Anton Bruckner is one of
the great masters of the symphony, having taken the model left by Beethoven’s
Ninth and run with it in his own series of Nine, all of which sound like a chip
from that great model. However,
Bruckner’s scores are infused with a wonderfully eccentric dichotomy; at one
moment they are heaven and hell battles out of a Bruegel painting, while the
next minute, an innocent polka barges in and sets the entire orchestra
dancing. The sacred and the secular,
the arcane and the naive—these dual qualities make listening to any Bruckner
symphony a strange experience, and within the context of the nineteenth
century, a highly original one. No one
wrote like him until Mahler took up his pen, and many of his works—particularly the Second
and Third Symphonies, owe him a tremendous debt.
Amazon is currently
offering the complete cycle of symphonies (minus the shorter, yet completely
mature First) for mere dollars under the capable baton
of Daniel Barenboim. When I briefly
worked at the Chicago Symphony in 1999, I had the privilege of hearing
Barenboim lead the CSO in Bruckner’s most famous symphony, the Fourth
(subtitled the “Romantic”), which was a tremendous experience. You can
download each one for between $2.69 and $3.99, all in superior sound and played
by the Berlin Philharmonic (who lives and breathes this repertoire).
Here’s a rundown of the
symphonies and where to start if you’re a Bruckner beginner:
The Seventh: I would start
here, since it’s the prototypical Bruckner symphony. It contains a glorious slow movement, written as a lament for the
recently-departed Richard Wagner; as a nod to him, it employs Wagner Tubas, an
instrument Wagner commissioned for use in the Ring operas. Starting with an austere, ceremonial lament,
it gives way to a gorgeously Romantic theme which gains in intensity each time
it returns. Add to this the mysterious
first movement, a quicksilver scherzo, and an almost apocalyptic (and then
playful) finale, and you have the blueprint for all the symphonies (more or
less) to follow. http://www.amazon.com/Bruckner-Daniel-Barenboim-Philharmonic
Orchestra/dp/B003WNX5EK/ref=sr_ 1_ 12?s=dmusic&ie=UTF8&qid=1386347663&sr=1-12&keywords=bruckner+barenboim
The Fourth “The Romantic”:
Less dramatic than many of the rest, it flows with Schubertian melody, no where
more so than the second movement, with its ‘romantic’ theme (perhaps giving the
symphony its subtitle). I also love the
“hunting” scherzo, which is one of the highlights of the romantic symphonic
repertoire. http://www.amazon.com/Bruckner-Daniel-Barenboim-Philharmonic-Orchestra/dp/B0012FFQZ6/ref=sr_1_13?s=dmusic&ie=UTF8&qid=1386347663&sr=1-13&keywords=bruckner+barenboim
The Ninth: Bruckner never
lived to finish his Ninth, so the sketches for the Finale were doomed to remain
silent (until they were recently completed and recorded by Sir Simon Rattle and
the Berlin Philharmonic—to mixed reviews).
Here, however, are the three canonical movements, and they are the most
powerful symphonic utterance imaginable—like a grand old wizard booming out his
final incantation. The opening movement
is like Tolkein in its ability to conjure up an ancient world in modern terms:
drama, melody, tragedy, triumph—it’s all here.
The second movement scherzo is simply wicked: opening with a playful
pizzicato march, it becomes mechanically defiant, stomping and strutting all
over the orchestra like a forerunner of The Imperial March from The
Empire Strikes Back. Then you have
the third movement, a long, deeply elegiac movement that works as a finale; though
Bruckner didn’t meant it as a leave-taking, it certainly sounds like a good-bye
to the joys and sorrows of life. http://www.amazon.com/Bruckner-Daniel-Barenboim-Philharmonic-Orchestra/dp/B001LGAVME/ref=sr_1_9?s=dmusic&ie=UTF8&qid=1386347663&sr=1-9&keywords=bruckner+barenboim
The Eighth: His longest
symphony and perhaps the definitive “late nineteenth-century symphony,” it’s
jam-packed with drama, fury, romance, and resolution. It would take me pages upon pages to document its twists and
turns, but look out for the slow movement, which despite all of Bruckner’s
great slow movements, might be his crowning achievement. I also love the opening of the finale, with
its galloping rhythms providing a backdrop for a marvelously heroic horn
theme. http://www.amazon.com/Bruckner-Daniel-Barenboim-Philharmonic-Orchestra/dp/B0012FB2W2/ref=sr_1_1?s=dmusic&ie=UTF8&sr=1-1&keywords=bruckner+barenboim
The Sixth: His most quiet
symphony, full of inspired melody and a sense of searching for a new symphonic
direction. Again, the slow movement is
a stand-out, and supposedly the inspiration for a very famous song in
Bernstein’s West Side Story (see if you can spot it!). http://www.amazon.com/Bruckner-Daniel-Barenboim-Philharmonic-Orchestra/dp/B0012FB58S/ref=sr_1_8?s=dmusic&ie=UTF8&qid=1386347663&sr=1-8&keywords=bruckner+barenboim
The Third “The Wagner”:
Bruckner offered Wagner the dedication of either his Second or Third symphony,
and seeing all the obvious ‘Wagnerian’ elements of the Third, Wagner opted for
it. This nickname isn’t entirely fair
to the work, which is very much Bruckner—but his love for Wagner clearly shines
through. The opening movement is epic
in every sense of the world; a great good and evil struggle is underway in some
primeval forest (as I hear in the mysterious opening with its heroic horn
calls). The long slow movement quotes
Wagner as a nod to the master, and the fiery scherzo anticipates the more
famous scherzo of the Seventh symphony.
Most famous is the finale, which juxtaposes a chorale with a polka. http://www.amazon.com/Bruckner-Daniel-Barenboim-Philharmonic-Orchestra/dp/B00BZ17W3Q/ref=sr_1_14?s=dmusic&ie=UTF8&qid=1386347663&sr=1-14&keywords=bruckner+barenboim
The Fifth: A controversial
symphony, which some critics find too bombastic or over-the-top; however you
view it, the Fifth is among his most powerful, opening mysteriously and then
exploding with Titanic force. Clearly,
Beethoven’s Fifth was in the back of his mind.
Even the scherzo seems more manic than playful. http://www.amazon.com/Bruckner-Daniel-Barenboim-Philharmonic-Orchestra/dp/B0012EGEH6/ref=sr_1_7?s=dmusic&ie=UTF8&qid=1386347663&sr=1-7&keywords=bruckner+barenboim
The Second: An early
symphony, with occasional longeurs, this symphony allows us to see
Bruckner becoming Bruckner. The
long—sometimes very long—opening movement has all the trademark thundering
brasses and soaring strings, yet takes longer to reach its resolution. The highlight is the extremely original scherzo,
which is light-hearted and shows the more ‘rustic’ side of Bruckner’s
talent. http://www.amazon.com/Bruckner-Daniel-Barenboim-Philharmonic-Orchestra/dp/B0012FFMAA/ref=sr_1_11?s=dmusic&ie=UTF8&qid=1386347663&sr=1-11&keywords=bruckner+barenboim
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