Bruckner - Symphony No. 9 in D minor - Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra - Manfred Honeck - Reference Recordings REF 733 (2019)
2ch DSD256 dsf 1bit/11.3MHz (9.96GB) | Source: native_dsd | DR11 | PDF | Classical
A Soundmirror recording
The 1st sketches of Bruckner抯 9th Symphony date back to 1887, shortly after Bruckner had completed his 8th Symphony, though his work on the 9th dragged on and was often interrupted. It was during this same time that Bruckner would return to several of his previous symphonies for revisions (the 2nd and 3rd in 1889, and later the 1st and 4th Symphonies). He also set about revising his 8th Symphony after the conductor Hermann Levi rejected the 1st score.
Throughout, Bruckner suffered ongoing health issues. As a result, the 1st movement of the 9th was not completed until the end of 1893, with the 2nd and 3rd movements following in 1894. Bruckner would then devote the remaining time, until his death, on the 4th movement. Of this well-documented movement, 172 measures are fully orchestrated, while the remaining measures up to the coda (which is entirely missing) are incomplete. Bruckner therefore asked that his Te Deum, finished in 1884, be performed instead of the unfinished 4th movement.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VJEPUxNNDaU
AllMusic:
In 2019, Manfred Honeck and the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra released their 2nd Bruckner recording as a hybrid SACD on Reference Recordings, a powerful interpretation of the unfinished Symphony No. 9 in D minor that shows these musicians' remarkable affinity for the composer. In choosing the unfinished, 2-movement version of the work, thereby avoiding any controversy over the various completions of Bruckner's intended finale, Honeck adheres to the long-established 1951 edition by Leopold Nowak, so there are no textual surprises. What is somewhat unexpected for a performance of the 9th is Honeck's careful analysis of the material Bruckner incorporated, such as the "Miserere" from the "Gloria" of his Mass in D minor, the "Annunciation of Death" motive from the 8th Symphony, and references to the Latin text of the Agnus Dei which influenced the design of the Adagio, among other internal evidence that sheds light on Bruckner's religious motivation in composing this symphony. Many conductors recognize the significance of Bruckner's dedication of the work to God, yet Honeck has identified the particular instances in the symphony that, like the structure of the 5th Symphony, clearly reveal Bruckner's faith, and that the 9th is far from being absolute music without programmatic content. This no doubt adds power to the music and clarifies its somewhat mystifying content. The wide-open sound of this audiophile recording goes far in conveying the expressive depth and sweep of the performance, capturing the orchestra in a spacious acoustic that adds true grandeur to Bruckner's most personal paean to God.
