Anton Bruckner

* Symphony Nr.0 in D-Minor "Die Nullte"
* Symphony Nr.8 in C-Minor (1890/Ed.Nowak)

Israel Philharmonic Orchestra/Zubin Mehta
SONY S2K 45864 [2CD] (DDD) TT: 58:45 + 63:51

Summary for the Busy Executive:  Major Symphonies in Minor Keys (=The Usual
Super-Chug-Chug-Chug!)

The one who kindly and humbly uttered that the person gallery of Great
Composers inheld also a bunch of weirdos, ought to have got it right.
While some of them have their extensive biography full of stories in which
they might just more grotesque or disturbing then the usual schablonic
image tells about (like Wagner), there are also those who should win some
points if their extensive biography was read (like Bruckner).

The standard image that is attached to Bruckner is a poorly educated
peasant, who was naive enough to give small coins to the conductor as a
sign of appreciation with the performance, and at his Warholian 15 Minutes
of Royal Audience, asked the Emperor to tell Eduard Hanslick to be kinder
and not bark so much on him and his music.  The real truth is that after
that some researching pundits managed to dig up some odd anecdotes a whole
afterworld was deluded to wiew Bruckner as a sad sick little man who in
gigasized and overwrought symphonies found a medium to scream out to the
world his complex of feeling inferior for being such a flawed and immature
person.  Bruckner always gave a first impression of being rather humble,
honest, uncomplicated, unpretetious and pieous - and it is only from this
perspective he can be described as a simple man.  He was warmhearted as a
child, but naivety may not be confused with lack of intelligence.  He was
actually neither a peasant, what a stubborn rumour claim.  His clane had
in fact been bourgeouis in four generations, but growing up isolated in
St:Florian in the Vormaerz-period before the changes of 1848 formed his
character.  His thoughts was always in another world and political turmoil
didn't bother him at all.  So his many polite and begging formulations in
applications are not a sign of buttering, but just his natural way of
express himself in.

Bruckner showed as very sparesome an interest for fine litterature as
for his time.  In his library at his death were only books about music with
one exception (A North Pole Expedition report).  Only once he considered
writing an opera:  "Astra", intended to be in Wagners middle romantic style
a la "Lohengrin", based on Richard Voss novella "Die Toteninsel".  In a
century when many great composers wrote litterary high-class letters, and
litterature and music were by tradition festly tied togetehr, his lack of
interest in it seems even more frappant.  But the thing is that this has
nothing to do with lack of education or academic orientation.  Bruckners
letters are staright, and his way of expressing himself and th factual
content - added to his grammar and beutiful handwriting - shows good
education.  He was also well educated, with highest markst in every
examina, and later on he added studies in, among other things, Latin,
Science and Juridics.  His teaching was rational, and already before 1848
he got a critical note from above for "trying to introduce controversial
and forbidden subjects in the education", and that was Copernicus theories
meant.  Bruckner took much interest in Medicine, and he used to discuss
such matters with the professors at the University in Vienna.  That is good
proof of his brightness and knowledgeableness as they hardly should have
accepted him at all without.

Bruckner was true very conservative and he never questioned authorities,
but he wasn't pride either.  There are a lot of stories left from his
student who tell about fun evenings they spent together with their teacher,
describing him as a man with much warm humour and witty and elaborate
in conversation (especially on music).  He liked dancing and long after
reaching age of 50 he often went to the carneval balls.  He liked good
food and beer and good wine, but apparently never drunk too much.

Generally, as long as accepting verifiable sources, one gets a very
good impression of Bruckner, and it should remain so if one not sometimes
came across stories at which one just can loudly hee-haw.  For example
when reading that Bruckner tried to train his dog to bark "courteously and
welcomingly" as soon as it saw Wagner.  His mania of counting things never
appear closely so bizarre as his mania with corpses.  When Beethoven and
Schubert were moved to their new griphts, Bruckner lost his googles into it
when he tried to get to see as much as possible.  A written request from
Bruckner is saved to the afterworld in which he asks the churchauthorities
in Hoersching to lend him Weiss' cranium.  And after the Mexican Emperor
Maximilian was murdered in Vienna 1888, he wrote to Weinwurm:  "I promise
you on my honour that although I am now very ill, the only thing that
I care for is Mexico and Maximilian.  Please kind Mr.  Weinwurm, send
some relieable person to the Royal Castle, or even better, ask at
Oberhofmeisters office if it will be possible to watch Maximilians corpse,
for example in an open coffin or under glass, or if just the coffin will be
shown.  Please then kindly inform me immideately per telegram, so I don't
come too late.  It is incredibly important for me to get this information".
It is amazing that a person under seeming so hard stress succeeded in
transferring all this energy into the C-Minor symphony which became the
crown on his creating deed.

