Recordings allow us to deny the reality that a musical performance is a one-time occasion that once experienced is gone forever, living on only in the memory. Thus, no two performances ever can be the same, a point strongly made by Gunter Wand as he continues to re-record the symphonies of Anton Bruckner, three, and in some cases four times over (as in the Ninth). Obviously, Wand is a committed Brucknerian, and his devotion shows in the ever-increasing depth of his interpretations and mastery of the scores. Sometimes, as in his third recording of Symphony No. 4, his latest effort has been his best. However, as with the Eighth, this new Ninth does not reach the heights of the prior reading. Not that this is by any measure a lackluster performance; on the contrary, Wand’s way with the score is wonderfully organic, imparting a sense of inevitability to the music.
The opening paragraph sounds like some nervously troubled sea anticipating a huge tidal wave. Wand phrases the lyrical second subject with an uncommon sweetness, and lets us clearly hear the whooping horns in the third subject’s climax. But his earlier (1994) RCA recording with the North German Radio Symphony was a grimmer, darker affair that emphasized the music’s tragic nature. The present reading has a very refined and cultivated sound, no doubt having to do with the choice of orchestra. Where the Berlin Philharmonic brass sound smooth and polished, the Hamburg players’ raw edge creates tension. The scherzo in the NDR performance had a fierceness that has been replaced in Berlin by cool virtuosity. Only in the Adagio is it clear that Wand has found something new in this masterpiece. Tempos are noticeably quicker than before, giving this movement an unusually affirmative, striving quality. The BPO has caught Wand’s fire, and plays with the kind of alacrity the orchestra displayed for Barenboim in his stunning Teldec recording.
This sounds like an interpretation in progress, which is not so surprising considering Wand’s ever-evolving understanding of Bruckner’s last testament. Problem is, RCA apparently believes Wand’s latest thoughts are the only ones that count, and has deleted his earlier recordings, taking from us one of the best Bruckner Ninth’s ever. Still, it’s important that any recording by this great conductor remains available, and although Barenboim’s is the BPO performance of choice, Wand’s reading (especially the Adagio) offers us something we won’t hear anywhere else. This CD is available in the U.S. exclusively through the BMG Classical Music Service.
