Anton Bruckner

Anton Bruckner (1894)

Anton Bruckner on a painting by Ferry Bératon, 1890

Joseph Anton Bruckner (* 4. September 1824 in Ansfelden , Upper Austria , † 11. October 1896 in Vienna ) was an Austrian composer of the Romantic and organist and music teacher . Appreciated as a composer by his contemporaries only late in life, he was one of the most important and innovative composers of his time and his works had a great influence on music history well into the 20th century. His most important and probably best-known compositions are his large-scale symphonies . He has also enriched church music with important works - including three large masses and the Te Deum . As an organist, he was mainly admired for his improvisations .

Life

Early years: 1824-1845

Anton Bruckner's birthplace

Anton Bruckner Monument in his birthplace Ansfelden

Bruckner came as the eldest of twelve children of the teacher Anton Bruckner (1791–1837) and his wife Theresia , b. Helm (1801–1860), to the world. Since the duties of a village school teacher at that time also included church music services such as the cantor's office and organ playing as well as playing as a dance floor violinist at festivals, the young Bruckner came into contact with music at an early age through his father and learned how to use the violin , piano and above all the organ . When he was around ten years old he occasionally acted as a temporary organist.

After the early death of his father in 1837, his mother sent Bruckner to the nearby St. Florian Monastery as a choir boy , where he also received music lessons. Following the family tradition, he made the decision to pursue a teaching career. After attending the preparatory teachers' seminar in Linz , he became a school assistant in the village of Windhaag , where conflicts soon arose with his superior, which ultimately led to his being transferred to Kronstorf : Bruckner had composed too much and improvised on the organ instead of his duties (alongside School and church service also work in the field and in the forest), so the reason. In fact, there are three so-called "Choral Masses" by him from this period, namely the Windhaager Mass (a small mass for alto voice , two horns and organ) and two missae breves ( a cappella ): the Kronstorfer Mass and the Mass for the Maundy Thursday . In 1845 he finally passed the teacher examination and in the same year took up a position as an assistant teacher at the St. Florian School .

St. Florian period: 1845–1855

St. Florian Monastery

Bruckner organ in St. Florian Monastery

During the decade that Bruckner spent in the monastery, he gradually developed from a teacher to a professional musician. At first he continued to devote himself extensively to his teaching profession, attended a further training course in Linz in 1850 and five years later passed an examination for permission to teach in higher schools.

At the same time, however, music became more and more important to him, so that he perfected his organ playing, which brought him the post of provisional organist in St. Florian in 1848, and three years later that of the regular organist. The first compositions of major importance were written, such as a Requiem (1848) and a Missa solemnis (1854), as well as a series of motets and the setting of Psalm 22 and 114.

In 1854 Bruckner traveled to Vienna for the first time to take an organ test from the court conductor Ignaz Assmayer, which he passed with flying colors. In 1855 he traveled again to Vienna, where Bruckner became a student of the famous music theorist and professor for figured bass and counterpoint Simon Sechter , with whom important musicians such as Franz Schubert and Franz Lachner had already studied. Lessons were mostly given through letters.

Cathedral organist in Linz: 1855–1868

Bruckner, around 1855

Bruckner at the organ, silhouette by Otto Böhler

Bruckner memorial stone at the old cathedral in Linz

Bruckner memorial stone by Adolf Wagner von der Mühl at the parish church in Linz

The reigning cathedral organist in Linz died in 1855, so a competition was held to determine his successor. Bruckner initially did not apply, but was eventually persuaded to take part. Although he did not submit a written application, he was allowed to play. None of his competitors could catch up with Bruckner's virtuoso organ art, so that on December 8th of that year he was appointed the new cathedral organist of the Ignatius Church (Old Cathedral) . He also worked as a parish organist in the parish church .

The application was submitted later. Bruckner had now completely become a professional musician and finally gave up teaching at school. In addition to his new role, he continued to take lessons from Sechter and visited his mentor several times in Vienna. In 1860 he took over as choirmaster of a men's choir, the Liedertafel Frohsinn , which he held for several years with interruptions. Bruckner gave numerous concerts with the Liedertafel and thus also earned a good reputation as a choir conductor. He composed numerous works for the choir, such as the German train . On November 19, 1861, he finally presented as the conclusion of the music theory studies before a commission headed by Sechter, which u. a. the conductors Johann von Herbeck and Felix Otto Dessoff also belonged to his exam. The professionalism with which Bruckner mastered the requirements is said to have inspired Herbeck, who subsequently became an important supporter of Bruckner, to the famous exclamation “He should have checked us”.

Bruckner had now completely mastered and internalized the technical aspects of composing, but apparently did not yet feel confident enough in the practice of free composition in spite of the numerous pieces that had already been written, so that he sought out the theater conductor Otto Kitzler in Linz for further training in this area . Kitzler, almost ten years younger than Bruckner, was a sincere admirer of Hector Berlioz , Franz Liszt and Richard Wagner , with the help of which he demonstrated to Bruckner the then modern methods of composition and instrumentation. Also Ludwig van Beethoven , Robert Schumann and Felix Mendelssohn were important cornerstones of this class. During this time, Kitzler repeatedly urged his pupil to compose (significantly, Simon Sechter had previously forbidden any free composition during the lessons). This is how, among other things, the first major instrumental works were created: a string quartet , an overture and the so-called study symphony . After this work was completed in 1863, Kitzler allowed Bruckner's studies to be considered successfully completed. Between 1864 and 1868, the three major masses in D minor , E minor and F minor as well as Symphony No. 1 in C minor were the first masterpieces by the composer Bruckner.

Having come into contact with Wagner's music through Kitzler, Bruckner had meanwhile studied the scores of Tannhauser and the Flying Dutchman and was very impressed by the works. In June 1865, on the occasion of a performance by Tristan and Isolde in Munich , he finally got to know the revered composer personally. Wagner benevolently accepted Bruckner's supporters and even entrusted him and his song board “Frohsinn” with the concert premiere of the final scene of the Mastersingers of Nuremberg (April 4, 1868). The numerous activities as organist, choir director and composer had taken their toll almost a year earlier: Bruckner's strength had been so overexerted that he had to undergo a recovery cure in 1867.

In 1868 Bruckner's first symphony had a very successful premiere under the direction of the composer, which the famous Viennese critic Eduard Hanslick gave positive reviews. However, the response remained otherwise low; and Bruckner wanted to make his compositions known to a wider audience than possible in the provinces. Since Sechter's death in September of the previous year had vacated his post as professor of music theory ( figured bass and counterpoint ) and organ playing at the Vienna Conservatory as well as the position of court organist, Bruckner made the decision to succeed his former mentor and move to Vienna pull.

Bruckner in Vienna: 1868–1896

Bruckner and Wagner in Bayreuth in 1873; Silhouette by Otto Böhler

“The artist waves in the sunshine, the ink boys behind him.”
Caricature by Otto Böhler of Bruckner and his critics (Eduard Hanslick, Max Kalbeck and Richard Heuberger ), based on Struwwelpeter

Bruckner portrait by Josef Büche, 1893

When he arrived in Vienna, he was immediately awarded the jobs he had hoped for. Apart from the family blow of fate that his sister died in his apartment in early 1870, artistic successes emerged in the first few years: in 1869, as an organ virtuoso, Bruckner undertook extremely successful concert tours to Nancy and Paris , and in 1871 to London . The premieres of the Mass in E minor in Linz (1869) and the Mass in F minor in Vienna (1872) were received with applause. The time in the Austro-Hungarian Empire capital thus began promisingly for the composer and not left much of the later struggles for recognition guessed.

