by those editors, which is considerably more convincing than the one recorded in 1993 by Eichhorn. Consequently, the Bosch recording of the Ninth is essential for anyone interested in the completed Fourth Movement."