.gif)
Symphony No. 8 (Bruckner)
Encyclopedia
Anton Bruckner
's Symphony No. 8 in C minor is the last Symphony the composer completed. It exists in two major versions of 1887 and 1890. It was premiered under conductor Hans Richter
in 1892 in Vienna
. It is dedicated to the Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria
.
This symphony is sometimes nicknamed The Apocalyptic, but - as with the nicknames The Tragic (for the Fifth Symphony
), The Philosophic (for the Sixth
), and The Lyric (for the Seventh
) - this was not a name Bruckner gave to the work himself.
and the Vienna Conservatory, the composer had all four movements completed in draft form by August 1885. The orchestration
of the work took Bruckner until April 1887 to complete: during this stage of composition the order of the inner movements was reversed, leaving the scherzo second and the Adagio as the third movement.
In September 1887 Bruckner had the score copied and sent to conductor Hermann Levi
. Levi was one of Bruckner's closest collaborators, having given a performance of the Seventh Symphony
in Munich
that was "the greatest triumph Bruckner had yet experienced". He had also arranged for Bruckner's career to be supported in other ways, including financial assistance from the nobility, and an honorary doctorate from the University of Vienna. However the conductor wrote back to Bruckner that:
By January 1888 Bruckner had come to agree with Levi that the symphony would benefit from further work. He began work on the revision in March 1889 and completed the new version of the symphony in March 1890. Once the revision was completed, the composer wrote to Emperor Franz Josef I for permission to dedicate the symphony to him. The Emperor accepted Bruckner's request and also offered to help pay for the work's publication. Bruckner had some trouble finding a publisher for the work, but in late 1890 the Haslinger-Schlesinger-Lienau company agreed to undertake publication. Bruckner's associates Josef Schalk and Max von Oberleithner assisted with the publication process: Schalk prepared the musical text to be sent to the printer while Oberleithner corrected the proofs and also provided financial support. The symphony was eventually published in March 1892. It was the only one of Bruckner's symphonies to be published before its first performance.
, Kapellmeister
of Mannheim
, lead the first performance of the Symphony. The premiere was twice scheduled to occur under the young conductor's direction during 1891, but each time Weingartner substituted another work at the last minute. Eventually the conductor told Bruckner that he was unable to undertake the performance because he was about to take up a new position at the Berlin Opera. However, Weingartner admitted, in a letter to Levi, that the real reason that he was unable to perform the symphony was because the work was too difficult and he did not have enough rehearsal time: in particular the Wagner tuba
players in his orchestra did not have enough experience to cope with their parts.
After a possible Munich performance by Levi was canceled because of a feared outbreak of cholera
, Bruckner focused his efforts on securing a Vienna premiere for the symphony. At last Hans Richter
, subscription conductor of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra
, agreed to conduct the work. The first performance took place on 18 December 1892. Although some of the more conservative members of the audience left at the end of each movement, many of Bruckner's supporters were also present, including Hugo Wolf
and Johann Strauss
.
The well known critic Eduard Hanslick
left after the slow movement. His review described the symphony as "interesting in detail, but strange as a whole, indeed repellent. The peculiarity of this work consists, to put it briefly, in importing Wagner's dramatic style into the symphony." (Korstvedt points out that this was less negative than Hanslick's reviews of Bruckner's earlier symphonies). There were also many positive reviews from Bruckner's admirers. One anonymous writer described the symphony as "the crown of music in our time". Hugo Wolf wrote to a friend that the symphony was "the work of a giant" that "surpasses the other symphonies of the master in intellectual scope, awesomeness, and greatness".
The symphony was slow to enter the orchestral repertoire. Only two further performances occurred during Bruckner's lifetime. The American premiere did not take place until 1909, while the symphony had to wait until 1929 for its first London performance.
. The total duration varies by performance and the edition of the score used, but is typically around 80 minutes.
The symphony begins in a tonally ambiguous manner with a theme rhythmically reminiscent of the main theme of the first movement of Beethoven
's Symphony No. 9 in D minor
and of the March in D minor of 1862. A more song-like second subject group uses the Bruckner rhythm
. The third subject group, which is strikingly dissonant, forms a smooth transition to the development. In structure, the opening movement is therefore a typically Brucknerian three-subject sonata form, though handled with more panache than in his previous works. The development was substantially refined in 1890. In both versions, this section of the movement is most notable for its massive, augmented three-part statement of the main theme, impressively given on full orchestra in combination with the Bruckner rhythm
of the second subject group.
In the recapitulation, the third theme leads to a great climax for the entire orchestra, in which the bare rhythm of the main theme is dominant. This suddenly breaks off, leaving just the trumpets and three of the horns hammering out the rhythm, timpani thundering beneath. When the strings and woodwinds rejoin, it is in a very dejected mood. At this juncture the two versions differ significantly. In the 1887 version, this solemn passage leads to what many consider an unconvincingly premature victory-coda, which sounds the main theme in C major
. For the 1890 version, the triumphant ending was cut, and the despondent passage extended by a few bars to form a pianissimo coda in itself (thus becoming the only instance of a first movement ending softly in Bruckner's symphonic œuvre). This quiet, sombre ending is for low winds and low strings in a thoroughly bleak C minor
, and there is no doubt from contemporary letters of Bruckner that it represented death in some way.
It has been suggested by some scholars that the coda was inspired by the climax of the Dutchman's monologue in Wagner's Der fliegende Hollander
, with the words, "Ihr Welten endet euren Lauf, ewige Vernichtung, nimm mich auf!".
The Deutscher Michel
theme is a reminiscence of the Credo of the Mass in E minor
.
The main part of the Scherzo is fundamentally the same in both versions, though somewhat more repetitive in the first version. The orchestration and dynamics are more refined in the second version, helping to give the movement a rich and original sound. The Trios, however, are quite different: the 1890 version was rewritten as an adumbration of the ensuing Adagio movement, featuring the harps, and the tempo was slowed down. In both versions, this Scherzo is Bruckner's largest, lasting around 14 or 15 minutes in most performances.
in 1887 to E-flat major in 1890. The coda of this movement is recalled in the Adagio of the Ninth Symphony
.
This Adagio differs from those in other symphonies by the composer in that the second thematic group is not presented in a more flowing tempo. The two themes are, first, a recollection of the slow movement of Schubert's Wanderer Fantasie
for Pianoforte and an answering descending passage, both over throbbing, richly scored strings; and, secondly, a tonally unstable passage radiant with ecstasy. The structure and scale of the Adagio as it develops these themes is grander than any of Bruckner's previous slow movements.
The Adagio is the most controversial of all the movements in terms of different versions. For example, Robert Haas
inserted one quiet, solemn passage in his edition of the 1890 score which restored a cut between two loud passages (before the main climax of the movement), whereas in the Leopold Nowak
edition these two loud passages are joined. This difference greatly affects the impression given to the listener for this section of the movement as it heads towards the great E-flat major climax. The 1890 Adagio, in both the edition of Robert Haas
and that of Leopold Nowak
, remains shorter than the 1887 original.
, highly individualised. The scale and complexity of this movement are both on a different level from that in the opening of the Seventh Symphony, however, not least in that this movement must synthesise the entire symphony (as it reworks old ideas and new ones into a coherent whole), and forms what must be a satisfactory conclusion for the whole work.
