Bruckner is a hard composer to grasp at first listen. As conductor Franz Welser-Most ably points out in an extra interview, Bruckner literally spans the centuries between the Renaissance and Baroque and, as unbelievable as it may sound, today's big "classical" fad, minimalism. Therefore any given piece can have the langorous, long arcing melodies reminiscent of Mahler (in this case in the Adagio), coupled with pulsating wind and horn motives (in this case in the Scherzo) that may remind contemporary listeners of Philip Glass or John Adams. Add to that the bombastic, gargantuan orchestras championed by Wagner and, later, Mahler, and you have a work that is not easy to parse and which certainly demands repeated listenings before its architecture becomes clear.

I had the great privilege of taking master classes in composition from renowned American symphonist Roy Harris and his brilliant pianist wife, Katherine. I remember to this day Maestro Harris stating that Bruckner "composed with a t-square and a ruler," shorthand for indicating the almost obsessive approach Bruckner took to counting bars for phrases and musical periods (something that Welser-Most also touches on in his interviews). Bruckner also has a tendency to favor rhythmic motives slowly transforming over long periods of time (something he shares with today's minimalists), sometimes at the expense of easily accessible melodies, which can make listening challenging for audiences who insist on ear-candy every step of the way. Bruckner's Ninth, as is the case with several composers, is an elegy and reflection on a life soon to end, a "personal dialogue with God," as Welser-Most terms it. The Symphony was unfinished at Bruckner's death, though a fourth movement, largely orchestrated, was found later. Most contemporary performances keep to the three movements that Bruckner finished during his lifetime, and that tradition is followed in this performance.

Welser-Most does a beautiful job in balancing the sonorities of this massive orchestra, with bombastic horns nicely contrasted with more reflective and lyrical wind passages. The symphony is full of some great string pizzicati sections, notably in the first movement, all of which are delivered with absolute clarity and transparence. I was also pleased to see Welser-Most showing some nice restraint on the Scherzo, which some conductors like to take at a maniacally fast tempo in order to punch up its rhythmic ingenuity. Welser-Most's comparatively subdued reading allows the textures to come through much more clearly than had he gone for broke, tempo-wise. The final Adagio is also beautifully handled, with gorgeous horn work and achingly heartfelt string passages.

The filmed presentation is exceedingly intelligent, with nice full orchestral shots taken from several angles intermixed with always spot-on close-ups of various soloists. Watch the oboe player for some amusing facial expressions.

Bruckner may not have the over-arching melody of Wagner (though he cribs liberally from the master in this piece, with outright quotes from "Tristan" and "Parsifal"), or that same melodic invention merged with the dark humor of Mahler, but this pious church organist explored the rapidly deteriorating world of conventional harmony with a zeal that few if any of his contemporaries did. Astute music lovers will find a virtual compendium of musical ideas, past, present, and, yes, future, alive and flourishing in Bruckner's symphonies, and there is certainly no better place to start than with the Ninth. This spectacular performance makes that easy.

The DVD

Video:
The concert is presented in a generally excellent 1.78:1 enhanced transfer. Colors, contrast and saturation are all strong. Unfortunately long and mid-range shots of the concert hall are littered with some of the worst aliasing and moire patterns I've seen--everything from the beaded chandeliers to the pipes of the pipe organ go a little crazy. Luckily these establishing shots are not too frequent.

Sound:
Three absolutely superb soundtracks are offered: PCM stereo, DD 5.1, and DTS 5.1. All three sport incredible fidelity and separation, though strangely I found the horns to be most present in the stereo version.

Extras:
An interesting and informative 18 or so minute interview with Welser-Most is included, and contains some excellent background information on the Symphony itself, as well as Bruckner generally.

Final Thoughts:
Bruckner deserves to be better appreciated than he is, and Welser-Most's work with the Cleveland Orchestra may help to rectify that situation. This DVD is highly recommended to all classical music fans, but even casual appreciators of the late Romantic period will probably find much to like in Bruckner's Ninth.

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"G-d made stars galore" & "Hey, what kind of a crappy fortune is this?" ZMK, modern prophet