Sometimes Bruckner's works are referred to by WAB numbers, from the
Werkverzeichnis Anton Bruckner, a catalogue of Bruckner's works edited by .
Symphonies "Bruckner expanded the concept of the symphonic form in ways that have never been witnessed before or since. ... When listening to a Bruckner symphony, one encounters some of the most complex symphonic writing ever created. As scholars study Bruckner's scores they continue to revel in the complexity of Bruckner's creative logic." Bruckner composed eleven symphonies, the first, the
Study Symphony in F minor in 1863, the last, the unfinished
Symphony No. 9 in D minor in 1887–96. With the exception of
Symphony No. 4 (
Romantic), none of Bruckner's symphonies originally had a subtitle and in the case of those that now do, the nicknames or subtitles did not originate with the composer.
Style , 1886 Bruckner's symphonies are scored for a fairly standard orchestra of
woodwinds in pairs, four
horns, two or three trumpets, three trombones, tuba (from the second version of the
Fourth),
timpani and
strings. The later symphonies increase this complement, but not by much. Notable is the use of
Wagner tubas in his last three symphonies. Only the
Eighth has
harp, and percussion besides timpani in all versions. (The
Seventh, in some versions, features a single
cymbal crash alongside a
triangle roll at the climax of the second movement). Bruckner's style of orchestral writing was criticised by his Viennese contemporaries (Eduard Hanslick and his circle), but by the middle of the twentieth century,
musicologists recognised that his orchestration was modelled after the sound of his primary instrument, the
pipe organ,
i.e., alternating between two groups of instruments, as when changing from one manual of the organ to another.
Structure The structure of Bruckner's symphonies is in a way an extension of that of
Ludwig van Beethoven's symphonies. Bruckner's symphonies are in four movements. •
The first movement, in Time signature| or Time signature|, is, from
Symphony No. 2 on, an
allegro in modified
sonata form with three thematic groups. The first group is mostly displayed in
piano or
pianissimo on a
tremolo of the string instruments and is, after a long
crescendo, repeated in
tutti. The second group, melodious and in ABA'
lied form, is mostly of
contrapuntal structure. The third group, mostly
rhythmical and often in
unison, is sometimes a variant of the first group, as in
Symphony No. 4. The often extensive
development is followed by a modified and somewhat shortened
reprise and a powerful
coda. •
The second movement, mostly an
adagio in , is generally in ABA′B′A″ lied form. The first thematic group, sometime rhythmical, is developed and magnified in the third and fifth parts. The second group is mostly a
melody in cantilena form. The adagio is put in third position in the first version of
Symphony No. 2, and in
Symphony No. 8 and
Symphony No. 9. •
The scherzo in Time signature| and in
minor mode is often fiery. The trio, which can be very short, is more melodious and often in
Ländler form. The
da capo reprise, in Bruckner's early symphonies, ends with a short, powerful coda. The revised version of the
Symphony No. 4 features a scherzo – the "Hunt scherzo" – in which the outer sections are in and in
major mode. •
The Finale, in or , is, as the first movement, an allegro in modified sonata form with three thematic groups. The first group, often a kind of
introduction, is followed by a second, melodious and often contrapuntal group, and a third, rhythmical and often in unison, group, which is sometimes a variant of the first group, as in
Symphony No. 2. The development, often of dramatic character, is followed by a less formal reprise, which is sometimes inverted (C′B′A') as in
Symphony No. 7, and a coda in which the first thematic group of the first movement is magnified. In the coda of
Symphony No. 8, the first thematic group of all four movements are magnified.
Nicholas Temperley writes in
The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians (1980) that Bruckner Deryck Cooke adds, also in the
New Grove, In a concert review
Bernard Holland described parts of the first movements of Bruckner's sixth and seventh symphonies as follows: "There is the same slow, broad introduction, the drawn-out climaxes that grow, pull back and then grow some more – a sort of musical coitus interruptus." In the 2001 second edition of the
New Grove, called the Bruckner symphonies "monumental in scope and design, combining lyricism with an inherently polyphonic design... Bruckner favored an approach to large-scale form that relied more on large-scale thematic and harmonic juxtaposition. Over the course of his output, one senses an ever-increasing interest in cyclic integration that culminates in his masterpiece, the Symphony No. 8 in C minor, a work whose final page integrates the main themes of all four movements simultaneously." . In 1990 the American artist
Jack Ox gave a paper called "The Systematic Translation of Anton Bruckner's Eighth Symphony into a series of Thirteen Paintings" at the Bruckner Symposium in Linz Austria; here she structurally analysed all of the Eighth Symphony's themes. She then proceeded to show how she mapped this musical data into a series of twelve large, painted visualisations. The conference report was published in 1993.