The opening theme is a powerful chorale
, originally given over a march, in which the rhythmic thundering of the timpani recalls certain passages in the opening movement. The second subject, a song-theme, is remarkable in that it recollects not only its counterpart in the first movement but also the Adagio. The third subject is a march-theme, which is a direct reworking of the introduction to the third subject group of the opening movement. In the recapitulation, this third theme is presented as a fugue
which leads to the solemn coda and the splendid, bright finish to the symphony.
The development presents these three themes and other elements in ways which recollect earlier parts of the symphony, both episodically and in simultaneously parallel combinations. The thematic treatment is subtle and counterpoint is frequently used in the presentation of themes. It therefore seems natural that such a synthesis concludes by contrapuntally combining all the main themes of the symphony: the coda begins in a solemn C minor
in which the opening theme of the Finale reaches a powerful climax. This is answered quietly by the woodwind giving out the same theme, then more optimistically by the full orchestra, from which, in a flurry of trumpets and timpani, the Scherzo theme heralds a remarkably succinct combination of all the themes in C major
. For all its grandeur, the ending is remarkably concise, and the perorations are more terse than those of, say, Bruckner's own Symphony No. 5 in B flat major
.
. The final opening is much less defined and hovers in more of a B flat major
region, though it suggests several keys.
.
It has some significant differences from the more familiar later versions, including a loud ending to the first movement and a different tonality for the climax of the slow movement. It is also notably longer than the 1890 version, and has a different instrumentation (the most significant consistent difference being that the 1890 version has triple rather than double woodwind throughout the first three movements). The double woodwind of the 1887 version gives a somewhat more austere character to the overall sound of the work.
Some scholars support this version of the symphony. Bryan Gilliam, for example, argues that the later version (from 1890) is shorter and smoother, and is hence a dubious concession to the Brahms-loving bourgeoisie of the time.
It was premiered by Hans-Hubert Schönzeler
for the BBC in 1973, and has been recorded by Dennis Russell Davies
, Vladimir Fedoseyev
, Eliahu Inbal
, Georg Tintner
, Michael Gielen
and Simone Young
.
. It has been recorded by Akira Naito with the Tokyo New City Orchestra. A MIDI version is also available.
and Robert Haas
have suggested that the 1890 revision was the product of Bruckner's insecurity and pressure from his colleagues such as Josef Schalk: Cooke even referred to it as the "Bruckner-Schalk revision". Against this Leopold Nowak has pointed out that there is no evidence of any handwriting other than Bruckner's own in the 1890 manuscript. According to the testimony of Bruckner's friends and associates the composer was extremely resistant to outside interference.
The scoring of the 1890 version is fuller and more grandiloquent than the 1887 version, with subtler textures and harmonies in the woodwind in particular, allowed for by the increased size of this section of the orchestra. It was published in 1955 in an edition edited by Leopold Nowak
.
and Max von Oberleithner, almost certainly without Bruckner's direct involvement, but were probably approved by the composer before publication. Korstvedt writes that while the 1892 edition may not be "pure Bruckner" — whatever that might be — to all appearances Bruckner authorized it, and for that reason it needs to be taken seriously.. This edition is available in complete recordings by Wilhelm Furtwängler
, Hans Knappertsbusch
, Josef Krips
, William Steinberg
, George Szell
, Bruno Walter
and Takeo Noguchi. Serge Koussevitzky
also used this edition in his severely cut broadcast performance of 1947; this performance, which has been preserved on disc, amounts to a wholly new "edition".
published his edition of the Eighth Symphony in 1939. Haas mainly based his work on the 1890 autograph but also included some passages from the 1887 version that were changed or omitted in the 1890 score.
Haas argued that Levi’s comments were a crippling blow to Bruckner’s artistic confidence, even leading him to "entertain suicidal notions", although Haas had no evidence for this. This led, Haas maintained, to Bruckner’s three-year effort to revise the Eighth Symphony and many of his earlier works. This line of thought supports Haas’ editorial methods. Haas took what he admired from Bruckner's different versions and rolled them into his own version. He justified the rejection of various features of Bruckner’s 1890 revision on biographical grounds: they are the ideas of a Bruckner who mistrusted his own judgment, and therefore non-Brucknerian.
The most significant omissions that Bruckner made (and therefore of Haas's restorations) are in the Adagio and Finale of the work. In addition, Haas inserted eight measures into the finale that he appears to have composed himself by combining the harmonies of the 1887 manuscript with material Bruckner penciled into the margin of the 1890 score, discarding five measures of Bruckner's own music in the process. There were no footnotes or other indication in Haas's edition that these changes had been made. Korstvedt has described these interventions as "exceed[ing] reasonable limits of scholarly responsibility". Despite its dubious scholarship Haas's edition has proved enduringly popular: conductors such as Herbert von Karajan
, Bernard Haitink
and Günter Wand
continued to use it even after the Nowak/1890 edition was published, while noted Bruckner conductor Georg Tintner
has written that the Haas edition is "the best" version of the symphony and referred to Haas himself as "brilliant". On the other hand, Eugen Jochum
used Haas's edition for his first recording, made in 1949, before Nowak published his edition, and Nowak's for his subsequent recordings, while Wilhelm Furtwängler, despite having given the premiere of the Haas score, reverted to the 1892 edition in his final years.
The controversy over the Haas edition centers on the fact that its musical text was a fabrication of the editor and was never approved by Bruckner himself. In particular Leopold Nowak, who succeeded Haas as principal editor of the Bruckner complete works, argued that there is little evidence for the psychological breakdown that Haas claimed Bruckner suffered upon Levi's rejection of the work. Bruckner’s letters at the time suggest that he was frustrated by Levi’s judgment (dismissing Levi as having a “hard time grasping things”) and psychologically healthy. Bruckner’s revisions, according to this view, are the result of his artistic perfectionism. Nowak therefore rejected Haas's approach by sticking closely to Bruckner's autograph scores. Since its publication Nowak's edition of the 1890 version has become more popular than Haas's, although Haas's is still often performed.
However, on examining the microfilm of the original manuscript of 1890 version, the passages allegedly added by Haas from the 1887 version are virtually all there. What Haas actually did was to restore certain passages that Bruckner had crossed out. In a letter Bruckner wrote to the conductor Felix Weingartner
he mentioned the hope that these cut passages would prove "valid for posterity, and for a circle of friends and connoisseurs".
s (the third doubling as piccolo
), oboe
s, clarinet
s, bassoon
s (the third doubling as contrabassoon
) – the triple woodwinds, however, only enter in the Finale (with double woodwind for the earlier movements) – in addition to eight horn
s, three trumpet
s, three trombone
s, a quartet of Wagner tuba
s, which double as Horns 5-8 in the Finale, and a single contrabass tuba, along with timpani
, cymbal
s, triangle
, three harp
s, and strings
. The 1890 version deletes the piccolo part, and extends the triple woodwinds on all four movements. In addition, the 1890 score calls for eight horns, four of which double as Wagner tubas at various points in the symphony for all movements. This was, in total, the largest orchestra Bruckner ever used (since the Ninth Symphony, which uses an otherwise identical orchestra, does not require harps and percussion other than timpani).
, Bruckner gave extramusical associations to several parts of the symphony:
Bruckner's associates report other comments that the composer is said to have made about the symphony. The coda to the first movement is how it is when one is on his deathbed, and opposite hangs a clock, which, while his life comes to an end, beats on ever steadily: tick, tock, tick, tock while in the slow movement I have gazed too deeply into a maiden's eyes.
