|
The latest release by CSO Resound features Riccardo Muti and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in a compelling
performance of Bruckner's formidable Ninth Symphony. Left unfinished at the time of the composer's death in 1896, it is an
immense work that continuously unfolds with its stirring climaxes, daring chromaticism and harmonic richness. It is here
perfectly executed by the CSO, long-since admired for its interpretations of Bruckner and holding the distinction of having
given the American premiere of the Ninth Symphony in 1904. Muti brings remarkable lyricism to this dramatic work in a
performance embodying the exceptional synergy between the distinguished maestro and the CSO.
Riccardo Muti, born in Naples, Italy, is one of the preeminent conductors of our day. In 2010, when he became the 10th music
director of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra (CSO), he already had more than 40 years of experience at the helm of the
Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, Philharmonia Orchestra, Philadelphia Orchestra and Teatro alla Scala. During his time with the
CSO, Muti has won over audiences in greater Chicago and across the globe through his music making as well as his
demonstrated commitment to sharing classical music. His annual free concerts for the city of Chicago attract tens of
thousands of people.
"Was Muti's Italian Catholicism at odds with Bruckner's Austrian Catholicism? Some listeners might think so, but the evidence
indicated a command of the score's inner fiber that could not be denied.
The sound he elicited from one of the world's great Bruckner bands was lean and incisive, drawing its hard directness from
the auditorium acoustics as much as his conducting...Climaxes were scaled with the long view in mind, finally giving way to
that terrifying glimpse of the abyss Arnold Schoenberg would cross decades later. The brass choir, augmented by four
mellow Wagner tubas, was simply glorious here." Chicago Tribune
I. Feierlich, misterioso 26 :28
II. Scherzo: Bewegt, lebhaft 10 :52
III. Adagio: Langsam, feierlich 25 :00 |
|
