Riccardo Chailly conducts Bruckner's Symphony No. 9

Bruckner's Symphony No. 9

Riccardo Chailly, conductor emeritus and former chief conductor of the Concertgebouw Orchestra, crowns the symphonic cycle in honour of Anton Bruckner's 200th birthday with his enigmatic swan song, the Ninth Symphony , including the Finale completed according to the latest insights.

The symphonies of Anton Bruckner are part of the Concertgebouw Orchestra's original repertoire. And they are in good hands with veteran Riccardo Chailly. He sees Bruckner as 'a saint who repeatedly challenges the Devil, a man who was so religious that he dared to explore the darkness.' In the Ninth Symphony, darkness was the winner: Bruckner died before he could complete the work. The slow third movement is a worthy 'farewell to life', as Bruckner himself noted in the score. 'It must be the most beautiful thing I have written', he said of this moving Adagio, 'I am gripped by it every time I play it.'

An intriguing puzzle

In his estate, many fragments of the largely completed Finale were found, but they were soon scattered around the world. They have formed an intriguing puzzle for over a century, but no one has succeeded in forging them into a convincing whole. Until a team of musicologists changed that in 2012 after thirty years of research. The performance version by Samale, Phillips, Cohrs and Mazzuca is overwhelming and changes the tragic character of the symphony: after three dark movements, the final movement brings redemption. Today, this 'SPCM' performance version sounds in the most recent revision by JA Phillips from 2021-22.