In an unsigned programme note at the 1892 first performance Joseph Schalk elaborated Bruckner's program, adding references to Greek mythology
(Aeschylus
's Prometheus
, Zeus
or Kronos
, etc.) mixed with a few Christian references such as the Archangel Michael.
Wilhelm Furtwängler
, in a live performance with the Vienna Philharmonic in 1944 used a modified Haas edition.
On September 29, 1944, the Preussische Staatskapelle Berlin
, conducted by Herbert von Karajan
, recorded the last three movements of the 8th Symphony with the finale in experimental stereophonic sound
. In his interpretation Karajan kept strict metre whereas "recordings from the 1940s ... typically present this passage [the reprise of the third subject group in the finale] as a grand accelerando-rallentando, with a tempo increase of as much as 20 percent," while Karajan's recording "is a notable exception."
The first commercial recording of the complete symphony was made by Eugen Jochum
with the Hamburg State Philharmonic Orchestra
in 1949 for Deutsche Grammophon
. Jochum later recorded it in studio with the Berlin Philharmonic in 1964 for Deutsche Grammophon, and in 1976 with the Dresden Staatskapelle for EMI using the Nowak 1890 edition both times. Karl Böhm
, in a studio recording with the Vienna Philharmonic in 1976 for Deutsche Grammophon used the Nowak 1890 edition, but with one Haas passage in the finale.
In the last two decades of the 20th century, recordings tended to "set a broader basic tempo, ... abstain from dramatic tempo fluctuations — especially increases — and place great store by fullness of tone, precise ensemble, and textural clarity."
Typically, this work lasts about 80 minutes, although there are performances running as long as 103 minutes. Herbert von Karajan
and the aforementioned Günter Wand each recorded the Haas hybrid version more than once. After Eliahu Inbal
recorded the 1887 version for the first time, other conductors have followed. Takashi Asahina
has recorded a disc comparing excerpts from the Haas and Nowak editions.
Anton Bruckner
Anton Bruckner was an Austrian composer known for his symphonies, masses, and motets. The first are considered emblematic of the final stage of Austro-German Romanticism because of their rich harmonic language, complex polyphony, and considerable length...
's Symphony No. 8 in C minor is the last Symphony the composer completed. It exists in two major versions of 1887 and 1890. It was premiered under conductor Hans Richter
Hans Richter (conductor)
Hans Richter was an Austrian orchestral and operatic conductor.-Biography:Richter was born in Raab , Kingdom of Hungary, Austro-Hungarian Empire. His mother was opera-singer Jozsefa Csazenszky. He studied at the Vienna Conservatory...
in 1892 in Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
. It is dedicated to the Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria
Franz Joseph I of Austria
Franz Joseph I or Francis Joseph I was Emperor of Austria, King of Bohemia, King of Croatia, Apostolic King of Hungary, King of Galicia and Lodomeria and Grand Duke of Cracow from 1848 until his death in 1916.In the December of 1848, Emperor Ferdinand I of Austria abdicated the throne as part of...
.
This symphony is sometimes nicknamed The Apocalyptic, but - as with the nicknames The Tragic (for the Fifth Symphony
Symphony No. 5 (Bruckner)
The Symphony No. 5 in B flat major of Anton Bruckner was written in 1875–1876, with a few minor changes over the next few years. It was first performed in public on two pianos by Joseph Schalk and Franz Zottmann on 20 April 1887 at the Bösendorfersaal in Vienna...
), The Philosophic (for the Sixth
Symphony No. 6 (Bruckner)
Symphony No. 6 in A major by Austrian composer Anton Bruckner is a work in four movements composed between September 24, 1879 and September 3, 1881 and dedicated to his landlord, Dr. Anton van Ölzelt-Newin. Though it possesses many characteristic features of a Bruckner symphony, it differs the...
), and The Lyric (for the Seventh
Symphony No. 7 (Bruckner)
Anton Bruckner's Symphony No. 7 in E major is one of his best-known symphonies. It was written between 1881 and 1883 and was revised in 1885. It is dedicated to Ludwig II of Bavaria. The premiere, given under Arthur Nikisch and the Gewandhaus Orchestra in the opera house at Leipzig on 30...
) - this was not a name Bruckner gave to the work himself.
Composition and publication
Bruckner began work on the Eighth Symphony in July 1884. Working mainly during the summer vacations from his duties at the University of ViennaUniversity of Vienna
The University of Vienna is a public university located in Vienna, Austria. It was founded by Duke Rudolph IV in 1365 and is the oldest university in the German-speaking world...
and the Vienna Conservatory, the composer had all four movements completed in draft form by August 1885. The orchestration
Orchestration
Orchestration is the study or practice of writing music for an orchestra or of adapting for orchestra music composed for another medium...
of the work took Bruckner until April 1887 to complete: during this stage of composition the order of the inner movements was reversed, leaving the scherzo second and the Adagio as the third movement.
In September 1887 Bruckner had the score copied and sent to conductor Hermann Levi
Hermann Levi
Hermann Levi was a German Jewish orchestral conductor.Levi was born in Gießen, Germany, the son of a rabbi. He was educated at Gießen and Mannheim, and came to Vinzenz Lachner's notice...
. Levi was one of Bruckner's closest collaborators, having given a performance of the Seventh Symphony
Symphony No. 7 (Bruckner)
Anton Bruckner's Symphony No. 7 in E major is one of his best-known symphonies. It was written between 1881 and 1883 and was revised in 1885. It is dedicated to Ludwig II of Bavaria. The premiere, given under Arthur Nikisch and the Gewandhaus Orchestra in the opera house at Leipzig on 30...
in Munich
Munich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
that was "the greatest triumph Bruckner had yet experienced". He had also arranged for Bruckner's career to be supported in other ways, including financial assistance from the nobility, and an honorary doctorate from the University of Vienna. However the conductor wrote back to Bruckner that:
- I find it impossible to perform the Eighth in its current form. I just can't make it my own! As much as the themes are magnificent and direct, their working-out seems to me dubious; indeed, I consider the orchestration quite impossible... Don't lose your courage, take another look at your work, talk it over with your friends, with SchalkJoseph SchalkJoseph Schalk was an Austrian conductor, musicologist and pianist. His name is often given as Josef Schalk....
, maybe a reworking can achieve something.
By January 1888 Bruckner had come to agree with Levi that the symphony would benefit from further work. He began work on the revision in March 1889 and completed the new version of the symphony in March 1890. Once the revision was completed, the composer wrote to Emperor Franz Josef I for permission to dedicate the symphony to him. The Emperor accepted Bruckner's request and also offered to help pay for the work's publication. Bruckner had some trouble finding a publisher for the work, but in late 1890 the Haslinger-Schlesinger-Lienau company agreed to undertake publication. Bruckner's associates Josef Schalk and Max von Oberleithner assisted with the publication process: Schalk prepared the musical text to be sent to the printer while Oberleithner corrected the proofs and also provided financial support. The symphony was eventually published in March 1892. It was the only one of Bruckner's symphonies to be published before its first performance.
Premiere and reception
By the time the 1890 revision was complete Hermann Levi was no longer conducting concerts in Munich: as a result he recommended that his protege Felix WeingartnerFelix Weingartner
Paul Felix von Weingartner, Edler von Münzberg was an Austrian conductor, composer and pianist.-Biography:...
