Composer: Anton Bruckner
Orchestra: Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Conductor: Daniel Barenboim
Audio CD
Number of Discs: 1
Format: FLAC (image+cue)
Label: Deutche Grammophon
Size: 320 MB
Recovery: +3%
Scan: no
01. Symphony No. 9 In D Minor – Feierlich, Misterioso
02. Symphony No. 9 – Scherzo: Bewegt, Lebhaft – Trio: Schnell
03. Symphony No. 9 – Adagio: Langsam, Feierlich
04. Psalm 150
Sonorous
So far, I have preferred the reissues of Barenboim’s Chicago Bruckner cycle to the remakes in Berlin. During the time Barenboim was making these Chicago recordings, that orchestra was at its peak, and well may be accounted one of the great orchestras of all time. Yet they were not always at their best under Solti. They reserved some of their finest playing for Levine, Abbado, and Barenboim. The Chicago’s playing on this CD is much more sumptuous than it was for Solti. The strings are beautiful and luminous, and some of the great moments are from Ray Still’s solo oboe and Donald Peck’s solo flute. The brass, as you would expect in Chicago, are beyond praise, but they don’t swamp the rest of the orchestra here, as they often do under Solti. As for Barenboim’s interpretation, it is a moderate, well conceived version of the piece–clocking in at a little over an hour (Sir Colin Davis’s takes over 66 minutes, but that interpretation is a whole different story.). Dynamics are well managed, and the important dramatic transitions seem to just happen rather than are shoved in your face. Along with the reissues of the Fourth and Seventh from Chicago, I consider these Barenboim recordings just about ideal. The analog sound quality here is quite good, very warm without all the detail one gets from digital. Psalm 150 is a pleasing makeweight.
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