Bruckner Saraste

Anton Bruckner (1824−1896) was no child prodigy, nor was he a prodigiously talented youth. His talent unfolded first in a steady tempo through an anonymous existence as a school teacher and organist. He started studying music at the age of 30, and was 36 when he made his debut as a conductor and composer in 1861. It was only in his 60s that he gained wide recognition as a composer.

Bruckner’s symphonies are monumental works which often last well over an hour, and the first symphonies were not very well-received by audiences. His music friends constantly offered advice as to the sorts of changes he might make in order to make his compositions more popular. The insecure and rather easily-influenced composer listened to their advice, and often ended up with numerous versions of the same symphony.

Bruckner’s unique musical expression builds in part on the harmonies of Liszt and Wagner, in part on the structure of the organ, and in part on the symphonic form of Beethoven. One element he clearly inherited from Beethoven can be discerned in his openings, where Bruckner introduces his musical ideas gradually, as Beethoven did at the beginning of his Ninth symphony.

The Fifth symphony is the only symphony with a slow introduction. Three of the four movements in the symphony start with a pizzicato (a plucking of the strings) and has therefore been given the name “Pizzicato symphony”. The movements are also bound together by that some of the themes are repeated in different movements; the second and the third movements share the same thematic starting point, for example, but continue in different tempi and in different directions.

The symphony also provides examples of some of the unique characteristics of Bruckner’s symphonies: he often builds the movements up slowly and patiently to an intense climax, such as in the second movement. The composer’s complex musical logic is demonstrated in the fourth movement, where themes from the first movement are introduced and interrupted, only then to be woven into a fugue which is replaced by a new fugue, layered on top of the first. Despite the complex construction, the music appears complete and organic.

Although Bruckner experienced success and recognition in his final years until his death at 72 in 1896, there remained several great works he never had the opportunity to hear in performance. He wrote the Fifth symphony in 1875 and 1876, and the first public performance took place in 1887 − on two pianos. During the first performance with full orchestra in 1894, Bruckner was ill, and he never heard the orchestra version.

Bruckner is now recognised as a visionary and innovative composer, but he is also rendered as a somewhat simple and humble man. This might be the reason that the most controversial of his admirers have not succeeded in tainting his legacy. Hitler adored his music, and unveiled a bust of the composer, and German radio played the adagio from Symphony No. 7 when it broadcast the news of Hitler’s death. Still, Bruckner’s symphonies have retained an unquestionable place in the classical repertoire the world over, from Tel Aviv to Vienna and New York.

The concert will be conducted by Oslo Philharmonic’s conductor laureate, Jukka-Pekka Saraste.