The Bruckner Problem "The Bruckner Problem" refers to the difficulties and complications resulting from the numerous contrasting versions and editions that exist for most of the symphonies. The term gained currency following the publication (in 1969) of an article dealing with the subject, "The Bruckner Problem Simplified" by the musicologist
Deryck Cooke, which brought the issue to the attention of English-speaking musicians. The revision issue has generated controversy. A common explanation for the multiple versions is that Bruckner was willing to revise his work on the basis of harsh, uninformed criticism from his colleagues. "The result of such advice was to awaken immediately all the insecurity in the non-musical part of Bruckner's personality", the musicologist
Deryck Cooke writes. "Lacking all self-assurance in such matters, he felt obliged to bow to the opinions of his friends, 'the experts,' to permit ... revisions and even to help make them in some cases." This explanation was widely accepted when it was championed by the Bruckner scholar
Robert Haas, who was the chief editor of the first critical editions of Bruckner's works published by the
International Bruckner Society; it continues to be found in the majority of program notes and biographical sketches concerning Bruckner. Haas's work was endorsed by the Nazis and so fell out of favour after the war as
the Allies enforced
denazification. Haas's rival
Leopold Nowak was appointed to produce a whole new critical edition of Bruckner's works. He and others such as and the American conductor
Leon Botstein argued that Haas's explanation is at best idle speculation, at worst a shady justification of Haas's own editorial decisions. Also, it has been pointed out that Bruckner often started work on a symphony just days after finishing the one before. As Cooke writes, "In spite of continued opposition and criticism, and many well-meaning exhortations to caution from his friends, he looked neither to right nor left, but simply got down to work on the next symphony." The first versions of Bruckner's symphonies often presented an instrumental, contrapuntal and rhythmic complexity (
Brucknerian rhythm "2 + 3", use of
quintuplets), the originality of which has not been understood and which were considered unperformable by the musicians. In order to make them "performable", the symphonies, except Symphonies
No. 5,
No. 6 and
No. 7, have been revised several times. Consequently, there are several versions and editions, mainly of Symphonies
3,
4 and
8, which have been deeply emended by Bruckner's friends and associates, and it is not always possible to tell whether the emendations had Bruckner's direct authorisation. Looking for authentic versions of the symphonies,
Robert Haas produced during the 1930s a first
critical edition of Bruckner's works based on the original scores. After
World War II other scholars (
Leopold Nowak,
William Carragan,
Benjamin-Gunnar Cohrs et al.) carried on with this work.
Sacred choral works Bruckner was a devoutly religious man, and composed numerous sacred works. He wrote a
Te Deum, five
psalm settings (including
Psalm 150 in the 1890s), a
Festive cantata, a
Magnificat, about forty
motets (among them eight settings of
Tantum ergo, and three settings of both
Christus factus est and
Ave Maria), and at least seven
Masses. The three early Masses (
Windhaager Messe,
Kronstorfer Messe and
Messe für den Gründonnerstag), composed between 1842 and 1844, were short Austrian
Landmessen for use in local churches and did not always set all the numbers of the ordinary. His
Requiem in D minor of 1849 is . It shows the clear influence of
Mozart's Requiem (also in D minor) and similar works of Michael Haydn. The seldom performed
Missa solemnis, composed in 1854 for Friedrich Mayer's
installation, was the last major work Bruckner composed before he started to study with Simon Sechter, with the possible exception of
Psalm 146, a large work, for SATB soloists, double choir and orchestra. The three Masses which Bruckner wrote in the 1860s and revised later on in his life are more often performed. The Masses numbered
1 in D minor and
3 in F minor are for solo singers, mixed choir, organ
ad libitum and orchestra, while
No. 2 in E minor is for mixed choir and a small group of wind instruments, and was written in an attempt to meet the Cecilians halfway. The
Cecilians wanted to rid church music of instruments entirely.
No. 3 was clearly meant for concert, rather than liturgical performance, and it is the only one of his Masses in which he set the first line of the Gloria, "Gloria in excelsis Deo", and of the Credo, "Credo in unum Deum", to music. In concert performances of the other Masses, these lines are intoned by a tenor soloist in the way a priest would, with a line of
plainsong.
Secular vocal works ,
Wagner,
Schubert,
Schumann,
Weber,
Mozart,
Beethoven,
Gluck,
Haydn,
Handel,
Bach. (Silhouette drawing by
Otto Böhler) As a young man Bruckner sang in men's choirs and wrote music for them.
