Search - Anton Bruckner, Fabio Luisi, Dresden Staatskapelle :: Bruckner: Symphony No. 9 [Hybrid SACD]

Excellent performance, rivals the all-time greats in this wo

Douglas S. Halfen | Baltimore, MD, USA | 03/19/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I listened to this on the same night as Bernard Haitink's 8th with the same orchestra (on Profil), and I found myself applauding at the conclusion of _both_ performances. This SACD release gets bonus points for positively _glorious_, clear sound (you can hear a _great_ deal of detail), and Fabio Luisi obviously knows and loves his Bruckner.



The first movement was paced and balanced perfectly, with plenty of forward momentum driving us toward the superb coda. The movement's deep lyricism was not overlooked, either, along the way!



The scherzo had all of the pounding terror and majesty you could expect, with the trio lilting along like a graveyard full of spirits.



And the all-encompassing adagio (which, when played well, is some of the greatest music you'll ever hear) does not disappoint -- in fact, it receives a _masterful_ interpretation here. The great, leaping arcs of music rise and fall with tremendous splendour. The climax is _almost_ perfect, being neither too short nor too intense (though, quite frankly, it can never be _too_ intense!). The coda is one of the best I've ever heard, and it ends more gently and evenly than most.



Throughout the recording, I often found myself wondering if I were listening to the lush strings of the Wiener Philharmoniker or Philadelphia Orchestra. Either the recording is _that_ good, or they produce a _very_ nice sound nowadays! All other departments deliver truly solid (and sometimes outstanding) performances, especially the winds.



I am _very_ encouraged about possible future Bruckner releases featuring this team."

Excellent live performance

B. Guerrero | 07/04/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Obviously, the Staatskapelle Dresden is no stranger to Bruckner's music, having already recorded an excellent full cycle with Eugen Jochum (EMI). But this new contender is right up there. I really like the pacing. And as great as the coda to the first movement truly is, Luisi saves even more headroom for the grinding, dissonant, 9-note climax near the end of the Adagio (third movement). Nor does he cut that dissonant chord off early, as many conductors make a habit of doing these days. For Luisi, this is the true climax of the entire symphony, and everything before hand simply builds inevitably towards it. I also like it that Luisi doesn't take the scherzo too fast, thus able to distinguish between Bruckner's long quarter notes (the first four or five bars after the introduction), and short or "staccato" quarter notes (the following four bars or so). That may seem like a petty point, but Bruckner clearly makes such a distinction in the score with the hopes of making the scherzo itself sound a tad less monotonous (or a tad more interesting, I suppose). The point being, this is good stuff. While I won't say that anybody should throw out their Giulini; Karajan, Walter, Jochum, etc., neither would I hesitate to recommend this one in addition to those."