Bruckner symphony 9 gunter wand biography

After the exhilaration of the Allegro the Larghetto has a calming influence; Wand avoids the common tendency to apply a Largo tempo and the gentle flow is followed by the forceful, but not hurried approach to the Scherzo. The large scale of the reading is confirmed by a firmly driven Finale. The Scherzo is forceful, and after a suitably brief pause Wand surges into the Finale during which the lengthy Poco Andante is contrasted strongly in pace — an unexpected idea from this conductor.

The Fourth is often thought of as a lyrical work but Wand shows its rugged side, especially in the outer movements, the first enhanced by crisp timpani — this feature also makes their quiet solo at the close of the Adagio particularly effective. The Minuet a Scherzo by nature finds Wand among those who make only a modest alteration of speed for the two Trios, and although the Finale is swift, the tempo still permits the bassoonist to achieve the near-impossible solo with great precision.

Wand takes the same fiery view. Moments like the thrilling transition from Scherzo to Finale make a stunning effect but so too the forceful moments in the slow movement, given great nobility. The recording does not quite capture every detail of the Finale — the remarkable piccolo part is not very evident but the weight of those rare visitors to the Classical orchestra, trombones, is certainly felt.

Your guide to classical music online. Victor Carr Jr. Artistic Quality:. Sound Quality:. Recording Details:. Although we still have Chailly and Abbado as model interpreters, the German school in which wand was born and bred is no longer with us. All Rights Reserved. Site Search. Symphony 8 in B minor "Unfinished", D. Symphony 5 in C minor "Fate" Op.

Symphony 1 in C Major, Op. Home News Contacts Copyright. Books Music. Enter keywords…. Symphony 1, Op. I have not heard this live recording. It leaves me a little baffled by the high praise he receives from most critics. There is something in it I like. However, I have tried some of his Berlin live recordings to see if I was perhaps missing something there.

With the 7th I have been, so far, less than impressed. But with his Berlin 8th I was blown away. Suddenly here was an interpretation that was deeply moving and dynamic and exciting. It immediately became my favorite of my several recordings of that symphony, beating out 2 Karajans, Giulini, Bohm, Jochum Dresden, Barbirolli, 2 Tennsdedts and Furtwangler.

I was pleasantly surprised to say the least and it has given me renewed interest in Wand. Doug — Haydn Fan1 year ago Edited In reply toan earlier post Thanks for the fair observations — I was being sarcastic when I wrote the review, but the slackness was apparent. Once — many years ago — Wand was simply considered a good serviceable conductor.

No one compared his work to that of the major conductors. The insidious term Kappelmeister was thrown around, perhaps unfairly. This recent exaltation strikes me as more or less unwarranted, even odd. It would take years to hear them all — and life is far too short for such folly! Maybe a person could give up a year of life listening to Mozart — but hearing the same nine symphonies of either of those two repeated hundreds of times?

Count me decisively out!

Bruckner symphony 9 gunter wand biography

Wand does not take listeners to the heights reached regularly by Karajan, Jochum, Skrowaczewski, Giulini, or Celibidache in Bruckner. I see you are posting several negative reviews of the Bruckner cycle. I presume from this that you are not in agreement with my review? Art reviews are by definition very subjective. So maybe you can summarize your own opinion?

Agree and there are several very good recordings of the Novak editions available. What do you think? Late to the game but…: I had the pleasure of listening to Wand with the NDR SO multiple times as I grew up in Hamburg so pretty much saw all Brahms, Schubert, some Beethoven and Bruckner , all concerts between lets say and One of the last ones I attended was in aBruckner 8 in the now old Hamburg Concert hall.

It was spectacular and we left speechless. At that time the NDR even gave you a CD with their recording for a nominal fee upon request, so I have that very concert on CD and cherish it unlike any other. What is missing in this review are two seminal recordings: Bruckner 8 from and the 9th from from the opening concert of the Schleswig Holstein Music Festival in Luebeck Cathedral.

It features a reverberation and acoustic that is unmatched and carries an aura and atmosphere unlike any other recording. Sorry, for my late reply here, work kept me away from my blog for too long. Thanks for your feedback, truly appreciated. As I mentioned in my blog post, I heard Wand live as well in Hamburg several times.