Anton Bruckner (1824-1896)
Symphony No 9 in D minor, WAB 109 (1894; original version; ed Nowak)
Gürzenich-Orchester Köln/François-Xavier Roth
rec. live, 21 September 2021, Kölner Philharmonie
Myrios Classics MYR034 [53]

François-Xavier Roth is a “modernist” Bruckner interpreter, with a penchant for brisker tempi and the importation of some “period” features to clean up and clarify orchestral textures. Despite my preference for a more traditional approach to the symphonies, I have found myself impressed by the coherence and transparency of the recordings so far in his ongoing cycle, whereas I have found the output of another contemporary Bruckner conductor given to speediness, Markus Poschner, to be erratic and at times frustratingly wilful.

This is again one of the fastest Bruckner Ninths in the catalogue, seven or eight minutes faster than my standard favourite accounts by Karajan and, much more recently, Sado and a full fifteen minutes shorter than Giulini’s admittedly leisurely recording with the VPO in 1988. Comparison of the timings of individual movements are almost startling:

The Scherzo apart, we could be talking about two different pieces of music. Nonetheless, there is no lack of grandeur or gravitas in that mighty opening horn summons; the orchestral sound is rich, deep and beautifully balanced, with nicely prominent timpani and I am immediately swept up into that special Brucknerian atmosphere in which serenity and expectancy are commingled – then are tempered by the clarinet cuckoo-call before the lovely cantabile second theme. The strings are noticeably vibrato-free but here that just enhances the plaintive, supplicatory nature of the tune and the sprightly tempo just underlines the anxiety beneath the lyricism. Perhaps this is why Roth’s application of faster speeds succeeds where Poschner’s sometimes falters; the key is perhaps in that word “application”; Roth sounds as if his speeds are properly integrated within the emotional ambit and landscape of his conception, whereas Poschner’s seem to appear out of nowhere as consciously applied. Anyway, I am convinced by Roth’s approach, just as I am by Giulini’s because both are intrinsically coherent. Roth plays the movement in properly balanced waves, and the sheer voluptuousness of the Gürzenich-Orchester’s sound is thoroughly seductive. I still find the coda too hasty and hence lacking in mystery, but it is consistent with Roth’s vision and still very impressive.

The demonic Scherzo was my personal entry into a love of Bruckner’s symphonies. Its delivery here is angular and clipped – almost truncated – exciting, but for me simply too rushed. Roth employs dynamic extremes and the excellent recording copes admirably with the disparity between the central, gentle Trio and the outlying sections. The movement is over almost before the listener realises and it is a real onslaught.

The Adagio is again sumptuously played but this time I do find Roth’s basic pulse too urgent – but perhaps I am habituated to Old School accounts like Giulini’s – and the yearning, soaring first theme is beautifully phrased, even if I would like it to be more spacious. The central climax at 10:24 is very satisfying and the highpoint similarly stirring. The coda is not quite as poised and magical as some; a very slight waver in the concluding B of the horn mars it, but I cavil. To check my response, I turned to Giulini’s account of the Adagio; I love the greater sweep and sonorousness of his interpretation and hear no laxity in his loving shaping of those long phrases; ultimately he delivers Bruckner on a greater scale and at a more profound level than Roth, but the latter is wholly persuasive within his interpretative parameters.

Ralph Moore

This review posted here by kind permission of The Bruckner Journal.

Buying this recording via a link below generates revenue for MWI and helps us keep free access to the site