, Kapellmeister
Kapellmeister
Kapellmeister is a German word designating a person in charge of music-making. The word is a compound, consisting of the roots Kapelle and Meister . The words Kapelle and Meister derive from the Latin: capella and magister...
of Mannheim
Mannheim
Mannheim is a city in southwestern Germany. With about 315,000 inhabitants, Mannheim is the second-largest city in the Bundesland of Baden-Württemberg, following the capital city of Stuttgart....
, lead the first performance of the Symphony. The premiere was twice scheduled to occur under the young conductor's direction during 1891, but each time Weingartner substituted another work at the last minute. Eventually the conductor told Bruckner that he was unable to undertake the performance because he was about to take up a new position at the Berlin Opera. However, Weingartner admitted, in a letter to Levi, that the real reason that he was unable to perform the symphony was because the work was too difficult and he did not have enough rehearsal time: in particular the Wagner tuba
Wagner tuba
The Wagner tuba is a comparatively rare brass instrument that combines elements of both the French horn and the tuba. Also referred to as the "Bayreuth Tuba", it was originally created for Richard Wagner's operatic cycle Der Ring des Nibelungen. Since then, other composers have written for it, most...
players in his orchestra did not have enough experience to cope with their parts.
After a possible Munich performance by Levi was canceled because of a feared outbreak of cholera
Cholera
Cholera is an infection of the small intestine that is caused by the bacterium Vibrio cholerae. The main symptoms are profuse watery diarrhea and vomiting. Transmission occurs primarily by drinking or eating water or food that has been contaminated by the diarrhea of an infected person or the feces...
, Bruckner focused his efforts on securing a Vienna premiere for the symphony. At last Hans Richter
Hans Richter (conductor)
Hans Richter was an Austrian orchestral and operatic conductor.-Biography:Richter was born in Raab , Kingdom of Hungary, Austro-Hungarian Empire. His mother was opera-singer Jozsefa Csazenszky. He studied at the Vienna Conservatory...
, subscription conductor of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra
Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra
The Vienna Philharmonic is an orchestra in Austria, regularly considered one of the finest in the world....
, agreed to conduct the work. The first performance took place on 18 December 1892. Although some of the more conservative members of the audience left at the end of each movement, many of Bruckner's supporters were also present, including Hugo Wolf
Hugo Wolf
Hugo Wolf was an Austrian composer of Slovene origin, particularly noted for his art songs, or lieder. He brought to this form a concentrated expressive intensity which was unique in late Romantic music, somewhat related to that of the Second Viennese School in concision but utterly unrelated in...
and Johann Strauss
Johann Strauss II
Johann Strauss II , also known as Johann Baptist Strauss or Johann Strauss, Jr., the Younger, or the Son , was an Austrian composer of light music, particularly dance music and operettas. He composed over 500 waltzes, polkas, quadrilles, and other types of dance music, as well as several operettas...
.
The well known critic Eduard Hanslick
Eduard Hanslick
Eduard Hanslick was a Bohemian-Austrian music critic.-Biography:Hanslick was born in Prague, the son of Joseph Adolph Hanslick, a bibliographer and music teacher from a German-speaking family, and one of his piano pupils, the daughter of a Jewish merchant from Vienna...
left after the slow movement. His review described the symphony as "interesting in detail, but strange as a whole, indeed repellent. The peculiarity of this work consists, to put it briefly, in importing Wagner's dramatic style into the symphony." (Korstvedt points out that this was less negative than Hanslick's reviews of Bruckner's earlier symphonies). There were also many positive reviews from Bruckner's admirers. One anonymous writer described the symphony as "the crown of music in our time". Hugo Wolf wrote to a friend that the symphony was "the work of a giant" that "surpasses the other symphonies of the master in intellectual scope, awesomeness, and greatness".
The symphony was slow to enter the orchestral repertoire. Only two further performances occurred during Bruckner's lifetime. The American premiere did not take place until 1909, while the symphony had to wait until 1929 for its first London performance.
Description
The symphony has four movementsMovement (music)
A movement is a self-contained part of a musical composition or musical form. While individual or selected movements from a composition are sometimes performed separately, a performance of the complete work requires all the movements to be performed in succession...
. The total duration varies by performance and the edition of the score used, but is typically around 80 minutes.
First movement
Ludwig van Beethoven
Ludwig van Beethoven was a German composer and pianist. A crucial figure in the transition between the Classical and Romantic eras in Western art music, he remains one of the most famous and influential composers of all time.Born in Bonn, then the capital of the Electorate of Cologne and part of...
's Symphony No. 9 in D minor
Symphony No. 9 (Beethoven)
The Symphony No. 9 in D minor, Op. 125, is the final complete symphony of Ludwig van Beethoven. Completed in 1824, the symphony is one of the best known works of the Western classical repertoire, and has been adapted for use as the European Anthem...
and of the March in D minor of 1862. A more song-like second subject group uses the Bruckner rhythm
Bruckner rhythm
The Bruckner rhythm is a 2 + 3 or 3 + 2 rhythm in Anton Bruckner's symphonic music, where it occurs prevalently, and in many different, varied ways.One example is in the main theme of the first movement of his Symphony No...
. The third subject group, which is strikingly dissonant, forms a smooth transition to the development. In structure, the opening movement is therefore a typically Brucknerian three-subject sonata form, though handled with more panache than in his previous works. The development was substantially refined in 1890. In both versions, this section of the movement is most notable for its massive, augmented three-part statement of the main theme, impressively given on full orchestra in combination with the Bruckner rhythm
Bruckner rhythm
The Bruckner rhythm is a 2 + 3 or 3 + 2 rhythm in Anton Bruckner's symphonic music, where it occurs prevalently, and in many different, varied ways.One example is in the main theme of the first movement of his Symphony No...
of the second subject group.
C major
C major is a musical major scale based on C, with pitches C, D, E, F, G, A, and B. Its key signature has no flats/sharps.Its relative minor is A minor, and its parallel minor is C minor....
. For the 1890 version, the triumphant ending was cut, and the despondent passage extended by a few bars to form a pianissimo coda in itself (thus becoming the only instance of a first movement ending softly in Bruckner's symphonic œuvre). This quiet, sombre ending is for low winds and low strings in a thoroughly bleak C minor
C minor
C minor is a minor scale based on C, consisting of the pitches C, D, E, F, G, A, and B. The harmonic minor raises the B to B. Changes needed for the melodic and harmonic versions of the scale are written in with naturals and accidentals as necessary.Its key signature consists of three flats...
, and there is no doubt from contemporary letters of Bruckner that it represented death in some way.
It has been suggested by some scholars that the coda was inspired by the climax of the Dutchman's monologue in Wagner's Der fliegende Hollander
The Flying Dutchman (opera)
Der fliegende Holländer is an opera, with music and libretto by Richard Wagner.Wagner claimed in his 1870 autobiography Mein Leben that he had been inspired to write "The Flying Dutchman" following a stormy sea crossing he made from Riga to London in July and August 1839, but in his 1843...
, with the words, "Ihr Welten endet euren Lauf, ewige Vernichtung, nimm mich auf!".
Second movement
Deutscher Michel
Der Deutsche Michel is a figure representing the national character of the German people, rather as John Bull represents the British. Such figures differ from those that serve as personifications of the nation itself, as Germania does the German nation and Marianne the French...
theme is a reminiscence of the Credo of the Mass in E minor
Mass No. 2 (Bruckner)
The Mass No. 2 in E minor, WAB 27, by Anton Bruckner is a setting of the mass ordinary for vocal soloists, chorus and wind band. Bruckner wrote it to celebrate the construction of a new church....
