Review: Bruckner – Symphony No. 9 – Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich – Paavo Järvi
The Classic Review David A. McConnell September 25, 2024 Paavo Järvi is apparently recording a second Bruckner cycle with the Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich. His first cycle, made with the Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra on RCA, was difficult to purchase (at least in the USA), but today is readily available via streaming and download. We can wonder, therefore, if Järvi’s interpretative ideas (and the playing of the Tonhalle-Orchester) are different enough to warrant a new cycle. RCA’s engineering captured more room ambiance, adding sheen to Frankfurt’s sound. Alpha’s engineering offers a sharper sound picture, which complements the leaner sound in Zürich. The smooth, homogenous textures heard in the Frankfurt performance neuter some of this symphony’s more terrifying dissonances. In both recordings, Järvi clarifies Bruckner’s contrapuntal writing, but in Frankfurt his phrasing was matter of fact, and the tempos of the outer movements lack momentum. In Frankfurt, the first movement take
