Alto presents Bernard Haitink’s acclaimed live recording of Bruckner’s Symphony No. 9, recorded in hi-resolution on 17 and 21 February 2013 in the Barbican Hall, London, and now available in a 2026 digital edition.
Bruckner began his Ninth Symphony in 1887 and was still working on it on the day he died in 1896, intending it as a summation of his life’s achievement and dedicating it ”to dear God.” He completed three movements before his death, leaving the finale unfinished; the symphony is heard here in its three-movement form, closing with the vast, searching Adagio.
Bernard Haitink (1929-2021) was one of the great conductors of his generation, leading the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra as Principal Conductor from 1961-1988 and holding posts with the London Philharmonic, Boston Symphony, and Staatskapelle Dresden, alongside tenures at Glyndebourne and the Royal Opera House. His discography includes celebrated symphonic cycles of Bruckner, Mahler, Brahms, and Beethoven.