.
The main part of the Scherzo is fundamentally the same in both versions, though somewhat more repetitive in the first version. The orchestration and dynamics are more refined in the second version, helping to give the movement a rich and original sound. The Trios, however, are quite different: the 1890 version was rewritten as an adumbration of the ensuing Adagio movement, featuring the harps, and the tempo was slowed down. In both versions, this Scherzo is Bruckner's largest, lasting around 14 or 15 minutes in most performances.
Third movement
The main difference between versions is at the climax, for which in the 1887 version Bruckner managed to insert six cymbal clashes. He must have thought that excessive, as he pared it down to two in the 1890 version. The key of this climax was also altered from C majorC major
C major is a musical major scale based on C, with pitches C, D, E, F, G, A, and B. Its key signature has no flats/sharps.Its relative minor is A minor, and its parallel minor is C minor....
in 1887 to E-flat major in 1890. The coda of this movement is recalled in the Adagio of the Ninth Symphony
Symphony No. 9 (Bruckner)
Anton Bruckner's Symphony No. 9 in D minor is the last Symphony upon which he worked, leaving the last movement incomplete at the time of his death in 1896. The symphony was premiered under Ferdinand Löwe in Vienna in 1903, after Bruckner's death...
.
This Adagio differs from those in other symphonies by the composer in that the second thematic group is not presented in a more flowing tempo. The two themes are, first, a recollection of the slow movement of Schubert's Wanderer Fantasie
Wanderer Fantasy
The Fantasie in C major, Op. 15 , popularly known as the Wanderer Fantasy, is a four-movement fantasy for solo piano composed by Franz Schubert in November 1822. It is considered Schubert's most technically demanding composition for the piano...
for Pianoforte and an answering descending passage, both over throbbing, richly scored strings; and, secondly, a tonally unstable passage radiant with ecstasy. The structure and scale of the Adagio as it develops these themes is grander than any of Bruckner's previous slow movements.
The Adagio is the most controversial of all the movements in terms of different versions. For example, Robert Haas
Robert Haas
Robert Haas may refer to:*Robert Haas , Austrian musicologist*Robert Haas , American calligrapher, typographer, photographer and book designer*Robert Haas , German clergyman and ecumenist...
inserted one quiet, solemn passage in his edition of the 1890 score which restored a cut between two loud passages (before the main climax of the movement), whereas in the Leopold Nowak
Leopold Nowak
Leopold Nowak was a musicologist chiefly known for editing the works by Anton Bruckner for the International Bruckner Society. He reconstructed the original form of some of those works, most of which had been revised and edited many times.Nowak was born in Vienna, Austria. He studied piano and...
edition these two loud passages are joined. This difference greatly affects the impression given to the listener for this section of the movement as it heads towards the great E-flat major climax. The 1890 Adagio, in both the edition of Robert Haas
Robert Haas
Robert Haas may refer to:*Robert Haas , Austrian musicologist*Robert Haas , American calligrapher, typographer, photographer and book designer*Robert Haas , German clergyman and ecumenist...
and that of Leopold Nowak
Leopold Nowak
Leopold Nowak was a musicologist chiefly known for editing the works by Anton Bruckner for the International Bruckner Society. He reconstructed the original form of some of those works, most of which had been revised and edited many times.Nowak was born in Vienna, Austria. He studied piano and...
, remains shorter than the 1887 original.
Fourth movement
Beginning belligerently (by Bruckner's standards), this movement reaches a triumphant conclusion using themes (or at least rhythmic impressions of these) from all four movements. The form of this movement is complex, derived from a three-subject sonata structure but, like the opening movement of Bruckner's Seventh symphonySymphony No. 7 (Bruckner)
Anton Bruckner's Symphony No. 7 in E major is one of his best-known symphonies. It was written between 1881 and 1883 and was revised in 1885. It is dedicated to Ludwig II of Bavaria. The premiere, given under Arthur Nikisch and the Gewandhaus Orchestra in the opera house at Leipzig on 30...
, highly individualised. The scale and complexity of this movement are both on a different level from that in the opening of the Seventh Symphony, however, not least in that this movement must synthesise the entire symphony (as it reworks old ideas and new ones into a coherent whole), and forms what must be a satisfactory conclusion for the whole work.
The opening theme is a powerful chorale
Chorale
A chorale was originally a hymn sung by a Christian congregation. In certain modern usage, this term may also include classical settings of such hymns and works of a similar character....
, originally given over a march, in which the rhythmic thundering of the timpani recalls certain passages in the opening movement. The second subject, a song-theme, is remarkable in that it recollects not only its counterpart in the first movement but also the Adagio. The third subject is a march-theme, which is a direct reworking of the introduction to the third subject group of the opening movement. In the recapitulation, this third theme is presented as a fugue
Fugue
In music, a fugue is a compositional technique in two or more voices, built on a subject that is introduced at the beginning in imitation and recurs frequently in the course of the composition....
which leads to the solemn coda and the splendid, bright finish to the symphony.
The development presents these three themes and other elements in ways which recollect earlier parts of the symphony, both episodically and in simultaneously parallel combinations. The thematic treatment is subtle and counterpoint is frequently used in the presentation of themes. It therefore seems natural that such a synthesis concludes by contrapuntally combining all the main themes of the symphony: the coda begins in a solemn C minor
C minor
C minor is a minor scale based on C, consisting of the pitches C, D, E, F, G, A, and B. The harmonic minor raises the B to B. Changes needed for the melodic and harmonic versions of the scale are written in with naturals and accidentals as necessary.Its key signature consists of three flats...
in which the opening theme of the Finale reaches a powerful climax. This is answered quietly by the woodwind giving out the same theme, then more optimistically by the full orchestra, from which, in a flurry of trumpets and timpani, the Scherzo theme heralds a remarkably succinct combination of all the themes in C major
C major
C major is a musical major scale based on C, with pitches C, D, E, F, G, A, and B. Its key signature has no flats/sharps.Its relative minor is A minor, and its parallel minor is C minor....
. For all its grandeur, the ending is remarkably concise, and the perorations are more terse than those of, say, Bruckner's own Symphony No. 5 in B flat major
Symphony No. 5 (Bruckner)
The Symphony No. 5 in B flat major of Anton Bruckner was written in 1875–1876, with a few minor changes over the next few years. It was first performed in public on two pianos by Joseph Schalk and Franz Zottmann on 20 April 1887 at the Bösendorfersaal in Vienna...
.
Versions
Two complete autograph manuscripts of the symphony exist, dating from 1887 and 1890 respectively. In addition to the completed scores, many sketches exist from all phases of work on this symphony than for most of Bruckner's works. For example, thanks to the sketches, we can see the evolution of the opening theme. Part scores show that the tonal ambiguity of the symphony's opening was not how Bruckner originally envisaged the main theme: the rhythm was to fit an arpeggiated contour in C minorC minor
C minor is a minor scale based on C, consisting of the pitches C, D, E, F, G, A, and B. The harmonic minor raises the B to B. Changes needed for the melodic and harmonic versions of the scale are written in with naturals and accidentals as necessary.Its key signature consists of three flats...
