Having just reviewed Walter’s recording of
Mahler’s
Resurrection Symphony with the East coast incarnation
of the “Columbia Symphony Orchestra”, it was interesting
to hear its West coast equivalent. It was largely drawn from the Los
Angeles Philharmonic but here remains incognito, whereas in the Mahler
issue Pristine calls the orchestra the “New York Philharmonic”.
No matter; whatever their name, we are hearing a very fine ensemble
indeed, no mere pick-up band. The intonation of the violins in the upward
soaring first subject of the Adagio of the first movement is simply
lovely, as is their sweet, cantabile playing of the descant over the
recapitulation of the second theme. The concluding two minutes of shimmering
strings punctuated by murmurings from the flutes and horns before the
singing downward octave figure (B, G flat, A flat, B) brings the movement
to a transcendent close.
This 1959 recording has been regarded as a classic since its first appearance
because of its warmth and sincerity. Walter was already 82 and in poor
health following his heart attacks, dying three years later, so there
is inevitably an autumnal and valedictory ambience about a recording
to which he brought a lifetime’s experience. The original stereo
recording from Philips was always very good but following Andrew Rose’s
expert XR re-mastering, it is now really honeyed and mellow, as befits
Bruckner. Hiss is reduced and there is now a wonderfully enhanced sonority
about the brass; sample them in the conclusion of the first subject
of the first movement just before the yearning second subject unfolds
so beguilingly.
Of the dozen or so recordings of this symphony that I own and know,
interestingly, Walter’s is the version whose timings are the closest
to a 2:1:2 ratio, perhaps reflecting the conductor’s sense of
proportion and symmetry in the work as a whole. He has an over-arching
concept of the symphony which results in his first movement being played
at a fairly average speed, the Scherzo being the slowest apart from
Bernstein’s and the Adagio actually being fairly speedy - not
that any of these observations are apparent at the time of listening.
I quote the original 1961 “Gramophone” review by “L.S.”
(presumably Lionel Salter) whose review is excerpted in the Pristine
booklet notes: “When … Bruno Walter takes charge, the music
can flow with an unruffled assurance, a sense of coherence and quiet
purpose, a direct eloquence which can transform the work.” Exactly;
these are the same qualities which make his Mahler so compelling. Walter
always finds the perfect compromise between contemplation and momentum
in Bruckner, which is why there are no longueurs; his subtle control
over dynamics and rubato is typical of his non-interventionist approach
and there are no jarring gear changes. As with his Mahler, Walter’s
management of climaxes is overwhelming because he holds back until the
last possible moment; thus there is no vulgar, premature bombast, yet
neither is there any lack of urgency or tension in the Scherzo, despite
what seems superficially to be its slow tempo.
No matter whether you buy this superb re-mastering by Pristine or stick
with one of the CBS issues, this is a Ninth which belongs in every Bruckner
collection.
Ralph Moore
Masterwork Index:
Bruckner
symphony 9
Movement Timings
1
st mvt. Feierlich, Misterioso [24:03]
2
nd mvt. Scherzo. Bewegt, lebhaft - Trio. Schnell [11:36]
3
rd mvt. Adagio. Langsam, feierlich [23:24]