The situation for Bruckner only became problematic when he began to make his symphonies known to the Viennese. So excited the conducted by the composer in 1873 by the Vienna Philharmonic premiered Symphony no. 2 in C minor (one in 1869 even as the second counted D minor Symphony, today as zeroth Symphony known had Bruckner now discarded) already some displeasure in music criticism . Eduard Hanslick, whom Bruckner had met with benevolence during his time in Linz, was now increasingly distant towards him. There was a complete break between the two in 1877, when Bruckner premiered his third symphony - dedicated to Richard Wagner in extremely submissive wording - which was the greatest failure of his career. Hanslick was a staunch opponent of the New German School , of which Wagner was one of the main representatives, and, because of this dedication, saw Bruckner as a dangerous Wagner epigone who had to be stopped. His reviews of Bruckner's works turned into fanatical rejection. As the leading critic of Vienna, he influenced many of his colleagues in a negative way for Bruckner. Bruckner was now regarded by numerous critics as a “Wagnerian” and, as soon became apparent, as an opponent of Johannes Brahms , who was revered by Hanslick and who finally settled in Vienna in 1872. Only a small group of friends and supporters continued to support the composer. In addition to the then Minister for Education and Culture Karl von Stremayr , to whom Bruckner dedicated the fifth in 1878 , who had confirmed Bruckner's appointment as a lecturer at the University of Vienna, a few conductors (such as Hans Richter ) as well as his students at the Conservatory and many students the University of Vienna, where Bruckner gave lectures that were well attended as a lecturer in music theory since 1875.

It was only with the successful world premieres of the fourth symphony and the string quintet in F major (1881) that Bruckner succeeded in gaining some respect from his opponents, but the front line between the “Brahmsians” and the “Wagner and Brucknerians” was to be resolved continue until the end. In spite of this, the organist Bruckner enjoyed lasting fame, as demonstrated by a concert tour to Switzerland in 1880 .

The big breakthrough for Bruckner's music came with the world premiere of Symphony No. 7 in 1884 by the young conductor Arthur Nikisch , which typically took place in Leipzig (far away from the Viennese “arena”). The fifth and sixth symphonies , on the other hand, were only performed for the first time years after the composer's death. However, after Hermann Levi finally helped the Seventh to triumph in Munich in 1885, and Hans Richter's performance of Te Deum in Vienna the following year was also a brilliant success, Bruckner's music gradually gained acceptance both at home and abroad. Emperor Franz Joseph I was so impressed by the Te Deum that he awarded Bruckner the Knight's Cross of the Franz Joseph Order . In the meantime, attention has been drawn to Bruckner's earlier symphonies. Before the composer released the first and third for new performances, however, he subjected them to thorough revisions; likewise the eighth symphony , the original draft of which was rejected by Levi, whereupon Bruckner created a new version, which Richter successfully conducted in Vienna in 1892.

Last years

By the late 1880s, Bruckner's health had gradually deteriorated. He was diagnosed with diabetes and heart failure, among other things. The composer had to take more and more leave of absence from his offices at the university, the conservatory and the court orchestra. In 1891 he retired as a conservatory professor, in 1892 he resigned from the post of court organist, and two years later he gave his last lecture at the university. His life was now composing his ninth symphony , which he had pursued since 1887. He has now received numerous honors, for example in 1891 the title of honorary doctor from the University of Vienna. In addition, in 1895 the Emperor granted Bruckner the privilege of moving into an apartment in Belvedere Palace rent-free . Here he spent the last year of his life. The composer continued to write his work with tireless creativity, but only the first three movements of the ninth symphony were finished; the fourth movement remained a fragment.

Bruckner died on October 11, 1896 at 4:00 p.m., according to the death register, of a heart valve defect . His remains were embalmed according to his will. In written on behalf of his brothers and sisters Rosalia and Ignaz Parte be read that he on 14 October from the house of mourning (. District III, Heugasse no. 3 , Upper Belvedere ) in the St. Charles Church , the renewed consecration and burial took place was transferred and consecrated on October 15, 1896 in the collegiate basilica of St. Florian . Bruckner's sarcophagus, which is placed below the organ, bears the inscription Non confundar in aeternum (“In eternity I will not be ashamed”, the final line of the Te Deum ) on the base.

personality

Bruckner's arrival in heaven, silhouette by Otto Böhler

Bruckner's carefree youth was suddenly brought to an end by the progressive illness of his father. At an early age he had to represent the father in a number of functions. In addition, he already shows a trait of his mother's character: a certain tendency towards melancholy. In addition to his love for formal things, he tried to gain additional material security, without ever having suffered hardship, through many exams, certificates and letters of recommendation. Until well into adulthood, Bruckner was obviously unsure of his musical calling. So he wrote "the strangest applications", e.g. B. to the kk organizing commission, to which he asked in "submissive devotion" for a position in the registry, "since he has felt this profession for a long time". He always combined a change of job with the possibility of resigning from his previous employer.

Despite his successes, Bruckner suffered all his life from feelings of inferiority and a deep feeling of loneliness. In addition, his creative urge often led him to the edge of what was manageable: For example, from June to August 1867 he went to the Bad Kreuzen cold water sanatorium near Grein for three months to heal his nervous crisis . So it is not surprising that there are so many anecdotes about him and even his contemporaries felt his behavior at times strange and curious.

Bruckner was deeply rooted in the religious tradition of the Catholic Church . His humble love for God is evident from his numerous calendar notes about prayers he said daily. He also disapproved of too crude jokes that contradicted his view of a “pure” life. His lifestyle was also modest in a monastic way, his trust in God gave Bruckner the strength to endure the numerous hostilities of his opponents. The devout Christian Bruckner did not question other religions, such as Judaism : unlike Richard Wagner , whom he admired , he was not a national anti-Semite .

The composer's humble attitude towards authorities is also evident in the fact that he dedicated his 7th symphony to the Bavarian King Ludwig II , the 8th symphony to Emperor Franz Joseph and the 9th symphony to God "if he wants to take it" as the composer said. The latter dedication, however, has not come down to us from Bruckner's own hand.

The role of women in Bruckner's life seems contradictory. He wrote marriage proposals throughout his life, preferably to young women in their twenties, but was consistently unsuccessful. They resemble his restless urge for recognition as a musician, only he could not impress the women he admired with testimonials and the like. He replied to his former teacher Otto Kitzler once when he asked about his “unregulated circumstances”: “Dear friend, I don't have time, I have to write my fourth!”.

Bruckner suffered from various obsessional neuroses . For example, it has been handed down that he suffered from compulsory counting ( arithmomania ), which was reflected, among other things, in the continuously numbered bar periods of many of his scores.

