Carl Schuricht recorded the 9th Symphony of Anton Bruckner several times in concert. Until now, only his justly celebrated performance of this work (and its predecessor) with the Vienna Philharmonic has been available, on EMI. The Ninth–gaunt, imposing, and valedictory–seemed to take on a uniquely personal aspect under Schuricht, and yet in listening to his performances now, I’m struck particularly by his minimal intervention as a conductor. What you hear are the notes, in a style more unadorned and plain-speaking than you’d expect today, and which some listeners might even consider bland. Those collectors already familiar with Schuricht’s EMI account probably will find nothing new in this alternative reading, recorded live at the Hercules-Saal in Munich by Bavarian Radio in March, 1963.
While the performance is more recent, the digitally remastered mono sound still leaves much to be desired. I found the mysterious opening section (string tremolando and those monolithic horn statements stressing the interval of a bare fifth) sounded more threatening in the Vienna account. And later, with the arrival of the second subject theme, the Viennese violins had greater unanimity of ensemble, and there’s rather more character in the way Schuricht molds and propels Bruckner’s gauntly inevitable musical argument. Then something awesome happens in the coda: suddenly the Bavarian Radio Orchestra seems galvanized by the cataclysmic closing pages, and the effect is shattering. However, the recording still shows its weakness, being unable to contain the tremendous dynamic range.
You find the same shortcoming in the scherzo (a little more raw edged and malevolent back in Vienna), though high playback levels will certainly help to make the auditory experience more believable. In both the Vienna and Munich readings the final Adagio is deeply moving, and what is so admirable about this conductor in Bruckner is his remarkably consistent approach. A comparison of timings will show what I mean, but there’s a touchingly human quality in the Bavarian recording that lingers long in the mind after the music itself has ended. Don’t expect an overwhelming sonic experience, then, but rather the chance to hear this formidable score in frank and objective terms, without any conductorial aggrandisement. Still, if you can afford just one vintage recording of the Ninth, you’d probably reap greater musical benefits from the Vienna recording.
