A great and wonderful Bruckner Nine from Leipzig, Herbert Blomstedt conducting, broadcast on Gewandhaus Radio, Sept. 30, recorded on Sept. 21.

Simply superb, one of the finest Bruckner Nines I shall ever hear. Never mind that Herbert Blomstedt recently turned ninety-eight, for this was a focussed performance of emotional intensity and flowing tempos, wild and violent in the Scherzo, fleeter still in the Trio, with the Adagio as the final movement (Bruckner left this work unfinished, only sketches for the Finale) given space and depth of feeling, and a painful climax, the whole work devotedly played by an orchestra steeped in Bruckner’s music and its seasoned relationship with Blomstedt evident throughout. Fifty-seven minutes. Excellent sound, too, as it was for the Gewandhaus’s long-serving organist, Michael Schönheit, his magnificent first-half recital of Liszt and Bach neatly tied to Bruckner’s own instrumental prowess, the latter Bach piece also familiar in Schoenberg’s orchestration. Whether Gewandhaus Radio has a listen-again facility I know not, but I hope so. If not, unforgettable. Res severa verum gaudium, indeed.

Liszt Variations on the basso continuo from the cantata Weinen, Klagen, Sorgen, Zagen and the Crucifixus from the Mass in B minor by Johann Sebastian Bach, S673

Bach Prelude & Fugue in E-flat, BWV552 (St Anne)

Bruckner Symphony No.9 in D-minor (movements I-III; edited Nowak, 1951, or a new publication?)