The widespread opinion weighed on Bruckner that he was musically gifted, but ultimately never outgrown his provincial origins. The popular description "half genius, half idiot" does not come from Gustav Mahler , as is often assumed , but from Hans von Bülow . Against the background of the fact that he was a trained teacher with a license for higher schools and as such belonged to the upper educational class, his behavior can also be interpreted differently. In Vienna, he could have deliberately set himself apart from people hostile to him, such as the music critic Hanslick, by his peasant-looking, clumsy behavior, which he underlined by wearing his short hairstyle and oversized suits.

Bruckner as a music teacher and organist

Bruckner was highly valued as a teacher of music theory at the Vienna Conservatory. His most important students included Friedrich Klose , Hans Rott , Felix Mottl , Heinrich Schenker , Mathilde Kralik von Meyrswalden, Karl Borromäus Waldeck, the brothers Franz and Joseph Schalk and Ferdinand Löwe . Gustav Mahler and Hugo Wolf , who are often named as Bruckner's students and undoubtedly had great admiration for him, often attended his lectures at the university, but were not part of his class at the conservatory. Bruckner's teaching style was considered very strict and tradition-oriented. He largely followed the methods of his mentor, Simon Sechter. He also forbade his students to freely compose while they were studying with him. Even so, many of them were on friendly terms with him.

The organist Bruckner was famous all over Europe for his virtuoso playing. His most outstanding skill was improvisation . Many themes in his symphonies are said to have occurred to him while improvising. He often improvised large fugues on the organ, including fantasies about his own themes, Richard Wagner’s themes and well-known patriotic songs, contemporary witnesses report. Unfortunately, he did not record the improvisations later, so that in addition to a few surviving sketches, only a prelude and double fugue in C minor by his pupil Friedrich Klose, based on a Bruckner improvisation theme, provides information about this art. In contrast to his work as an improviser, Bruckner's repertoire of foreign organ compositions was very limited and only included a few works by Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy , Johann Sebastian Bach and Georg Friedrich Händel . The number of his organ compositions, which are regarded as certain, is limited to only five works.

Work and effect

Bruckner monument in the city park, simplified after vandalization

The composer Anton Bruckner is one of the great loners in music history. After he had found his typical style, his work proceeded in a constant evolution, completely independent of contemporary trends, which is why its importance for later music history was only realized retrospectively.

A total of eleven symphonies stand out from Bruckner's compositional work , nine of which he considered valid. In these works he himself saw his most important compositions. What is striking about his oeuvre is the obvious two-part structure in works created before 1864 and after 1864. The compositions written before the composer's 40th birthday are primarily vocal music. There are several masses and numerous motets among them, as well as a large number of secular choral works, mostly for male choirs. The sacred works clearly show the style of church music that was customary in Upper Austria at the time, and was particularly committed to the masses of the Viennese Classic . They testify to solid quality and technical talent, and even reveal a personal signature. Probably the most important of these pieces are the Requiem from 1848, the Missa solemnis from 1854 and the setting of the 146th Psalm from 1858. The secular music gives a good insight into the choral society of that time. The decisive turning point in Bruckner's work came in the early 1860s, when Bruckner began studying freelance composition with Otto Kitzler , because it was at this time that he began to discover symphonic orchestral music for himself. After a later discarded F minor symphony , he initially devoted himself to church music again and composed his key work with the D minor Mass in 1864. This composition shows for the first time in his oeuvre the synthesis of traditional church music and Bruckner's new, symphonic orchestral style. Two years later he completed his first symphony. This completed his development as a symphonic composer, because this genre now received almost all of the composer's attention. Although he later created masterpieces in other areas as well, such as the Te Deum (1884) or the String Quintet in F major (1878), these pieces were mostly inspired by commissions from others and their composition was visibly influenced by the symphonies.

Bruckner as a symphonic composer

Beethoven and Bruckner. Window in the New Cathedral in Linz

Währinger Straße 41. Part of the zeroth symphony was written here.

Anton Bruckner's sarcophagus in the collegiate church of St. Florian

Marble slab in the collegiate church of St. Florian

The special achievement of the composer Anton Bruckner can be seen in his further development of the genre of the symphony. He was also the first composer in music history who was (almost) exclusively dedicated to it. At the time of Bruckner, the symphony was in a kind of crisis: the composers felt so much overshadowed and restricted by the corresponding works of Ludwig van Beethoven in this musical genre that they mostly only touched them temporarily in their oeuvre and switched to other creative fields. Many even began to completely doubt its continued existence (e.g. Franz Liszt ) and tried to bypass the symphony by writing symphonic poems . Richard Wagner declared that the symphony could only continue to exist within the framework of a total work of art in connection with stage design and singing; his musical dramas exemplified this concept. Only with Bruckner and - a little later - Johannes Brahms were new approaches to further development found. While Brahms began to recreate the genre based on his experience in the field of chamber music , Bruckner's approach was of a completely different kind:

• His symphonies are calculated from the outset for the sound of the large orchestra, whereby the individual groups of instruments are less mixed than they are delimited and coupled with one another in the manner of the organ register familiar to the organist Bruckner. The "terrace dynamics" often encountered in Bruckner's work derives from organ music, in which different volumes follow one another without mediating crescendos and decrescendos .
• With regard to the dramaturgical course, Franz Schubert is Bruckner's most important forerunner. As with this one, Bruckner's symphonies focus less on the dramatic confrontation of the themes than on their organic continuation and mutual connection. The energies stored in the themes usually only become visible in the course of the work. This development concept explains the unprecedented length of performance of Bruckner's symphonies, which averages around 65 minutes.
• Bruckner often incorporated elements of baroque music , with which he had come into close contact as a church musician, into his symphonies. Their influence can be demonstrated in the often more chordal than linear setting, the rich use of counterpoint (which is condensed into the fugue in the final movement of the fifth symphony ) and sometimes rambling fifth case sequences . Characteristic are the bold, sometimes very harsh harmonics and the occasional sprinkling of tone symbols (best known probably the "Te Deum motif" consisting of fourth and fifth , which runs through many works).
• A main feature of Bruckner's style is the so-called "Bruckner rhythm", a constant juxtaposition and / or superimposition of two and three forms in the rhythm (e.g. 2 quarters + quarter triplets), which gives the music great elasticity and energy. In contrast to these irregular rhythms is Bruckner's clear and clear structure of periods.