Bruckner's secular choral music was mostly written for choral societies. The texts are always in German. Some of these works were written specifically for private occasions such as weddings, funerals, birthdays or name-days, many of these being dedicated to friends and acquaintances of the composer. This music is rarely performed. The biographer
Derek Watson characterises the pieces for men's choir as being "of little concern to the non-German listener". Of about 30 such pieces, a most unusual and evocative composition is the song
Abendzauber (1878) for men's choir, man soloist,
yodelers and four
horns. Bruckner also composed 20
Lieder, of which only a few have been published. The Lieder that Bruckner composed in 1861–1862 during his tuition by Otto Kitzler have not been WAB classified. In 2013 the
Austrian National Library was able to acquire a facsimile of the
Kitzler-Studienbuch, the autograph manuscript hitherto unavailable to the public. The facsimile is edited by and in Band XXV of Bruckner's ''''. Bruckner composed also five
name-day cantatas, as well as two patriotic cantatas,
Germanenzug and
Helgoland, on texts by
August Silberstein.
Germanenzug (WAB 70), composed in 1863–1864, was Bruckner's first published work.
Helgoland (WAB 71), for
TTBB men's choir and large orchestra, was composed in 1893 and was Bruckner's last completed composition and the only secular vocal work that he thought worthy enough to bequeath to the Austrian National Library.
Other works During his apprenticeship with Otto Kitzler, Bruckner composed
three short orchestral pieces and a
March in D minor as orchestration exercises. At that time he also wrote an
Overture in G minor. These works, which are occasionally included in recordings of the symphonies, show already hints of Bruckner's emerging style. A
String Quartet in C minor and the additional
Rondo in C minor, also composed in 1862, were discovered decades after Bruckner's death. The later
String Quintet in F Major of 1879, contemporaneous with the Fifth and Sixth symphonies, has been frequently performed. The
Intermezzo in D minor, which was intended to replace its scherzo, is not frequently performed. A
Symphonisches Präludium (Symphonic Prelude) in C minor was discovered by Mahler scholar Paul Banks in the Austrian National Library in 1974 in a piano duet transcription. Banks ascribed it to
Gustav Mahler, and had it orchestrated by Albrecht Gürsching. In 1985 Wolfgang Hiltl, who had retrieved the original score by Rudolf Krzyzanowski, had it published by Doblinger (issued in 2002). According to the scholar
Benjamin-Gunnar Cohrs, the stylistic examination of this "prelude" shows that it is all Bruckner's. Possibly Bruckner had given a draft-score to his pupil Krzyzanowski, which already contained the string parts and some important lines for woodwind and brass, as an exercise in instrumentation.
Bruckner's Two Aequali of 1847 for three trombones are solemn, brief works. The
Military march of 1865 is an occasional work as a gesture of appreciation for the
Militär-Kapelle der Jäger-Truppe of Linz.
Abendklänge of 1866 is a short
character piece for violin and piano. Bruckner also wrote a Lancer-Quadrille () and a few other
small works for piano. Most of this music was written for teaching purposes. Sixteen other pieces for piano, which Bruckner composed in 1862 during his tuition by Kitzler, have not been WAB classified. A facsimile of these pieces is found in the
Kitzler-Studienbuch. Bruckner never wrote an opera, and as much as he was a fan of Wagner's music dramas, he was uninterested in drama. In 1893 he thought about writing an opera called
Astra based on a novel by Gertrud Bollé-Hellmund. Although he attended performances of Wagner's operas, he was much more interested in the music than the plot. After seeing Wagner's
Götterdämmerung, he asked: "Tell me, why did they burn the woman at the end?" Bruckner also never wrote an oratorio.
Bruckner Gesamtausgabe Published by in Vienna, the '''' (Bruckner's Critical Complete Edition) comprises three successive editions. • The first edition (1934–1944, Editorial Head: Robert Haas) included 'hybrid' scores for Symphonies 2 and 8 and other similar conflations for some other revised works. • In the second edition (1951–1989, Editorial Head:
Leopold Nowak) Nowak
et al. went about publishing several versions of some works, in the process correcting some mistakes of Haas. After Nowak's resignation, (1990 onwards, Editorial Head: Herbert Vogg) William Carragan, Paul Hawkshaw,
Benjamin-Gunnar Cohrs et al. are in the process of reviewing and further correcting the work of Haas and Nowak. • In 2011 it was decided to issue a new edition (editorial board: Paul Hawkshaw, Thomas Leibnitz, Andreas Lindner, Angela Pachovsky, Thomas Röder), which will include the content of the current edition and integrate it with sources that had been retrieved since its publication. == Reception in the 20th century ==