He's the thinking man's Philip Glass.
Posted on 10/24/2005 4:22:42 PM PDT by EveningStar
I've always had a soft spot for the symphonies of Anton Bruckner (1824-1896). Although I am a huge classical music fan, I am not an expert. Therefore, I will fall back on those who are experts.
Jim Svejda is a well known musicologist and announcer for KUSC in Los Angeles. In his book The Insider's Guide to Classical Recordings*, Svejda begins his article on Bruckner by saying, "More than those of any other great composer--and be assured that this squat, homely, diffident man ranks with the greatest composers of the Romantic era--the symphonies of Anton Bruckner need all the help they can get. Unlike the virtually foolproof music of Beethoven, Tchaikovsky, or Brahms, which can resist all but the most rankly incompetent mauling, for the Bruckner symphonies to emerge as the great works they so obviously are, nothing less than great performances will do. While they contain much that is immediately appealing, including some of the most heroic brass writing in all of music, their greatest moments tend to be private and internal: the deeply spiritual utterances of an essentially medieval spirit who was completely out of step with his time."
Svejda continues, "For the interpreter, the single most pressing problem in performing Bruckner is trying to maintain the level of concentration that these often mammoth outbursts require. If the intensity relaxes for a moment, the vast but terribly fragile structures will almost inevitably fall apart. In short, it's altogether possible that many who are persuaded they dislike Bruckner are confusing the composer with the performances of his music that they have heard. Indifferent, good, or even very good interpretations, which in recent years is about the best the composer can expect, simply will not due."
Svejda goes on to dub Wilhelm Furtwängler (1886-1954) the greatest of all recorded Bruckner interpreters. He also has good things to say about the interpretations of Eliahu Inbal, Eugen Jocum, Günther Wand, and Bruno Walter. In my experience, I have found other conductors, such as Bernard Haitink, who do fine interpretations of the Bruckner symphonies.
My first exposure to Anton Bruckner (Full name: Josef Anton Bruckner) occurred about 40 years ago when I heard the scherzo to his underrated third symphony on my car radio as I was driving home. It was from a recording by George Szell and the Cleveland Orchestra. Sometime later, I heard the entire recording and then I heard a recording of his unfinished ninth symphony. I was now a total Bruckner fan.
Bruckner was influenced by Wagner, and also by Beethoven. He was also influenced by his religion. He was a deeply religious Roman Catholic and dedicated his ninth and final symphony to God. Bruckner, in turn, probably had some influence on Mahler.
Most of Bruckner's symphonies run an hour or longer. The interpretations vary of course. I own four different recordings of the Eighth. The shortest, by Bernard Haitink, runs 73 minutes. The longest, by Sergiu Celibidache, runs a Brobdingnagian 105 minutes --yes, one hour and forty-five minutes!
They all have 4 movements (he completed only the first three movements of his ninth symphony but did sketch most of its fourth movement). The scherzos are very rhythmic. The dramatic outer movements are capped by some of the most intense codas in classical music - those for the first movement of the ninth symphony and the final movement of the eighth symphony come to mind.
Bruckner composed eleven symphonies: nine numbered symphonies and two unnumbered symphonies, one of which is seldom performed. To make matters confusing, most of his symphonies come in several different versions.
I would like to hear the observations of those of you who are familiar with the Bruckner symphonies. Bruckner is not for everyone. Some are deeply drawn to him. Some are bored. And some are even reduced to hysterical laughter.
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Reference
I Googled "Anton Bruckner" and came up with many links. Here are but a few of those:
Extract from the Grove Concise Dictionary of Music
David Griegel's site which includes a breakdown of the various versions of each symphony.
*Sixth revised and expanded edition, Prima Publishing, 1999
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Off to find another performance of the Eigth.
Great stuff.
An opera singer friend directed me to him, and I am grateful.
....so....Josef Anton Bruckner BUMP!
I'm a Russophile; Tchaikovsky, Rimsky-Korsakov, Stravinsky, Borodin etc. Would I like Bruckner?
I just recently picked the Szell recording at a garage sale. I'll be converting it to CD.
I like all of those composers you listed but Bruckner is different. You can hear the influence Wagner, and of Beethoven somewhat. However, he has his own style. Unless you can find a budget CD--and many excellent ones are available--you'd best not invest until you've heard him. Some of his music is available online.
I think I may try to find the version by Haitink mentioned in the article. I'm looking forward to it.
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Bruckner was also a master of the choral motet. He wrote some of the most lush, spine tingling choral music I have ever sung and heard. Look up some Bruckner choral motets and you will not be disappointed.
I've heard of his motets, but have never actually heard them. Thank you for the tip. :)
Bruckner = the Man. His life was tragic and is one of my favorite stories to bore my non-classicly inclined friends with. Hanslick!
I own his complete symphonies and was able to hear many of them performed at the Musikverein when I lived in Vienna. They worship him there, as he should be everywhere. I couldn't pick a favorite, but the parts of his works that affect me the most are the "Sweet Remembrance" them in the slow movement of the Seventh (my name for it) and the coda of the Finale of the Eighth.
Bruckner's life story is impossibly moving. A provincial organist who showed little compositional skill until his genius was unlocked by listening to Wagner. He then realized most of his dreams; meeting Wagner (and dedicating the Third to him), meeting the Emperor FJ (and dedicating the Eighth to him), becoming famous, and instructing the next generation of composers at the Conservatory. But his life was tormented by musical factions, well-intentioned friends who did not understand him, an unfulfilled desire for domestic bliss, and the inability to complete his most treasured work, the Ninth.
Here's to you, Anton.
I just listened to some clips of motets and other vocal works by Bruckner online. Quite wonderful. Thank you. Do you have any recording recomendations?
One of Bruckner's techniques was to end a movement without a long held note, for example, a fermata over a whole note. He would end a movement on a shorter note, and making the ending sound convincing has always been difficult for conductors. The ends of both the first and fourth movements of the Seventh Symphony are textbook examples. By pacing the ritardando just right, Jochum could make these endings work perfectly.
I've heard only two of Bruckner's symphonies live. I heard the 7th at the LA Music Center 30 odd years ago. Barenboim was the conductor. I also heard the 9th a few years ago at the Orange County (CA) Performing Arts Center. I cannot remember the conductor but it was wonderful. :)
He's the thinking man's Philip Glass.
Wow, he wrote music?
I thought he just played first base for the Red Sox.
I know what you're talking about when you talk about Bruckner ending the coda on a short note.
I recently picked up the Haitink set. It's the only Bruckner set I have. I'll keep your Jocum recomendation in mind. Svejda did recomend Jocum's as the best overall set.
I do have the Bruckner 9th by Furtwängler. I found the tempos a bit brisk.
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