This Week in Classical Music: August 30, 2021.Bruckner and more.Anton Bruckner was born on September 4th of 1824 in a small town of Ansfelden near Linz.We love Bruckner, we’ve written about him on a number of occasions, and presented many of his symphonies (take a look here).One symphony that so far was missing from our library is Bruckner’s Symphony no. 2.As so many other compositions, it has a rather torturous history.Even though it is listed as number two, it’s the fourth symphony that Bruckner composed.Bruckner was a late starter: the very first symphony he wrote, in F minor without a number (but sometimes called “Symphony 00,” or “Study Symphony”) was an immature attempt composed in 1863; it was premiered more than a century later, in 1972, and is almost never performed.Then, in 1866, came Symphony no. 1, which Bruckner, famously unsure of himself, rewrote a number of times, and which exists in several versions.But at least this one Bruckner felt was worth performing.Three years later, in 1869, he composed Symphony in D minor.At first, Bruckner called it his symphony number two, but after Otto Dessoff, a prominent composer and conductor with the Vienna Philharmonic, asked him, "But where is the main theme [of the first movement]?” he removed the designation, wrote on the front page that it was nullified and put number zero instead of two.Thus, this symphony is often called “Number 0,” or, in German, “Die Nullte.”By 1872, at the time he composed what we now know as his Symphony no. 2, Bruckner was living in Vienna and teaching at three different institutions: music theory at the Vienna Conservatory, harmony and counterpoint at the University of Vienna and piano at St Anna’s teacher-training college for women.A great organist, he also performed in Austria and other countries, and had little time left for composing.Nonetheless, the Second symphony turned out to be his largest, most ambitious and sophisticated piece up to that point.Bruckner attempted to dedicate the symphony to Franz Liszt, but Liszt rejected the offer (we can only imagine how terribly Bruckner was hurt).He later offered this symphony and the next one, number three, to Brahms, who selected the latter.Thus, Symphony no. 2 isthe only one of Bruckner’s symphonies without a dedication.As always, Bruckner, nervous and unconfident of his gifts, wrote several versions, and had several printed editions.We’ll hear the Symphony in its second major revised version, from 1877, in the so-called Haas edition.The Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra is conducted by Bernard Haitink in this 1969 recording (here).
Bruckner was not the only composer born this week.Darius Milhaud, the French composer and one of Les Six, was born on September 4th of 1892.And on September 5th we have four more birthdays: Johann Christian Bach, the youngest of Johann Sebastian’s eleven sons, known as “the London Bach,” the Jewish-German composer Giacomo Meyerbeer, born in 1791, who was probably the most popular opera composer of the 19th century, John Cage, one of the most prominent avant-garde American composers, in 1912, and Amy Marcy Cheney Beach, now more popular than ever, in1867.
We’d also like to mention three conductors, all born on September 1st: the great opera conductor Tullio Serafin in 1878, Seiji Ozawa in 1935 and Leonard Slatkin in 1944.
Anton Bruckner 2021
This Week in Classical Music: August 30, 2021. Bruckner and more. Anton Bruckner was born on September 4th of 1824 in a small town of Ansfelden near Linz. We love Bruckner, we’ve
written about him on a number of occasions, and presented many of his symphonies (take a look here). One symphony that so far was missing from our library is Bruckner’s Symphony no. 2. As so many other compositions, it has a rather torturous history. Even though it is listed as number two, it’s the fourth symphony that Bruckner composed. Bruckner was a late starter: the very first symphony he wrote, in F minor without a number (but sometimes called “Symphony 00,” or “Study Symphony”) was an immature attempt composed in 1863; it was premiered more than a century later, in 1972, and is almost never performed. Then, in 1866, came Symphony no. 1, which Bruckner, famously unsure of himself, rewrote a number of times, and which exists in several versions. But at least this one Bruckner felt was worth performing. Three years later, in 1869, he composed Symphony in D minor. At first, Bruckner called it his symphony number two, but after Otto Dessoff, a prominent composer and conductor with the Vienna Philharmonic, asked him, "But where is the main theme [of the first movement]?” he removed the designation, wrote on the front page that it was nullified and put number zero instead of two. Thus, this symphony is often called “Number 0,” or, in German, “Die Nullte.” By 1872, at the time he composed what we now know as his Symphony no. 2, Bruckner was living in Vienna and teaching at three different institutions: music theory at the Vienna Conservatory, harmony and counterpoint at the University of Vienna and piano at St Anna’s teacher-training college for women. A great organist, he also performed in Austria and other countries, and had little time left for composing. Nonetheless, the Second symphony turned out to be his largest, most ambitious and sophisticated piece up to that point. Bruckner attempted to dedicate the symphony to Franz Liszt, but Liszt rejected the offer (we can only imagine how terribly Bruckner was hurt). He later offered this symphony and the next one, number three, to Brahms, who selected the latter. Thus, Symphony no. 2 isthe only one of Bruckner’s symphonies without a dedication. As always, Bruckner, nervous and unconfident of his gifts, wrote several versions, and had several printed editions. We’ll hear the Symphony in its second major revised version, from 1877, in the so-called Haas edition. The Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra is conducted by Bernard Haitink in this 1969 recording (here).
Bruckner was not the only composer born this week. Darius Milhaud, the French composer and one of Les Six, was born on September 4th of 1892. And on September 5th we have four more birthdays: Johann Christian Bach, the youngest of Johann Sebastian’s eleven sons, known as “the London Bach,” the Jewish-German composer Giacomo Meyerbeer, born in 1791, who was probably the most popular opera composer of the 19th century, John Cage, one of the most prominent avant-garde American composers, in 1912, and Amy Marcy Cheney Beach, now more popular than ever, in1867.
We’d also like to mention three conductors, all born on September 1st: the great opera conductor Tullio Serafin in 1878, Seiji Ozawa in 1935 and Leonard Slatkin in 1944.