. The final opening is much less defined and hovers in more of a B flat major
B flat major
B major or B-flat major is a major scale based on B-flat, consisting of the pitches B, C, D, E, F, G, and A. Its key signature has two flats, B/E .Its relative minor is G minor, and its parallel minor is B minor....
region, though it suggests several keys.
1887 version
This was Bruckner's first version of the symphony, but was not published until 1972 in an edition edited by Leopold NowakLeopold Nowak
Leopold Nowak was a musicologist chiefly known for editing the works by Anton Bruckner for the International Bruckner Society. He reconstructed the original form of some of those works, most of which had been revised and edited many times.Nowak was born in Vienna, Austria. He studied piano and...
.
It has some significant differences from the more familiar later versions, including a loud ending to the first movement and a different tonality for the climax of the slow movement. It is also notably longer than the 1890 version, and has a different instrumentation (the most significant consistent difference being that the 1890 version has triple rather than double woodwind throughout the first three movements). The double woodwind of the 1887 version gives a somewhat more austere character to the overall sound of the work.
Some scholars support this version of the symphony. Bryan Gilliam, for example, argues that the later version (from 1890) is shorter and smoother, and is hence a dubious concession to the Brahms-loving bourgeoisie of the time.
It was premiered by Hans-Hubert Schönzeler
Hans-Hubert Schönzeler
Hans-Hubert Schönzeler was a German-born Australian-naturalised English-resident composer, conductor and musicologist who became an authority on Anton Bruckner and Antonín Dvořák....
for the BBC in 1973, and has been recorded by Dennis Russell Davies
Dennis Russell Davies
Dennis Russell Davies is an American conductor and pianist. He studied piano and conducting at the Juilliard School where he received his doctorate...
, Vladimir Fedoseyev
Vladimir Fedoseyev
Vladimir Ivanovich Fedoseyev is a Russian conductor.Fedoseyev graduated from the Gnessin State Musical College 1957, and Moscow Conservatory 1972. From 1974 artistic director and chief conductor of the Tchaikovsky Symphony Orchestra of Moscow Radio 1974-1999. He has also served as principal...
, Eliahu Inbal
Eliahu Inbal
Eliahu Inbal is an Israeli conductor.Inbal studied violin at the Israeli Academy of Music and took composition lessons with Paul Ben-Haim...
, Georg Tintner
Georg Tintner
Georg Tintner CM was an Austrian-born conductor whose career was principally in New Zealand, Australia, and Canada....
, Michael Gielen
Michael Gielen
-Professional career:Gielen was born in Dresden, Germany, to opera director Josef Gielen. Through his mother, Rose, he is the nephew of Eduard Steuermann and Salka Steuermann Viertel. He began his career as a pianist in Buenos Aires, where he studied with Erwin Leuchter and gave an early...
and Simone Young
Simone Young
Simone Margaret Young AM is an Australian conductor. She is music director of the Hamburg Philharmonic and general manager of the Hamburg State Opera...
.
1888 adagio
A fair copy of an intermediate version of the Adagio with an estimated date of 1888 exists in the Austrian National LibraryAustrian National Library
The Austrian National Library , is the largest library in Austria, with 7.4 million items in its collections. It is located in the Hofburg Palace in Vienna; since 2005 some of the collections are located in the baroque Palais Mollard-Clary...
. It has been recorded by Akira Naito with the Tokyo New City Orchestra. A MIDI version is also available.
1890 version
Some scholars such as Deryck CookeDeryck Cooke
Deryck Cooke was a British musician, musicologist and broadcaster.-Life:Cooke was born in Leicester to a poor and working class family; his father died when he was a child, but his mother was able to afford piano lessons. Cooke acquired a brilliant technique and began to compose...
and Robert Haas
Robert Haas
Robert Haas may refer to:*Robert Haas , Austrian musicologist*Robert Haas , American calligrapher, typographer, photographer and book designer*Robert Haas , German clergyman and ecumenist...
have suggested that the 1890 revision was the product of Bruckner's insecurity and pressure from his colleagues such as Josef Schalk: Cooke even referred to it as the "Bruckner-Schalk revision". Against this Leopold Nowak has pointed out that there is no evidence of any handwriting other than Bruckner's own in the 1890 manuscript. According to the testimony of Bruckner's friends and associates the composer was extremely resistant to outside interference.
The scoring of the 1890 version is fuller and more grandiloquent than the 1887 version, with subtler textures and harmonies in the woodwind in particular, allowed for by the increased size of this section of the orchestra. It was published in 1955 in an edition edited by Leopold Nowak
Leopold Nowak
Leopold Nowak was a musicologist chiefly known for editing the works by Anton Bruckner for the International Bruckner Society. He reconstructed the original form of some of those works, most of which had been revised and edited many times.Nowak was born in Vienna, Austria. He studied piano and...
.
1892 edition
This was the first publication of the symphony, and was also the version used at the first performance. It contains some relatively minor changes from the 1890 manuscript, the most notable being a six-measure cut and a two-bar repeated passage in the Finale. The alterations were made by Joseph SchalkJoseph Schalk
Joseph Schalk was an Austrian conductor, musicologist and pianist. His name is often given as Josef Schalk....
and Max von Oberleithner, almost certainly without Bruckner's direct involvement, but were probably approved by the composer before publication. Korstvedt writes that while the 1892 edition may not be "pure Bruckner" — whatever that might be — to all appearances Bruckner authorized it, and for that reason it needs to be taken seriously.. This edition is available in complete recordings by Wilhelm Furtwängler
Wilhelm Furtwängler
Wilhelm Furtwängler was a German conductor and composer. He is widely considered to have been one of the greatest symphonic and operatic conductors of the 20th century. By the 1930s he had built a reputation as one of the leading conductors in Europe, and he was the leading conductor who remained...
, Hans Knappertsbusch
Hans Knappertsbusch
Hans Knappertsbusch was a German conductor, best known for his performances of the music of Richard Wagner, Anton Bruckner and Richard Strauss....
, Josef Krips
Josef Krips
Josef Alois Krips was an Austrian conductor and violinist.-Biography:Krips was born in Vienna and went on to become a pupil of Eusebius Mandyczewski and Felix Weingartner. From 1921 to 1924, he served as Weingartner's assistant at the Vienna Volksoper and as répétiteur and chorus master...
, William Steinberg
William Steinberg
William Steinberg was a German-American conductor.- Biography :Steinberg was born Hans Wilhelm Steinberg in Cologne, Germany. He displayed early talent as a violinist, pianist, and composer, conducting his own choral/ orchestral composition at age 13...
, George Szell
George Szell
George Szell , originally György Széll, György Endre Szél, or Georg Szell, was a Hungarian-born American conductor and composer...
, Bruno Walter
Bruno Walter
Bruno Walter was a German-born conductor. He is considered one of the best known conductors of the 20th century. Walter was born in Berlin, but is known to have lived in several countries between 1933 and 1939, before finally settling in the United States in 1939...
and Takeo Noguchi. Serge Koussevitzky
Serge Koussevitzky
Serge Koussevitzky , was a Russian-born Jewish conductor, composer and double-bassist, known for his long tenure as music director of the Boston Symphony Orchestra from 1924 to 1949.-Early career:...
also used this edition in his severely cut broadcast performance of 1947; this performance, which has been preserved on disc, amounts to a wholly new "edition".