In terms of form, Bruckner maintains the model of the four-movement symphonic scheme inherited from the Viennese classics, but fills it with new content. His symphonies were and are predominantly regarded as absolute music . Even during Bruckner's lifetime, however, critics often accused him of overusing elements of the "dramatic" in his symphonies. The Bruckner reception and research is still divided over this question. According to recent results of various researchers ( Martin Geck , Constantin Floros , Hartmut Krones and others), however, the Bruckner symphonies are rather works that combine aspects of the absolute and the programmatic. They correspond more to the type of the “characteristic symphony” widespread in the 19th century than to a sequence of scenes and images in the sense of a dramatic-epic overall arrangement. Bruckner is thus in a line of tradition with works such as the Eroica and the Pastorale by Ludwig van Beethoven , the Symphonie fantastique by Hector Berlioz , the Scottish Symphony by Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy and the Faust Symphony by Franz Liszt . The similarity of Bruckner's symphonies was often pointed out, because unlike Beethoven or Brahms, whose symphonies are differentiated from one another in terms of structure and character, those of Bruckner are more focused on the context of the works. It is therefore always possible to demonstrate a form scheme that is basically the same, which is treated individually in each individual symphony:

• The first movement (4/4 time, from the third 2/2 time) usually has a moderately agitated basic tempo and is in a sonata main movement form modified by Bruckner , the exposition of which (Bruckner: “First Section”) contains three extensive subject groups. In this context, reference should be made in particular to the analysis of the form of his fourth symphony presented by Bruckner himself, in which he communicates the analytical terms he himself used. As a result, the movement begins with an "introductory group", which is often only in three parts (consisting of a quiet representation of the multi-part main theme, its loud repetition by the full orchestra and a final extension as a transition to the second theme group), sometimes (third, fourth, ninth symphony ) but also exposes a separate opening theme with a delimited motif, which leads in a crescendo into the actual main theme. (In the ninth symphony these parts are even more differentiated.) Based on the beginning of Beethoven's ninth symphony , Bruckner never lets the main theme begin immediately, but always sends him two preparatory bars (usually as a string tremolo in pianissimo ) ahead of which the topic emerges; a clearly delimited introduction, such as Often found in Haydn's work , for example , it is only preceded by the fifth symphony. The quieter second theme has a vocal character (Bruckner: “Gesangslänge”) and is usually composed of several superimposed sub-themes. As a rule, this section follows an AB-A'-song form, whereby the middle part is often referred to by Bruckner as a “trio” and is sometimes set apart in tempo from the framing periods. The final group or “final period”, which is often emphasized in classical symphonic movements, becomes a third theme in its own right for Bruckner. It usually starts in unison . At Bruckner, the implementation consists of several sections. What is striking about this molded part is the composer's preference for inversions, enlargements and reductions as well as occasional coupling of themes. Up to the fifth symphony, the beginning of the recapitulation can still be clearly identified with the re-entry of the main theme. From around 1878, however, Bruckner sought a more extensive merging of development and recapitulation, following the two-part sonata movement understanding of music theorists of the early 19th century (especially Koch and Czerny). Correspondingly, Bruckner always writes “Second Division” or “2nd Division” in his manuscripts and analyzes. Part ". Bruckner describes other parts as “appendix”, “transition” or “transition”, “unison”, “chorale”, “pleno” (here meant a tutti block, similar to the pleno registration of an organ) and “conclusion”. The coda usually takes up material from the opening theme group and, with the exception of the first movement of the eighth symphony, closes in fortissimo of the full orchestra.
• The slow movement (4/4 time), almost always called Adagio , usually runs in the rondo-like structure AB-A'-B'-A ''. This structure is similar to that of a sonata main movement in that the two themes of the movement contrast considerably with one another and the sections A 'and B' clearly have the character of expansions. Bruckner himself also takes this sonatized form of the song into account, since he also describes the formal parts as "first division" and "second division" and, in addition, in slow movements the A "section, which combines the functions of recapitulation and coda," third division ”(e.g. from m. 173 in the Adagio of the Ninth). The special feature of Bruckner's slow movements is their solemn climax before the coda, which in almost all cases, regardless of the key of the movement, is in C major and to which the whole movement steers purposefully before it fades away softly in the coda. The Adagio movements of the study and first (AB-A ') and sixth (sonata main movement form) symphonies differ somewhat from the composition scheme described above , as they are based on three themes.
• In Bruckner's work, the Scherzo usually has a wild, unspoilt character. Formally, it is always a brief sonata main movement with one or two themes. With the exception of the scherzo of the fourth symphony, all scherzi in Bruckner's symphonies are in minor keys and use 3/4 time. The trio is the opposite of the Scherzo in terms of character and key (always major) and often associates a stylized Austrian landlord . One exception is the Trio of the Ninth, which increases the excitement of the associated scherzo. After the trio, the scherzo is always played da capo . From the fourth symphony onwards , Bruckner gives up the additional Scherzo coda that was usual before. (In the original version [1872] of the second , eighth and ninth symphonies, the sequence of Adagio and Scherzo shown here is reversed.)
• The finals (4/4-time, starting from the third 2/2-stroke) always has the same key as the first movement (exception is the Sixth Symphony, the final in e- Phrygian starts instead of A-flat major). The finale, too, is always in the form of a sonata with three themes, but is usually treated more freely, especially as far as the recapitulation is concerned: it is sometimes much abbreviated or, in the seventh symphony, with mirrored themes. The coda takes up a larger space in the finale than in the first movement, the main theme of which is woven in from the second symphony onwards, thus pushing the beginning and the end into one another, emphasizing the cohesion of the cycle of movements. All finals of the Bruckner symphonies close fortissimo in major. Bruckner wants to create additional uniformity by making the final themes directly related to the themes of the first movement. As a result, Bruckner's final clauses become, in a certain way, a continuation of the counterpart of the head clauses. An essential feature of the final movements is that motifs / themes from the first movement return sooner or later. In order to make such motivic / thematic processes comprehensible for the listener, Bruckner also creates identity through the rhythm of motifs (e.g. in the eighth symphony, in the finale of which the rhythm of the first movement theme is prominently repeated in the final group of the exposition). This presupposes certain tempo relations, which come from the tactus principle of the Viennese classic.

reception

Viktor Tilgner's Bruckner monument in Vienna's Stadtpark , as it was in 1908

During his lifetime Bruckner only enjoyed the reputation of one of the greatest organ virtuosos of his time. On the other hand, he had to struggle to gain recognition as a composer. For many years his symphonies (in contrast to the masses and motets) were not taken seriously and their creator was considered an out of date eccentric - which he ultimately was, only in a more positive way - and ridiculed by authoritative critics. Although the last years of his life were marked by ever greater success, a serious appreciation of Bruckner's work did not take place until the 20th century. The rifts between Richard Wagner's supporters and those of Johannes Brahms and their spokesman Eduard Hanslick were still too deep during his lifetime . Anton Bruckner's problem was that he did not fit into either of the two parties: although he was one of Wagner's greatest admirers, he remained as good as unaffected by his style and musical philosophy - which can be seen from the fact that he actually pronounced Wagner dead Symphony form used; on the other hand, Bruckner differed too much from Brahms, whom he felt as a competitor, although both basically represented similar concepts of absolute music. So he was simply counted among the Wagnerians, both by opponents and by supporters, and thus attracted Hanslick's relentless hostility. The following two reports show that there was no animosity between Brahms and Bruckner:

1. For example, Bruckner used Brahms' head theme for his 1st Piano Concerto (d) in the Conservatory for compositional exercises with the (yes, “almost” correct) reference that this was actually a theme “for a symphony”.
2. Bernhard Paumgartner told (on ORF) that as an eight-year-old he was present at the funeral service for Bruckner's death, and that Brahms, sneaking in unnoticed, followed the devotion hidden behind a pillar for a while and stole away before its end - with a tear-stained beard .

