BRUCKNER: Symphony No. 9

Album review

Marek Janowski's 2007 recording of Anton Bruckner's unfinished Symphony No. 9 in D minor with the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande is quite possibly the best sounding of any recording ever made of this work, and the hybrid multichannel SACD format gives it every possible advantage. From the soft, somber fanfares that open the first movement to the radiant major chord that closes the Adagio, Janowski draws a well-rounded and burnished tone from this exceptional orchestra that is exactly what one wants in Bruckner, even in this grave and austere symphony. Surprisingly, the orchestra under Janowski delivers something very close to a weighty German sound, despite its reputation for having a lighter French quality under its founding conductor, Ernest Ansermet. All of the monumental climaxes, ponderous cadences, and heroic perorations are played with maximum force, yet the Suisse Romande demonstrates that it can turn on a dime and play with a gentle Viennese lilt in the lyrical episodes. The direct stream digital recording captures this magnificent playing with wonderful fidelity, but what makes this truly remarkable is its extremely wide dynamic range, which allows even the faintest diminuendos and the most distant effects to be heard absolutely clearly without artificial boosting. Since one's attention can drift in these quiet passages, it's good that Janowski keeps up the intense focus of the playing and makes the details clear enough to follow. So with the astute direction of the conductor, the brilliant musicianship of the orchestra, and the splendid engineering of PentaTone, this fabulous recording deserves the highest marks, and all Brucknerians should hear it as soon as possible.

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