Haas edition
Robert HaasRobert Haas (musicologist)
Robert Maria Haas Austrian musicologist.At the beginning of his career with the Austrian national library, Haas was mostly interested in Baroque and Classical music...
published his edition of the Eighth Symphony in 1939. Haas mainly based his work on the 1890 autograph but also included some passages from the 1887 version that were changed or omitted in the 1890 score.
Haas argued that Levi’s comments were a crippling blow to Bruckner’s artistic confidence, even leading him to "entertain suicidal notions", although Haas had no evidence for this. This led, Haas maintained, to Bruckner’s three-year effort to revise the Eighth Symphony and many of his earlier works. This line of thought supports Haas’ editorial methods. Haas took what he admired from Bruckner's different versions and rolled them into his own version. He justified the rejection of various features of Bruckner’s 1890 revision on biographical grounds: they are the ideas of a Bruckner who mistrusted his own judgment, and therefore non-Brucknerian.
The most significant omissions that Bruckner made (and therefore of Haas's restorations) are in the Adagio and Finale of the work. In addition, Haas inserted eight measures into the finale that he appears to have composed himself by combining the harmonies of the 1887 manuscript with material Bruckner penciled into the margin of the 1890 score, discarding five measures of Bruckner's own music in the process. There were no footnotes or other indication in Haas's edition that these changes had been made. Korstvedt has described these interventions as "exceed[ing] reasonable limits of scholarly responsibility". Despite its dubious scholarship Haas's edition has proved enduringly popular: conductors such as Herbert von Karajan
Herbert von Karajan
Herbert von Karajan was an Austrian orchestra and opera conductor. To the wider world he was perhaps most famously associated with the Berlin Philharmonic, of which he was principal conductor for 35 years...
, Bernard Haitink
Bernard Haitink
Bernard Johan Herman Haitink, CH, KBE is a Dutch conductor and violinist.- Early life :Haitink was born in Amsterdam, the son of Willem Haitink and Anna Haitink. He studied music at the conservatoire in Amsterdam...
and Günter Wand
Günter Wand
Günter Wand was a German orchestra conductor and composer. Wand studied in Wuppertal, Allenstein and Detmold. At the Cologne conservatory, he was a composition student with Philipp Jarnach and a piano student with Paul Baumgartner...
continued to use it even after the Nowak/1890 edition was published, while noted Bruckner conductor Georg Tintner
Georg Tintner
Georg Tintner CM was an Austrian-born conductor whose career was principally in New Zealand, Australia, and Canada....
has written that the Haas edition is "the best" version of the symphony and referred to Haas himself as "brilliant". On the other hand, Eugen Jochum
Eugen Jochum
Eugen Jochum was an eminent German conductor.Born in Babenhausen, near Augsburg, Germany, Jochum studied the piano and organ in Augsburg until 1922. He then studied conducting in Munich...
used Haas's edition for his first recording, made in 1949, before Nowak published his edition, and Nowak's for his subsequent recordings, while Wilhelm Furtwängler, despite having given the premiere of the Haas score, reverted to the 1892 edition in his final years.
The controversy over the Haas edition centers on the fact that its musical text was a fabrication of the editor and was never approved by Bruckner himself. In particular Leopold Nowak, who succeeded Haas as principal editor of the Bruckner complete works, argued that there is little evidence for the psychological breakdown that Haas claimed Bruckner suffered upon Levi's rejection of the work. Bruckner’s letters at the time suggest that he was frustrated by Levi’s judgment (dismissing Levi as having a “hard time grasping things”) and psychologically healthy. Bruckner’s revisions, according to this view, are the result of his artistic perfectionism. Nowak therefore rejected Haas's approach by sticking closely to Bruckner's autograph scores. Since its publication Nowak's edition of the 1890 version has become more popular than Haas's, although Haas's is still often performed.
However, on examining the microfilm of the original manuscript of 1890 version, the passages allegedly added by Haas from the 1887 version are virtually all there. What Haas actually did was to restore certain passages that Bruckner had crossed out. In a letter Bruckner wrote to the conductor Felix Weingartner
Felix Weingartner
Paul Felix von Weingartner, Edler von Münzberg was an Austrian conductor, composer and pianist.-Biography:...
he mentioned the hope that these cut passages would prove "valid for posterity, and for a circle of friends and connoisseurs".
Instrumentation
The 1887 version requires an instrumentation of three each of the following woodwind: fluteFlute
The flute is a musical instrument of the woodwind family. Unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is an aerophone or reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air across an opening...
s (the third doubling as piccolo
Piccolo
The piccolo is a half-size flute, and a member of the woodwind family of musical instruments. The piccolo has the same fingerings as its larger sibling, the standard transverse flute, but the sound it produces is an octave higher than written...
), oboe
Oboe
The oboe is a double reed musical instrument of the woodwind family. In English, prior to 1770, the instrument was called "hautbois" , "hoboy", or "French hoboy". The spelling "oboe" was adopted into English ca...
s, clarinet
Clarinet
The clarinet is a musical instrument of woodwind type. The name derives from adding the suffix -et to the Italian word clarino , as the first clarinets had a strident tone similar to that of a trumpet. The instrument has an approximately cylindrical bore, and uses a single reed...
s, bassoon
Bassoon
The bassoon is a woodwind instrument in the double reed family that typically plays music written in the bass and tenor registers, and occasionally higher. Appearing in its modern form in the 19th century, the bassoon figures prominently in orchestral, concert band and chamber music literature...
s (the third doubling as contrabassoon
Contrabassoon
The contrabassoon, also known as the double bassoon or double-bassoon, is a larger version of the bassoon, sounding an octave lower...
) – the triple woodwinds, however, only enter in the Finale (with double woodwind for the earlier movements) – in addition to eight horn
Horn (instrument)
The horn is a brass instrument consisting of about of tubing wrapped into a coil with a flared bell. A musician who plays the horn is called a horn player ....
s, three trumpet
Trumpet
The trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air...
s, three trombone
Trombone
The trombone is a musical instrument in the brass family. Like all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player’s vibrating lips cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrate...
s, a quartet of Wagner tuba
Wagner tuba
The Wagner tuba is a comparatively rare brass instrument that combines elements of both the French horn and the tuba. Also referred to as the "Bayreuth Tuba", it was originally created for Richard Wagner's operatic cycle Der Ring des Nibelungen. Since then, other composers have written for it, most...
s, which double as Horns 5-8 in the Finale, and a single contrabass tuba, along with timpani
Timpani
Timpani, or kettledrums, are musical instruments in the percussion family. A type of drum, they consist of a skin called a head stretched over a large bowl traditionally made of copper. They are played by striking the head with a specialized drum stick called a timpani stick or timpani mallet...
, cymbal
Cymbal
Cymbals are a common percussion instrument. Cymbals consist of thin, normally round plates of various alloys; see cymbal making for a discussion of their manufacture. The greater majority of cymbals are of indefinite pitch, although small disc-shaped cymbals based on ancient designs sound a...
s, triangle
Triangle (instrument)
The triangle is an idiophone type of musical instrument in the percussion family. It is a bar of metal, usually steel but sometimes other metals like beryllium copper, bent into a triangle shape. The instrument is usually held by a loop of some form of thread or wire at the top curve...