Along with Brahms and Wagner, Bruckner is the composer of the late 19th century whose work was probably most indicative for the subsequent development of western music. The ninth symphony in particular turned out to be extraordinarily modern for its time. In its third movement, Bruckner anticipates the extremely chromatic tonal language of the early Arnold Schönberg , and his twelve-tone technique also owes much to the main theme of this movement. Gustav Mahler's expressive monumental symphony is unthinkable without Bruckner's thorough preparatory work in this area. Jean Sibelius was inspired to create similar rhythmically intertwined structures in his symphonies from the “Bruckner rhythm”, which in the sixth and ninth symphonies expands to form a veritable carpet of sound . In the following generation of composers, Bruckner's influence is to be found particularly among representatives of musical neoclassicism , above all Paul Hindemith and Johann Nepomuk David , who were particularly impressed by Bruckner's sense of clear design. Ultimately, Bruckner was also a great role model for more conservative composers of the 20th century such as Franz Schmidt , Richard Wetz , Wilhelm Furtwängler , Wilhelm Petersen or Martin Scherber , who took his style as the basis for their individual continuation of the same. Even Dmitri Shostakovich is hardly conceivable without Bruckner. It was also largely thanks to Bruckner that he made sacred music suitable for a concert hall through his masses and especially his Te Deum.

The importance of Bruckner for all of later music was pushed into the background in the years after the Second World War , as the National Socialists described Bruckner's music as "Aryan-German" and, like that of Beethoven and Wagner, misused it for propaganda purposes. After the announcement of Adolf Hitler's death on May 1, 1945, the Adagio of the Seventh Symphony (whose coda was conceived as funeral music for Wagner) was broadcast on the radio. They even went so far as to define Bruckner's type (small, stocky, hooked nose) as a separate subspecies of the Aryan, which is particularly suitable for music. When that was no longer enough, Bruckner was described as tall and strong, which of course represented a complete falsification of the facts. Many composers, however, did not dare to refer to Bruckner in the early post-war period. The name of Gustav Mahler, who was clearly influenced by him, was often used instead of himself. Very soon, however, people began to assess Bruckner and his work more objectively again, which is why his music continues to enjoy great popularity in concert halls around the world. Important interpreters of the Bruckner symphonies include: a. Bruno Walter , Volkmar Andreae , Carl Schuricht , Otto Klemperer , Wilhelm Furtwängler , Eugen Jochum , Herbert von Karajan , Kurt Eichhorn , Günter Wand , Sergiu Celibidache , Carlo Maria Giulini , Gennady Rozhdestvensky , Georg Tintner , Stanislaw Skrowaczewski , Bernard Haitink , Nikolaus Harnoncourt , Eliahu Inbal , Hortense von Gelmini , Toshiyuki Kamioka , Takashi Asahina , Simone Young , Gerd Schaller and Mariss Jansons .

The problem of the versions

Bruckner used to work on most of his symphonies even after they were completed. The reasons for this were of various kinds. Sometimes he thought the work was imperfect in the first version, so that in the following time he set out on one or more revisions of the same composition. The dimensions of such revisions range from a mere filing of details, carried out with a fluid change in the imagination (especially in terms of period and instrumentation), to almost completely new scores for entire movements. The latter is particularly the case in the fourth symphony: In the course of the arrangement of this work, Bruckner composed a completely new Scherzo movement, and from the finale only the themes remain - their processing and thus the character of this movement are completely different from the original conception different. While the composer himself proceeded in a similar way with the first and third symphonies, the prospect of possible success usually drove him to reconsider his original plans: This is how the first draft of the Eighth by the conductor Hermann Levi came about rejected, whereupon Bruckner quickly created a new version with which the work also achieved a breakthrough.

The first versions are usually characterized by greater immediacy and the fact that they hardly take into account the practical performance possibilities of the time. The later versions seem smoothed out in this respect, but often testify to Bruckner's skills that have grown in the meantime and usually radiate a more internalized atmosphere than the early versions. While these often place more emphasis on the architectural balance of the composition, the later versions make more efforts to shorter and more concise sequences. This is particularly noticeable in the third symphony. Bruckner research has endeavored to evaluate the various versions since the 1960s . The work of Leopold Nowak was particularly important in this area .

However, the beginnings of Bruckner's reception were marked by falsifying editions of his works. The main people responsible for this were Bruckner's pupil Ferdinand Löwe and the brothers Joseph and Franz Schalk . In addition to Bruckner's versions, they also made their own arrangements of numerous symphonies, in which they usually approximated the sound image largely to Wagner's ideal of mixed orchestral colors and made large, often meaning-distorting cuts. They mostly had Bruckner's permission for this, because the changes were well-intentioned and were intended to help the composer achieve greater success with the audience. However, this intention often turned into the opposite and ensured the long-lasting, u. a. Misjudgment spread by Felix Weingartner that Bruckner's symphonies would be masterpieces if they weren't so much fragmented and informal. Bruckner's original conception only came to light after the memorable 1932 concert under Siegmund von Hausegger , in which he juxtaposed the first edition edited by Löwe and Bruckner's autograph of the three completed movements of the ninth symphony. As a result, Robert Haas published a critical complete edition for the first time, which reproduced the music text of the composer. The Schalk and Löwe versions have now fallen into oblivion.

Posthumous honor

Brucknerkopf by Franz Strahammer at the Brucknerhaus in Linz

Bruckner as the namesake

• Several institutions are named after the composer, that's what the city of Linz's symphony and theater orchestra calls itself Bruckner Orchester Linz . The private university for music, drama and dance in Linz is called Anton Bruckner Private University . The largest concert hall in Upper Austria is the Brucknerhaus . One of the choirs of the Vienna Boys' Choir is named after the composer. In autumn, on the occasion of the composer's birthday, the annual Bruckner Festival takes place in Linz. Several high schools are named Anton-Bruckner-Gymnasium . The Anton Bruckner Center was opened in 1996 in Ansfelden, his birthplace, as an event and cultural venue.
• In 1924, the "Brucknerbund Ansfelden" was founded in Ansfelden, where he was born and which is currently attracting a great deal of attention with the "Bruckner 200" concert series leading up to Bruckner's 200th birthday in Ansfelden in 2024.
• In 1901 Brucknerstrasse in Vienna- Wieden (4th district) was named after him. There are also Brucknerstrasse in Linz , Wels , Graz , Salzburg , Dresden , Lünen and many other places. In the center of Leipzig there is an Anton-Bruckner-Allee.
• The international express train pair REx 1542/1543 between Prague and Linz is called "Anton Bruckner".
• The Bruckner Tower in Linz also bears the composer's name.

Others

Bruckner monument in Steyr

• His first memorial is on Brucknerplatz in Steyr . It was unveiled on May 29, 1898.
• Anton Bruckner's likeness can be seen on the 1000 Schilling banknote from 1954.
• On October 9, 1996, Deutsche Post AG issued a special postage stamp worth 100 pfennigs on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of his death .
• The Anton-Bruckner-Ring is named after him - an award from the “Anton Bruckner Association of the Vienna Symphony Orchestra”.

