Symphony in D minor (Bruckner)

The so-called “zeroth” symphony in D minor ( WAB 100) is a symphony by Anton Bruckner .

History of origin

The work was written in 1869. In the previous year the composer had just moved from Linz to Vienna and took up the position that had become professor for figured bass and counterpoint at the Conservatory of the Society of Friends of Music , which had become vacant after the death of his teacher Simon Sechter . The nervous disorders caused by overexertion in 1867 were overcome, and an extremely successful concert tour, which led the celebrated organ virtuoso Bruckner to Nancy in France at the end of April 1869 , and finally to Paris a short time later , should also have spurred his compositional energies. The D minor symphony was written in a time of favorable external circumstances. The work was written between January 24th and September 12th, 1869.

Overcoming his nervous crisis and moving to Vienna may have awakened the need in Bruckner to try a new symphonic beginning after the First. In addition to the “zeros”, sketches for the first movement of an unexecuted B flat major symphony from the same period are evidence of this. It seems as if the composer first wanted to try out new solutions in the “zeroth” before he then carried them out in perfect form in later symphonies. The third symphony in particular benefits from the experience of the “zeroth”, even in the ninth this influence is still partly noticeable. Incidentally, both symphonies share the key of D minor with her. If one attests to the “zeros”, namely their second and fourth movements, often having a certain unfinished appearance, then their importance for the later development of the symphonic composer Bruckner should not be underestimated.

For naming

Later Bruckner was increasingly hostile to his composition. This attitude was probably triggered by the statement made by Felix Otto Dessoff , the Viennese court opera conductor at the time , who, after Bruckner had presented him with the score of the symphony for review, asked in confusion where the main theme in the first movement was actually. Bruckner, who was very sensitive to criticism throughout his life, withdrew the work in 1871. When the composer arranged his scores in 1895, a year before his death, for the purpose of passing them on to posterity, he finally wrote the notes on the title page of the D minor symphony: “invalid”, “just an attempt”, “completely void” and “ canceled ”and underlined his displeasure with the composition with a crossed-out zero. The work was consequently only found in the estate. The full premiere took place on October 12, 1924 as part of the events for Bruckner's hundredth birthday in Klosterneuburg under the direction of Franz Moißl . The same conductor had already performed the Scherzo and Finale of the symphony on May 17 of the same year. The work was also published for the first time in 1924.

For a long time it was unclear when the “zeroth” was actually composed. August Göllerich and Max Auer , the authors of the first Bruckner biography, took zero as the ordinal number and concluded from this, since the score is clearly dated to 1869, that the work must have been written in a lost early version before the first symphony , completed in 1866 , and thus probably still a product from Bruckner's student days with Otto Kitzler or was composed shortly afterwards. The time when the symphony was composed was set to be 1863/1864. In Bruckner research, this thesis is now considered untenable, as there are no relevant documents and the dating of the score speaks against it anyway. This u. a. Paul Hawkshaw and Bo Marschner unequivocally stated.

The zero on the title page does not stand for “composed before No. 1”, but for “invalid”. Thus, after the F minor symphony of 1863 and the first symphony of 1866, the “zeroth” is Bruckner's third completed work of this genre. Significantly, the original score also bore the title Symphony No. 2 in D minor . The work could basically be described as the "canceled second symphony", analogous to the F minor symphony, which is the "canceled first symphony". The popular term “zeros” should be avoided, not least because it implies a wrong chronology.

occupation

2 flutes , 2 oboes , 2 clarinets , 2 bassoons , 4 horns , 2 trumpets , 3 trombones , timpani , strings

To the music

The playing time is about 40 minutes. Although the work is overshadowed by the other Bruckner symphonies, it has received increasing attention since the middle of the 20th century, primarily through CD recordings.

First movement: Allegro

The work begins with an ostinato in D minor in the strings:

The second theme begins in A major:

Third theme, in F major:

