Symphony No. 8 (Bruckner)

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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.

Contents

[edit] Description

The symphony has four movements. The total duration varies by performance and the edition of the score used, but is typically around 80 minutes long.

[edit] First movement

The symphony begins in a tonally ambiguous manner with a theme that has the same rhythm as the main theme of the first movement of Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 in D minor. 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 rythym 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 oeuvre). 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.

Bruckner said 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!".

[edit] Second movement

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 and magniloquent 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.

[edit] 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 major 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.

[edit] 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 symphony, 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.

Indeed, it could be said fairly of this movement that it contains as much contrapuntal ingenuity as its counterpart in the Fifth symphony, though the contrast between fugue and chorale is less marked or obvious and more refined. The way in which the symphony as a whole is integrated is considerably more sophisticated than in the Fifth, though the indications are that Bruckner's Ninth symphony had greater ambitions still. However, unfortunately the composer did not live to complete the monumental Finale of this later work, and the Eighth symphony remains his last completed symphony, and the best testament to Bruckner's ideal of the symphony. Though Bruckner's music remains, curiously enough, controversial amongst musicologists and the listening public (and opinions are often correspondingly polarised), this symphony has arguably done more to win Bruckner's music a strong position in the symphonic repertoire - with both musical intellectuals and the general public - than any of his other works, even the Seventh and Ninth symphonies.

[edit] Versions

[edit] Surviving Sketches

In addition to the completed scores of this work, many more 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 minor. The final opening is much less defined and hovers in more of a B flat major region, though it suggests several keys.

[edit] 1887 Version

This was Bruckner's first version of the symphony. After Hermann Levi refused to perform it, Bruckner decided to make changes. This original version was first published in an edition by Leopold Nowak in 1972. It has been recorded by Dennis Russell Davies, Vladimir Fedoseyev, Eliahu Inbal and Georg Tintner. This version 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 (even than that of the Haas edition of the 1890 score, which controversially [for many] restores several cuts [see below]), and has a different instrumentation (the most significant consistent difference being that the 1890 version has triple rather than double woodwind). The double woodwind of the 1887 version gives a somewhat more austere character to the overall sound of the work.

[edit] 1888 Adagio

A fair copy of an intermediate version of the Adagio with an estimated date of 1888 exists in the Austrian National Library. It has been recorded by Akira Naito with the Tokyo New City Orchestra. A MIDI version is also available [1].

[edit] 1890 Version

This version, which survives in an autograph score by Bruckner, is the most commonly heard form of the symphony. The scoring 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 is most often heard in two forms, these being the following scores:

[edit] Haas edition (published 1939)

Robert Haas included some passages from the 1887 version that were changed or omitted in the autograph score because he thought that Bruckner made these changes only under pressure from friends such as Franz Schalk. The most significant of these omissions (and therefore of Haas's restorations) are in the Adagio and Finale of the work. In addition, in one instance in the Finale, Haas may have also inserted some music that he himself wrote, albeit based on Bruckner's sketches [2]. In so doing, in this particular case, it appears that he may have discarded some of Bruckner's own music. 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. 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" [3]. This view is controversial, however, because the Haas version represents a composite that was never approved by Bruckner himself.

[edit] Nowak edition (published 1955)

Leopold Nowak in his edition rejected Haas's approach, sticking closely to Bruckner's autograph score. Since its publication Nowak's edition has become more popular than Haas's, although Haas's is still often performed.

[edit] 1892 first published version (edited by Lienau)

This contains some relatively minor changes from the 1890 version thought to have been influenced by Franz Schalk: it is not clear to what extent these were made or approved of by Bruckner. It is available in complete recordings by Wilhelm Furtwängler, Hans Knappertsbusch, Serge Koussevitzky, Josef Krips, William Steinberg, George Szell and Bruno Walter.

[edit] Instrumentation

The 1887 version requires an instrumentation of piccolo, one pair each flutes, oboes, clarinets, bassoons, with four horns, three trumpets, three trombones, a quartet of Wagner tubas, and a single contabass tuba, along with cymbals, timpani, harp and strings. The 1890 version deletes the piccolo part, adds one more of each of the other woodwinds, and asks for 3 harps (playing in unison for greater volume). In addition, the 1890 score calls for eight horns, four of which double as Wagner tubas at various points in the symphony. This was, in total, the largest orchestra Bruckner ever used (since the Ninth Symphony, which uses an otherwise identical orchestra, does not require harps).

[edit] Programme

At the insistence of his circle, Bruckner half-heartedly gave a programme to this Symphony despite his preference for absolute music. The Scherzo represents the German folk figure of German Michael, he said, and the beginning of the Finale represents a parade for the Emperor to whom the work is dedicated. 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.

[edit] Discography

The first commercial recording of part of the symphony was made by Otto Klemperer with the Berlin State Opera Orchestra in 1924 for Polydor. It included only the slow movement, in the 1892 edition.

The oldest performance of the complete work surviving on record is a concert by Bruno Walter with the New York Philharmonic from 1941. It also used the 1892 edition.

The first commercial recording of the complete symphony was made by Eugen Jochum with the Hamburg State Philharmonic Orchestra in 1949 for Deutsche Grammophon.

All versions considered, this work lasts about 80 minutes, with the faster performances fitting on one standard 12cm compact disk. 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, such as Georg Tintner on the Naxos label. Takashi Asahina preferred the Haas score too, but with a Japanese orchestra he did record a disc that compared snippets from the Haas and Nowak editions.

This work has also been recorded on DVD Video. The World Philharmonic Orchestra chose to perform this symphony for their inaugural concert conducted by Carlo Maria Giulini. Another DVD is with Zubin Mehta conducting the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra.

[edit] Notable Recordings

[edit] External links

[edit] References

  • ↑  Georg Tintner, booklet notes for Naxos 8.501101 (complete Bruckner symphonies)
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