• 

  Anton Bruckner on the 1000 Schilling banknote (1954)

• 

  25 shilling coin (1962)

• 

  20 shilling coin (1996)

Works (selection)

Bruckner's works are summarized and structured in the " Anton Bruckner Catalog of Works " (WAB). Some small early works that are documented in the so-called “Kitzler Study Book” (songs, piano pieces, quartet movements and others) have remained unpublished for a long time. The manuscript was in private hands. The Austrian National Library was able to acquire the valuable original manuscript in 2013. A facsimile of the manuscript was published in 2015 in the Bruckner Complete Edition.

Orchestral works

• Four orchestral pieces: March in D minor (WAB 96) and three movements for orchestra (WAB 97), 1862.
• Overture in G minor (WAB 98), 1862–1863
• Symphony in F minor (WAB 99), 1863
• 1st Symphony in C minor (WAB 101), 1866 (Linz version), 1877 (revised Linz version), 1890/91 (Vienna version)
• Symphony in B flat major, 1869; only sketches of the 1st movement available
• Symphony in D minor (WAB 100), 1869 (so-called zeroth [annulled] )
• 2nd Symphony in C minor (WAB 102), 1872, 1877
• 3rd Symphony in D minor (WAB 103), 1873, 1877–1878, 1889
• 4th Symphony in E flat major ( Die Romantische , WAB 104), 1874, 1878 (new “Jagd” Scherzo and “Volksfest” finals), 1880 (new finale), 1888
• 5th Symphony in B flat major (WAB 105), 1876–1878
• 6th Symphony in A major (WAB 106), 1881
• 7th Symphony in E major (WAB 107), 1883–1885
• 8th Symphony in C minor (WAB 108), 1887, 1890
• 9th Symphony in D minor (unfinished; the nascent autograph score of the 4th movement from 1895/96 is not completely orchestrated and parts of it have been lost, WAB 109), 1887–1896
• Symphonic Prelude in C minor, 1876, a copy of Rudolf Krzyzanowski's , ascribed to Bruckner very likely

Vocal music

Spiritually

• Windhaager Messe (Mass in C major) for alto, two horns and organ (WAB 25), 1842
• Mass without Gloria [and Credo] in D minor ("Kronstorfer Mass") for mixed choir a cappella , (WAB 146), 1843–1844
• Mass for Maundy Thursday in F major, for mixed choir a cappella (WAB 9), 1844, 1845 (Kyrie and Gloria, lost)
• Missa solemnis in B flat minor (WAB 29), 1854.
• Mass No. 1 in D minor (WAB 26), 1864
• Mass No. 2 in E minor for eight-part choir and wind instruments (WAB 27), 1866 (1st version), 1882 (2nd version)
• Mass No. 3 in F minor (WAB 28), 1867/68, 1883/93
• Requiem in D minor (WAB 39), 1849
• Psalm 22 in E flat major (WAB 34), around 1852.
• Psalm 114 in G major (WAB 36), 1852.
• Psalm 146 in A major (WAB 37), around 1856.
• Psalm 112 in B flat major (WAB 35), 1863.
• Psalm 150 in C major (WAB 38), 1892.
• Magnificat in B flat major (WAB 24), 1852.
• Festkantata Praise the Lord in D major (WAB 16), 1862
• Te Deum in C major (WAB 45), 1881 (sketch), 1884
• About 40 motets including:
  • 4 degrees :
    • Locus iste (MCAS 23), 1869
    • Os justi meditabitur sapientiam (WAB 30), 1879.
    • Christ factus est III (WAB 11), 1884.
    • Virga Jesse floruit (MCAS 52), 1892.
  • Ave Maria II (WAB 6), 1861.
  • Tota pulchra es Maria (WAB 46), 1878
  • Ecce sacerdos magnus (MCAS 13), 1885.
  • Vexilla regis prodeunt (WAB 51), 1892

Worldly

• Cantatas
  • Forget-me-not in D major (WAB 93), 1845.
  • Renunciation in B flat major (WAB 14), around 1851.
  • Arneth cantata: Heil Vater! To you for the high festival in D major (WAB 61), 1852.
  • Mayer cantata: Up, brothers! on, and the strings at hand! D major (WAB 60), 1855.
  • Festgesang ("Jodok-Cantata"): Saint Jodok sprouted from a noble trunk in C major (WAB 15), 1855.
  • German movement in D minor for male choir and wind instruments (WAB 70), 1864.
  • Helgoland in G minor for male choir and orchestra (WAB 71), 1893
• About 40 smaller choir pieces (primarily for male choir) and about 20 piano songs

Chamber music

→ Main article : Chamber music by Anton Bruckner

• Scherzo for string quartet in G minor (WAB deest), 1862 ( Kitzler-Studienbuch , pp. 70–74)
• String quartet in C minor (WAB 111), 1862.
• Rondo in C minor for string quartet (WAB deest), 1862.
• Evening sounds for violin and piano (WAB 110), 1866.
• String quintet in F major (WAB 112), 1879.
• Intermezzo in D minor for string quintet (WAB 113), 1879.

Others

• Shorter organ works
  • Postplay in D minor (WAB 126), around 1846.
  • Andante (Prelude) in D minor (WAB 130), around 1846.
  • Prelude and Fugue in C minor (WAB 131), 1847.
  • Fugue in D minor (WAB 125), 1861.
  • Perger Prelude in C major (WAB 129), 1884.

As well as 5 Preludes in E flat major (WAB 127 and 128), around 1836, probably not by Bruckner

• Piano pieces
  • Lancier Quadrille in C major (WAB 120), around 1850.
  • Steiermärker in G major (WAB 122), around 1850.
  • Three small pieces for four hands (WAB 124), 1853–1855
  • Quadrille for four hands (WAB 121), around 1854.
  • Piano piece in E flat major (WAB 119), around 1856.
  • Sonata movement in G minor (WAB deest), 1862.
  • Silent contemplation on an autumn evening in F sharp minor (WAB 123), 1863.
  • Fantasia in G major (WAB 119), 1868.
  • Memory in A flat major (WAB 117), around 1868.

As well as 16 other piano pieces in the Kitzler study book

• Two aequali in C minor for 3 trombones (WAB 114 and 149), 1847.
• March in E flat major for wind orchestra (WAB 116), 1865.

literature

(Alphabetical)