The first movement (D minor, 4/4 time), the longest and most weighty of the symphony, is very similar in character to the first movement of the first symphony, with which it also has a playing time of around 13 minutes. The beginning on a bass stinato is also reminiscent of the previous work. The sixteenth-note theme, which is layered over the bass figure, no longer has much in common with the rhythmically emphasized melody of the first, which moves in tight intervals: it is primarily based on fifths and fourths and only touches the third temporarily. This main theme casts its shadow over the entire later work of the composer, as here for the first time the motif appears which dominates large parts of the Third Symphony and the Te Deum in particular and to which Bruckner probably wanted to assign a leading role in the finale of the Ninth Symphony . As in the first, the topic goes through a short increase, after which the second topic begins. It is a vocal melody that appears first in the violins and is still clearly based on the corresponding theme of the first symphony. This is followed by a transition through the head motif of the main theme. The third theme, in which the Kyrie of the F minor Mass is echoed, is presented again as a song, first in the strings. Then the brass players join in before the woodwinds move on to the development. This first takes up the second topic again and gradually leads it to a tuttie, which is followed by restless sixteenth notes. The third theme then emerges like a chorale. In the flutes the main theme appears calmly, the extensive and energetic processing of which soon takes up the rest of the development. The recapitulation repeats the exposition in slightly varied and shortened form. A further development of the main theme serves as the coda, which, after being briefly interrupted by the third theme, rears up rapidly and wildly at the end.

Second movement: Andante

The second movement ( B flat major , 4/4 time) can be viewed as a free sonata movement .

First topic:

Second topic:

The difference to the slow movements of the “valid” symphonies lies in the fact that it is more at rest than it is aimed purposefully towards a climax. There is also a passage shortly before the coda with increased dynamics and the use of brass, but in comparison it is very short and stands out much less clearly from the movement. The thematic constellation is similar to that in the Adagio of the First: The movement begins with a broad first theme reminiscent of a chorale, followed by a more fluid and more vocal second theme. A third theme, characterized by a dotted head motif, emerges from this. This is followed by an executive-like episode in which all three topics are briefly touched upon. The first theme is accompanied in the recapitulation by pizzicato eighth notes in the bass. The second topic introduces the brief climax already mentioned, the third topic is missing - only the head motif is enlarged again. The andante ends pianissimo in the strings.

Third movement: Scherzo. Presto trio. Slower and quieter

The Scherzo of the “zeros” (D minor, ¾ time) is more compact than that of the first symphony, but is not inferior in exuberance. It begins fortissimo with a chromatically rising theme that is somewhat reminiscent of the “rocket themes” of the Mannheim school . Its continuation is more dance-like. These elements form the basis of a concise sonata movement. The G major Trio is reminiscent of a quiet Landler . After the da capo of the Scherzo, Bruckner ends the movement in a brief coda in D major .

Theme of the trio:

Fourth movement: Finale. Moderato - Allegro vivace

The finale (D minor), with only about 9 minutes playing time, an unusually short final movement for Bruckner, begins with a slow introduction in 12/8 time. An elegiac string theme, accompanied by eighth notes from the woodwind, starts twice, but is then interrupted by trumpet fanfares, which introduce the extremely lively Allegro section in 4/4 time. Its main theme is immediately apparent due to its large leaps in intervals ( octave down, decime up). It is closely related to that of the first movement. The second theme with its rapid triplets has no counterpart in any other Bruckner symphony. It is much more reminiscent of the style of the finale of Bruckner's early string quartet . The main theme (now in major) also serves as the third theme, giving the movement rondo-like features. A calm transition leads back to the introduction, which appears again slightly changed. Then suddenly and violently the development begins with contrapuntal elaborations of the main theme. The recapitulation is linked to the development, which can be seen in the fact that only the secondary theme appears here in full and is then immediately subjected to its own processing. At the end of this, the main theme reappears and, after a short, calm insertion, the symphony ends in a D major stretta.

Slow introduction:

Main topic:

Second topic:

This finale seems less significant in itself than because many stylistic devices from later symphonies are already in the bud. Bruckner takes up the idea of ​​a slow introduction in the fifth symphony . The main theme is very similar to the main themes of the final movements of the fourth , fifth and ninth symphonies. In the latter two cases, there is even a large proportion of contrapuntal elements. There are also parallels to the development in the last movement of Bruckner's string quintet . Finally, note how closely the beginning of the sentence corresponds to that of the sixth finale .

literature

• Renate Ulm (Ed.): The Bruckner Symphonies. Origin, interpretation, effect. Bärenreiter, Kassel 2005, ISBN 3-7618-1590-5 .

Web links

• Discography
• Symphony in Dm (“number 0”), WAB 100 (score) on musopen.org

Individual evidence

1. ↑ z. B. the record recording (1975) by the conductor Hortense von Gelmini with the Nuremberg Symphony Orchestra , which was awarded in the 2001 "Bruckner Marathon" in Carlsbad (California), reissued as a CD in the USA and uploaded to youtube