Bruckner worked on the finale of his Ninth Symphony on the morning of his death, October 11, 1896, leaving behind over 200 folios of material.
Compositional Technique
Bruckner's Ninth Symphony is dedicated to 'my dear Lord' and incorporates chorale and chant, yet it also features highly dissonant and stark passages.
Recording & Production
The reconstruction of the finale for this recording involved supplementing the instrumentation of woodwind and brass for approximately two-thirds of the entire movement.
Composition History
Bruckner's Ninth Symphony, though incomplete, was actually his eleventh attempt at the genre, including earlier symphonies from 1863 and 1869.
Composition History
Work on Bruckner's Ninth Symphony began in 1887, but progress was delayed by revisions to his Eighth Symphony, prompted by conductor Hermann Levi's initial bewilderment.
Interpretation
The performing version of the unfinished finale on this recording was created by Nicola Samale, Giuseppe Mazzuca, John Phillips, and Benjamin-Gunnar Cohrs, using 'musico-forensic' methods to reconstruct Bruckner's intentions.
Compositional Technique
The Adagio of Bruckner's Ninth Symphony ends on an extreme dissonance, which was so unprecedented in classical music that it was reharmonized at the turn of the last century.
