Eugen Jochum maintained a remarkable interpretive consistency over the course of his Bruckner symphony recordings, especially regarding the Ninth. Whereas Gunter Wand could greatly alter his view of this work from one recording to the next (sometimes only two years apart), Jochum’s unique Bruckner Ninth–an unabashedly romantic conception rich in drama and graced by fluid, instinctive rubato–remained a known quantity for more than three decades.
So what does this live Berlin performance from 1977 offer that the studio efforts do not? Not much that’s significant. Yes, in front of a live audience Jochum tends to push the envelope a little more, encouraging the Berlin Philharmonic to take more risks than in its 1966 studio version. But the same could be said for his 1979 recording, a magnificent rendition aided by the Dresden Staatskapelle’s wonderfully glowing sonority and rough-hewn playing style that so perfectly suits this composer. In any event, both studio versions are sonically superior to this Palexa release, which suffers from limited dynamics and obtrusive tape hiss. As the DG and EMI recordings are usually available either singly or in boxed sets, they should be your choices for this one-of-a-kind Bruckner experience.
