He's the thinking man's Philip Glass.
Posted on 10/24/2005 4:22:42 PM PDT by EveningStar
classical music ping
classical music ping
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.
Dear EveningStar,
Thanks for the ping!
Classical Music Ping List ping!
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sitetest
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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