• Max Auer : Anton Bruckner - mystic and musician. Heyne, Munich 1982, ISBN 3-453-55095-1 .
• Anton Bruckner (1824–1896) - Critical Complete Edition. Published by the Austrian National Library and the International Bruckner Society, Musikwissenschaftlicher Verlag, Schwedenplatz 3–4 / 2/19, A-1010 Vienna.
• Franz Brunner: Dr. Anton Bruckner. A picture of life. Publishing house of the Upper Austrian People's Education Association, Linz 1895 (digitized version)
• Friedrich Buchmayr: Bruckner man! The composer and the women. With a foreword by Hans-Joachim Hinrichsen. Müry Salzmann Verlag, Salzburg / Vienna 2019. ISBN 978-3-99014195-3
• Ernst Decsey: Anton Bruckner - Attempt at a Life. 1920.
• Max Dehnert : Anton Bruckner. VEB Breitkopf & Härtel, Leipzig 1958.
• Wolfgang Doebel: Bruckner's symphonies in arrangements. The concepts of the Bruckner students and their reception up to Robert Haas. Tutzing 2001.
• Erwin Doernberg: Anton Bruckner - life and work . Langen Müller Verlag GmbH, Munich, Vienna 1963. Translation from English. Title of the original edition: The Life and Symphonies of Anton Bruckner. London 1960 (in addition to the picture of life drawn with particular objectivity, this biography gives a detailed discussion of the 9 symphonies).
• Alberto Fassone: Anton Bruckner and his time. Laaber-Verlag, Laaber 2019, ISBN 978-3-89007-806-9 .
• Constantin Floros : Anton Bruckner. Personality and work. European Publishing House, Hamburg 2004, ISBN 3-434-50566-0 .
• Fabian Freisberg: Anton Bruckner's church music - A contribution to understanding the development of his artistic identity. Dissertation at Saarland University, Saarbrücken 2016 ( PDF , accessed on July 17, 2017).
• Walter Gerstenberg:  Bruckner, Josef Anton. In: New German Biography (NDB). Volume 2, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 1955, ISBN 3-428-00183-4 , pp. 649-652 ( digitized version ).
• Franz Graefinger: Anton Bruckner. Building blocks for his life story. Reinhard Piper & Co. , Munich 1911.
• Franz Graefinger: Anton Bruckner. His life and his works. Gustav Bosse Verlag, Regensburg 1921 ( PDF on abruckner.com).
• Wolfgang Grandjean: Metrics and Form at Bruckner. Numbers in Anton Bruckner's symphonies. Tutzing 2001.
• Renate Grasberger: Bruckner iconography. Part 1: Around 1854 to 1924. Graz 1990, ISBN 3-201-01519-9 .
• Karl Grebe: Anton Bruckner. Rowohlt, Reinbek bei Hamburg 1972 (sober biographical sketch with analysis of Bruckner's symphony form).
• Peter Gülke : Brahms – Bruckner. Two studies. Kassel / Basel 1989.
• Uwe Harten : Anton Bruckner. A manual. Residenz Verlag, Salzburg 1996, ISBN 3-7017-1030-9 .
• Mathias Hansen: Anton Bruckner. Reclam, Leipzig 1987, ISBN 3-379-00116-3 (biographical sketch with an introduction to all of Bruckner's symphonies; offers a highly interesting, independent analysis of Bruckner's compositional method).
• Andrea Harrandt (Ed.): Anton Bruckner, Letters 1852–1886 (= Anton Bruckner Complete Edition, Volume XXIV / 1). Musicological publishing house, Vienna 1998.
• Andrea Harrandt (Ed.): Anton Bruckner, Letters 1887–1896 (= Anton Bruckner Complete Edition, Volume XXIV / 2). Musicological publisher, Vienna 2002.
• Ernst Herhaus : Bruckner phenomenon, Pandora's box. Wetzlar 1995, ISBN 3-88178-110-2 .
• Hans-Joachim Hinrichsen (Ed.): Bruckner manual. Stuttgart 2010, ISBN 978-3-476-02262-2 .
• Friedrich Klose : My apprenticeship years with Bruckner. Memories and reflections. Regensburg 1927 (Bruckner from the perspective of one of his students).
• Klaus Heinrich Kohrs : Anton Bruckner. Fear of immensity. Frankfurt a. M./Basel 2017, ISBN 978-3-86600-274-6 .
• Ernst Kurth : Bruckner. Max Hesses Verlag, Berlin 1925, 2 volumes with approx. 1300 pages.
• Josef Laßl : The Little Bruckner Book. Rowohlt, Reinbek near Hamburg 1980.
• Elisabeth Maier : Anton Bruckner: Stations in a Life. Landesverlag Ehrenwirth, Linz / Munich 1996 (contains a detailed list of Bruckner memorials, mainly in Austria).
• Elisabeth Maier (ed.): Hidden personality. Anton Bruckner in his private notes. 2 volumes. In: Anton Bruckner. Documents and Studies. Volume 11, Musikwissenschaftlicher Verlag, Vienna 2001.
• Eusebius Mandyczewski :  Bruckner, Anton . In: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB). Volume 47, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1903, pp. 767-769.
• Heinz-Klaus Metzger and Rainer Riehn (eds.): Bruckner's ninth in purgatory at the reception. Music Concepts, Issue 120/121/122, designed and compiled by Benjamin-Gunnar Cohrs , Edition Text & Critique, Munich 2003, ISBN 3-88377-738-2 (in it: detailed bibliography).
• Werner Notter: Schematism and Evolution in Anton Bruckner's Symphony. Dissertation, Katzbichler music publisher, Munich / Salzburg 1983, ISBN 3-87397-084-8 .
• Leopold Nowak : Anton Bruckner - Music and Life 3rd edition, Rudolf Trauner Verlag, Linz 1995, ISBN 3-85320-666-2 (richly illustrated standard work).
• Erich Wolfgang Partsch: Bruckner, Anton. In: Oesterreichisches Musiklexikon . Online edition, Vienna 2002 ff., ISBN 3-7001-3077-5 ; Print edition: Volume 1, Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, Vienna 2002, ISBN 3-7001-3043-0 .
• Gertrude Quast-Benesch: Anton Bruckner in Munich. Tutzing 2006, ISBN 3-7952-1194-8 .
• Rudolf Franz Reschika: Bruckner. Forms and archetypes of his music. In: Music history studies. Volume X, Gehann-Musik-Verlag (GMV), Kludenbach 2007, ISBN 978-3-927293-30-4 .
• Hansjürgen Schäfer: Anton Bruckner. A guide through life and work. Henschel, Berlin 1996.
• Franz Scheder : Anton Bruckner. Chronology. Text tape. 2 volumes, Verlag Hans Schneider, Tutzing 1996.
• Horst-Günther Scholz: The shape of Anton Bruckner's mature fairs. Merseburger Publishing House, Berlin 1961.
• Ernst Schwanzara (Ed.): Anton Bruckner. Lectures on harmony and counterpoint at the University of Vienna. Österreichischer Bundesverlag, Vienna 1950.
• Renate Ulm (Ed.): The Bruckner Symphonies: Origin, Interpretation, Effect. dtv, Munich 1998, ISBN 3-423-30702-1 .
• Manfred Wagner: Bruckner. Schott, Mainz 1983, ISBN 3-442-33027-0 (biographical work rich in material, pleasantly sober and far removed from the historiography of saints, with many quotations from letters).
• Manfred Wagner: Anton Bruckner's work and life. Verlag Holzhausen, 1995, ISBN 3-900518-38-6 ( online edition ).
• Richard Wetz: Anton Bruckner. His life and work. Reclam, 1922 (early monograph, written by a composer under Bruckner's influence).
• John Williamson (Ed.): The Cambridge Companion to Bruckner. Cambridge University Press, 2004, ISBN 0-521-80404-3 .
• Frank Wohlfahrt : Anton Bruckner's synphonic work. Leipzig 1943.
• Werner Wolff : Anton Bruckner - genius and simplicity. Atlantis-Verlag, Zurich 1948 (new version by Anton Bruckner - Rustic Genius. EP Dutton, New York 1942).
• Cornelis van Zwol: Anton Bruckner 1824–1896 - leven en works. Thot, Bussum 2012, ISBN 978-90-6868-590-9 .