, three harp
Harp
The harp is a multi-stringed instrument which has the plane of its strings positioned perpendicularly to the soundboard. Organologically, it is in the general category of chordophones and has its own sub category . All harps have a neck, resonator and strings...
s, and strings
String instrument
A string instrument is a musical instrument that produces sound by means of vibrating strings. In the Hornbostel-Sachs scheme of musical instrument classification, used in organology, they are called chordophones...
. The 1890 version deletes the piccolo part, and extends the triple woodwinds on all four movements. In addition, the 1890 score calls for eight horns, four of which double as Wagner tubas at various points in the symphony for all movements. This was, in total, the largest orchestra Bruckner ever used (since the Ninth Symphony, which uses an otherwise identical orchestra, does not require harps and percussion other than timpani).
Programme
In an 1891 letter to conductor Felix WeingartnerFelix Weingartner
Paul Felix von Weingartner, Edler von Münzberg was an Austrian conductor, composer and pianist.-Biography:...
, Bruckner gave extramusical associations to several parts of the symphony:
In the first movement, the trumpet and horn passage based on the rhythm of the [main] theme in the Todesverkündigung [the annunciation of death], which gradually grows stronger, and finally emerges very strongly. At the end: surrender.
Scherzo: Main theme -- named deutscher Michel. In the second part, the fellow wants to sleep, and in his dreamy state cannot find his tune: finally, he plaintively turns back.
Finale: At the time our Emperor received the visit of the Czars at Olmütz; thus, strings: the Cossacks; brass: military music; trumpets: fanfares, as the Majesties meet. In closing, all themes ... thus as deutscher Michel arrives home from his journey, everything is already gloriously brilliant. In the Finale there is also the death march and then (brass) transfiguration.
Bruckner's associates report other comments that the composer is said to have made about the symphony. The coda to the first movement is how it is when one is on his deathbed, and opposite hangs a clock, which, while his life comes to an end, beats on ever steadily: tick, tock, tick, tock while in the slow movement I have gazed too deeply into a maiden's eyes.
In an unsigned programme note at the 1892 first performance Joseph Schalk elaborated Bruckner's program, adding references to Greek mythology
Greek mythology
Greek mythology is the body of myths and legends belonging to the ancient Greeks, concerning their gods and heroes, the nature of the world, and the origins and significance of their own cult and ritual practices. They were a part of religion in ancient Greece...
(Aeschylus
Aeschylus
Aeschylus was the first of the three ancient Greek tragedians whose work has survived, the others being Sophocles and Euripides, and is often described as the father of tragedy. His name derives from the Greek word aiskhos , meaning "shame"...
's Prometheus
Prometheus
In Greek mythology, Prometheus is a Titan, the son of Iapetus and Themis, and brother to Atlas, Epimetheus and Menoetius. He was a champion of mankind, known for his wily intelligence, who stole fire from Zeus and gave it to mortals...
, Zeus
Zeus
In the ancient Greek religion, Zeus was the "Father of Gods and men" who ruled the Olympians of Mount Olympus as a father ruled the family. He was the god of sky and thunder in Greek mythology. His Roman counterpart is Jupiter and his Etruscan counterpart is Tinia.Zeus was the child of Cronus...
or Kronos
Cronus
In Greek mythology, Cronus or Kronos was the leader and the youngest of the first generation of Titans, divine descendants of Gaia, the earth, and Uranus, the sky...
, etc.) mixed with a few Christian references such as the Archangel Michael.
Differences in performance
Over the recorded lifetime of this symphony, significantly different approaches have been taken, including tempo choices and the choice of score.Wilhelm Furtwängler
Wilhelm Furtwängler
Wilhelm Furtwängler was a German conductor and composer. He is widely considered to have been one of the greatest symphonic and operatic conductors of the 20th century. By the 1930s he had built a reputation as one of the leading conductors in Europe, and he was the leading conductor who remained...
, in a live performance with the Vienna Philharmonic in 1944 used a modified Haas edition.
On September 29, 1944, the Preussische Staatskapelle Berlin
Staatskapelle Berlin
The Staatskapelle Berlin is a German orchestra, the orchestra of the Berlin State Opera .The orchestra traces its roots to 1570, when Joachim II Hector, Elector of Brandenburg established an orchestra at his court...
, conducted by Herbert von Karajan
Herbert von Karajan
Herbert von Karajan was an Austrian orchestra and opera conductor. To the wider world he was perhaps most famously associated with the Berlin Philharmonic, of which he was principal conductor for 35 years...
, recorded the last three movements of the 8th Symphony with the finale in experimental stereophonic sound
Stereophonic sound
The term Stereophonic, commonly called stereo, sound refers to any method of sound reproduction in which an attempt is made to create an illusion of directionality and audible perspective...
. In his interpretation Karajan kept strict metre whereas "recordings from the 1940s ... typically present this passage [the reprise of the third subject group in the finale] as a grand accelerando-rallentando, with a tempo increase of as much as 20 percent," while Karajan's recording "is a notable exception."
The first commercial recording of the complete symphony was made by Eugen Jochum
Eugen Jochum
Eugen Jochum was an eminent German conductor.Born in Babenhausen, near Augsburg, Germany, Jochum studied the piano and organ in Augsburg until 1922. He then studied conducting in Munich...
with the Hamburg State Philharmonic Orchestra
Philharmoniker Hamburg
The Philharmoniker Hamburg is a German symphony orchestra based in Hamburg. Its current Music Director is GMD Simone Young. It is also the orchestra of the Hamburg State Opera....
in 1949 for Deutsche Grammophon
Deutsche Grammophon
Deutsche Grammophon is a German classical record label which was the foundation of the future corporation to be known as PolyGram. It is now part of Universal Music Group since its acquisition and absorption of PolyGram in 1999, and it is also UMG's oldest active label...
. Jochum later recorded it in studio with the Berlin Philharmonic in 1964 for Deutsche Grammophon, and in 1976 with the Dresden Staatskapelle for EMI using the Nowak 1890 edition both times. Karl Böhm
Karl Böhm
Karl August Leopold Böhm was an Austrian conductor. He is widely considered to be one of the greatest symphonic and operatic conductors of the 20th century.- Education :...
, in a studio recording with the Vienna Philharmonic in 1976 for Deutsche Grammophon used the Nowak 1890 edition, but with one Haas passage in the finale.
In the last two decades of the 20th century, recordings tended to "set a broader basic tempo, ... abstain from dramatic tempo fluctuations — especially increases — and place great store by fullness of tone, precise ensemble, and textural clarity."
Typically, this work lasts about 80 minutes, although there are performances running as long as 103 minutes. Herbert von Karajan
Herbert von Karajan
Herbert von Karajan was an Austrian orchestra and opera conductor. To the wider world he was perhaps most famously associated with the Berlin Philharmonic, of which he was principal conductor for 35 years...
and the aforementioned Günter Wand each recorded the Haas hybrid version more than once. After Eliahu Inbal
Eliahu Inbal
Eliahu Inbal is an Israeli conductor.Inbal studied violin at the Israeli Academy of Music and took composition lessons with Paul Ben-Haim...
recorded the 1887 version for the first time, other conductors have followed. Takashi Asahina
Takashi Asahina
was a Japanese conductor. Born in Tokyo, he founded the Kansai Symphonic Orchestra in 1947 and remained its chief conductor until his death in Kobe. Inspired by a meeting with Wilhelm Furtwängler in the 1950s, he began a lifelong attachment to the music of Anton Bruckner, recording the complete...
has recorded a disc comparing excerpts from the Haas and Nowak editions.