Rolf App, Journal 21, 14.09.2023
«And you could feel how comfortable he is on stage. It's a hard-earned feeling of freedom that comes across in his interpretations and performances.»
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Chiara Marcon, 14.09.2023
«La prima parte del concerto ha avuto una durata di mezz'ora, più i lunghi applausi che hanno sottolineato il grande apprezzamento al virtuoso maestro, magistralmente diretto da Paavo Järvi.
Dopo la pausa, il concerto ha ripreso con la sinfonia Nr.9 , del compositore Anton Bruckner, il finale dell'Adagio nel terzo atto, ha fatto alzare il pubblico che con un caloroso applauso ha concluso la serata.»
«The first part of the concert lasted half an hour, and the long applause underlined the great appreciation for the virtuoso maestro, masterfully conducted by Paavo Järvi.
After the interval, the concert continued with Symphony No. 9 by composer Anton Bruckner. The Adagio finale in the third act drew storms of enthusiasm from the audience, who ended the evening with a hearty round of applause.»
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Christian Wildhagen, Neue Zürcher Zeitung, 15.09.2023
«Under Järvi's hands, the work, overshadowed by forebodings of death, sounds like a sinister revolt against this fate, jagged, visionary, fatalistic.»
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Christian Berzins, CH-Media (a.o. Aargauer Zeitung), 15.09.2023
«Järvi's approach is extremely consistent: he shows how powerful and expressive Bruckner is also in this Farewell Symphony. There is no stopping, no hesitation, no stammering, no doubting.»
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Pablo Rodríguez, El País, 16.09.2023
«Pero fue la Novena bruckneriana la composición que acaparó toda la atención. El inicio del primer movimiento ya mostró la calidad del conjunto suizo. Un tupido murmullo de la cuerda, la perfecta conjunción de la madera al establecer la tonalidad de re menor, y el tono pastoso y fluido de sus trompas (...).
El scherzo tuvo sus dosis exactas de brutalidad explosiva pero también de elegante mediación por parte del oboe y el resto de la madera. Y también funcionó el contraste juguetón y lírico del trío, a pesar de algunas leves imprecisiones. Pero lo mejor de la velada fue el adagio trazado aquí con un enfoque más cercano a la aventura y la fantasía que a la espiritualidad. Escuchamos menos alusiones al Parsifal wagneriano y más planos sonoros dramáticos, bellísimos y atrevidos. Otra crónica de los abismos brucknerianos de Järvi encaminada hacia el clímax más disonante y desgarrador escrito hasta ese momento en una sinfonía. Y a esa coda donde parece despedirse del mundo recordando sus dos sinfonías anteriores.»
«Bruckner's Ninth was the composition that caught everyone's attention. Already the beginning of the first movement showed the quality of the Swiss ensemble. A dense murmur of the strings, the perfect interplay of the woodwinds in establishing the key and the flowing, pasty tone of the horns (...).
The Scherzo had the precise dose of explosive brutality, but also an elegant mediation by the oboe and the other woodwinds. The playful and lyrical contrast of the Trio also worked, despite some slight inaccuracies. But the highlight of the evening was the Adagio, which was more reminiscent of adventure and fantasy than spirituality. We heard less allusions to Wagner's Parsifal than dramatic, beautiful and daring levels of sound. Another chronicle of Järvi Bruckner's abysses towards the most dissonant and heartbreaking climax ever written in a symphony.»
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Herbert Büttiker, Roccosound, 16.09.2023
«With Bruckner's 'Farewell' to Life, the Tonhalle Orchestra also seems to have reached an end point in the exhaustion of its great resources for this sound cosmos. This goes through all registers with filigree wind work, with the sound power of the brass and the flooding energy of the strings. At times, during the recapitulation in the first movement, the cascades of strings in the back of the hall were overshadowed by the force of the main theme, and in general the intensity of Bruckner's visions of sound stretched the hall to the limit. But the mysteriously disappearing passages in the first movement and the gossamer trio in fantastic contrast to the pounding scherzo belonged no less to the wonders of this score worked out by Järvi with the orchestra.»
Translated with DeepL.com
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