Web links

Commons : Anton Bruckner  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Wikiquote: Anton Bruckner  - Quotes

• Works by and about Anton Bruckner in the catalog of the German National Library
• Works by and about Anton Bruckner  in the German Digital Library
• Literature about Anton Bruckner in the bibliography of music literature

Biographies, descriptions of works

• Chapter on Anton Bruckner in the aeiou music college
• Tribute to Anton Bruckner ( Memento from March 3, 2003 in the Internet Archive )
• Presentation of the Mass in D minor
• Augustinian Canons of St. Florian under "Music"

Discographies, catalogs of works

• Catalog raisonné Anton Bruckner
• Complete discography of the orchestral works
• Complete discography of vocal and instrumental music
• Digital copies of all autographs, early copies, first editions and the old complete edition, catalog raisonné (ÖAW Vienna)

Sheet music editions

• Sheet music in the public domain by Anton Bruckner in the Choral Public Domain Library - ChoralWiki (English)
• Sheet music and audio files by Anton Bruckner in the International Music Score Library Project

Societies

• www.brucknerbund-ansfelden.at
• Anton Bruckner Center
• Anton Bruckner Institute Linz
• Bruckner days St. Florian
• Brucknerbund Salzkammergut - Gmunden

Footnotes

Remarks

1. ↑ Joseph Anton was born at 4:15 a.m. and was celebrated the same day at 5:00 p.m. in the parish church. Valentin baptized (entry in the baptismal register p. 12 has a call sign ["!"]).
2. ↑ Bruckner lived in the 9th district from 1868–1876 , Währinger Strasse 41, 1877–1895 in the 1st district , Schottenring 5, next to the Ringtheater , the fire of which hit him deeply on December 8, 1881, and in the last year of his life in the 3rd district , Heugasse 3 (Upper Belvedere).
   Maria Anna Bruckner, known as Nani (* June 27, 1836; † January 16, 1870 in Vienna), had run his household for him from 1866 in Linz and then in Vienna.
3. ↑ Quote: “Se. k. and k. Apostolic Majesty have with the Most High Resolution of July 8th d. J. is most gracious to award the member of the Hofmusikcapelle, organist Anton Bruckner, the Knight's Cross of the Franz Joseph Order. "
4. ↑ Text of the party: Bent over from the deepest pain, the undersigned announce the passing of their dearly beloved brother, Prof. Anton Bruckner Honorary Doctor of Philosophy at the Imperial and Royal University of Vienna, Knight of the Franz Josef Order, Imperial Court Organist, member of the Imperial and Royal kuk Hofmusik-Capelle, lector for harmony theory and counterpoint at the University of Vienna, honorary citizen of Ansfelden and Linz etc., which on Sunday, October 11, 1896, at 4 p.m., after a long painful suffering and reception of the holy Sacraments in the 73rd Years of life has passed away blissfully in the Lord. The earthly shell of what has passed away, dear to us, is removed from the house of mourning on Wednesday the 14th of this month, at 3 o'clock in the afternoon: III. District, Heugasse No. 3, upper Belvedere, transferred to the parish church of St. Carl Borromeo, ceremoniously consecrated there, whereupon the burial in the collegiate church of St. Florian in Upper Austria takes place after another blessing and requiem. The holy soul masses are read on Thursday, 15th of this month, at 10 a.m., in the above-mentioned parish church and in several other churches. Vienna, October 12, 1896. Rosalie Hueber, b. Bruckner as a sister.
5. ↑ Os justi… (WAB 30) he dedicated Ignaz Traumihler, a follower of Cäcilianism . Because Bruckner valued Traumihler personally, but rejected the goals of Cäcilianism. With the Os justi… he pretended to pursue the same: he masterfully composed a purely diatonic work in which no seventh or diminished chord appears, and made a copy in ' Old Keys ', which had already gone out of fashion. With his Os justi ... Bruckner had created one of the most demanding a cappella choir works in all of church music and had proven his superiority, also over Cecilianism. In a letter he pointed out with biting irony that he had composed everything “exactly according to the instructions”.

Individual evidence

1. ^ Ansfelden parish archives, Baptismal Register 04 (IV), births 1819–1826. Picture number A20GGGG04_00009. (No longer available online.) Data.matricula.info, archived from the original on July 24, 2016 ; accessed on February 1, 2016 . 
2. ↑ He should have tested us! Retrieved December 12, 2019 . 
3. ^ Elisabeth Maier: Anton Bruckner as Linz cathedral and parish organist , aspects of a vocation. With a contribution by Ikarus Kaiser : The cathedral and parish bandmaster Karl Borromäus Waldeck and the organ of the parish church in Linz . In: Theophil Antonicek, Andreas Lindner, Klaus Petermayr (Eds.): Anton Bruckner, Documents and Studies , Volume 15. Vienna 2009. P. 60f.
4. ^ Finding a Bruckner score. In:  Die Zeit , supplement Abendblatt , No. 767/1904, November 14, 1904, p. 2, bottom center (online at ANNO ).
5. ^ Official section. In:  Wiener Zeitung , July 10, 1886, p. 1 (online at ANNO ).
6. ↑ Pfarrarchiv St. Charles Borromaeus (Parish 04) Death Register (Signature 03-15) 1887-1897. In: ICARUS4all, Matricula, online , image number 02-Tod_0197, accessed on February 15, 2019.
7. ↑ Vienna . At anton-bruckner.heimat.eu, accessed on February 1, 2016
8. ↑ ^{a b c d} Hans-Hubert Schönzeler: Bruckner . Musikwissenschaftlicher Verlag, Vienna 1974, ISBN 3-900270-00-2 .
9. ↑ ^{a b c d} Karl Laux: Bruckner . Breitkopf & Härtel, Wiebaden 1947.
10. ^ Anton Bruckner and women - bad luck in love, luck in music. In: CulturaLista! September 8, 2019, accessed September 14, 2019 . 
11. ↑ Hans-Joachim Hinrichsen: "Half genius, half idiot". Hans von Bülow's judgment on Anton Bruckner . In: IBG-Mitteilungsblatt . No. 55 , December 2000, p. 21-24 .
12. ^ William Carragan: The Bruckner Brand, Part 1 - The Three-Theme Exposition
13. ^ William Carragan: The Bruckner Brand, Part 2 - The Five-Part Song Form
14. ↑ brucknerbund-ansfelden.at
15. ^ Hermann Goldbacher: Monuments, memorial plaques, inscriptions in: Tausend Jahre Steyr. Festschrift on the occasion of the city anniversary, published by the association “Thousand Years of Steyr”. Druck- und Verlagsgesellschaft Gutenberg, Linz 1980, pp. 32–33
16. ↑ ^{a b c d} Bruckner's complete edition: Kitzler study book facsimile
17. ↑ Bruckner's Complete Edition: Small Church Music Works
18. ↑ elbling-verlag.de: OS JUSTI (WAB 30) (SATB)
19. ↑ Bruckner's Complete Edition: Songs and Secular Choirs
20. ↑ ^{a b} Bruckner's Complete Edition: Early Orchestral Works and Instrumental Pieces

This version was added to the list of articles worth reading on August 9, 2006 .