When Otto Dessof rehearsed the early symphony by Bruckner, which we know
as Nr.0 in D-Minor with the Vienna Philharmonics, he asked Bruckner where
the frist theme in the first movement was.  That was probably the reason
to why Bruckner didn't count it amoung his numbered symphonies.  Stull
the 0th symphony is a very personal work, and marks a great step forward
in Bruckners development.  The opening of it, which confused Dessof, is
Bruckners first real symphonic ostinato.  He used it again in the third
symphony, where it is the background to the main theme.  Five years after
finishing the symphony, and after having learnt to know Beethovens 9th,
Bruckner revided the symphony.  The falling fifths and fourths in the
opening, over a bass of open fifths, is a trace from that, another is the
chromatic ostinato which opens the coda - a method also used in the first
movement of the third symphony and the final to the sixth.  Other important
things in this symphony is the nice second group, and the beginning of the
development which very naturally and almost as sudden as a change in the
weather grows out of the cadenza of the exposition - a method which is
further developed in his next symphony (which now is Nr.2 in C-Minor).
Nr.0 (as well and the 2nd) quotes sacral choirworks; it is the staccatto
short notes from "Gratias" which drives the first movement forwards.
Andante has two suggestions to "Qui tollis peccata mundi" from the E-Minor
mass.  The finale quotes "Osanna" from his Requiem and the 7-voiced
setting of Ave Maria showes up in the bridge between the development
and the repetition.  The symphony in itself has also contributed with
thematic material to later symphonies.  This symphony is an early one,
but it has actually most of important features of a Bruckner symphony
already - for example the characteristic rythm Bruckner was so fond of;
"Ruppf-ruppf-ruppfruppfruppf", which first in his late symphonies improved
to "Chugchugchug-chug-chug--chugchugchug-chug-chug" - and it is not to be
considered harmless.  When Bruckner spoke about one of his early symphonies
as "Das kecke Beserl", it could well have been this one he meant.  Probably
"Die Nullte" has been coupled with the 8th for CD-organisative reasons, but
else it seems to me not being a very bad coupling, as it provides a wiew on
both the development, and the unity of the same, of Bruckners artistery.

Hermann Levi celebrated triumphs with performing some Bruckner symphonies,
enough to make Bruckner call him "my artistic father", but when he spake
critically upon the 8th symphony Bruckner got confused and revided it,
finishing three years later.  Both these two partitures were "improved"
by friends and colleguaes to Bruckner (lesser probably so becasue Bruckner
actually wanted that, and more because that was a necessarity to have
them accepted), and this way the set of versions of the partitures grew to
mess.  Deryck Coocke has showed that in 1903 there were about 25 versions
circulating of the nine symphonies.  Haas did a hard work to bring back
as much as possible to Bruckners originals, and he inserted some parts of
the 1887 partiture into the 1890, what gave a very good result.  Nowak
then edited Haas version of the 8th further, and this is the current
version on the CD.  Actually the orchestration inhold the most significant
differences.  The 1887 version has doubled windsection, and the revision
tripled (so much was the myth of Bruckners demand for mammoth-orchestras
worth!).  Also has the revision three harps and a piccolo (as only example
in Bruckners orchestration).  The main idea of the symphonic construction
wasn't subject for any changes of importance.

In the 8th Bruckner, as the German musicologist Mathias Hansen exkurses
in his funadamental study, took a hard fight with the problems of the
tonalitiy issues.  The tonality is also undefined in the opening of the
symphony.  A violintrempolo in F is the background to the theme in the
low strings, overgoing in the first group which streches over a vast time.
This is a very bold opening of a C-Minor symphony.  Actually, the opening
can closest be suggested to B-Minor, ending in C-Minor.  The rest of the
whole symphony can be perceived as a duel between these two keys.  The
punctuated rythm of the first three bars of the theme are very
characteristic, and the incitament of the theme is used as device
throughout the symphony, often in long fatalous repeats.  Already at
bar 8 the motive is streched out into a new variant and shows both the
potantial of development of Bruckners themes as his skill executing the
process.  This process is very typical for the kind of development all
themes in Bruckners symphoies undergo.  Then the tremolo arises in
chromatic steps, and the low strings gradually take a grip on the
Brucknerrythm (chugchugchug!), and without pause overgoing in a
countermotive in fortissimo.  Exkusrions on the motif of the Brucknerrythm
extends the end of the countermotif and leads to the second group at bar
51, which can be derived from the Brucknerrythmusmotif.  In the second
group of themata the triole-chugchugchug becomes more frappant and there
is the link to the third groups of themata, which are fully soaked up with
trioles.  The second theme is in G-Major, and as rarely in Bruckner the
paralell Eb-Major is reached first in the end of the exposition.

The masterful middle section ought to be one of the most impressing
in Bruckners whole production.  The fanfares in Eb are followed by the
returnh of the opening theme broadly, and carefully overgoes in the
development section.  The second theme appears in retrograde in an exotic
key, whereafter the music settles in the main key, as place very easy to
recognize.  The repeating figure from before loops in the basses while the
charcteristic chug rises in the high strings.  The figure climbs upwards
too until it establishes the dominat key B-Minor, and with that the
second phase of the battle of the keys occur.  The opening in augmented
form returns still in B-Minor, hoovers to C-Major with the underlying
chug-rythm.  Eight horns overdotten the rythm where suddely everything
chnages to Eb-Major, then to F-Minor, and then to C-Minor again, where
everything has been thinned out to just a flute over violoncelli and
basses.  In a crescendo then the whole opening theme is repeated in
C-Minor.  These stur proceeding of the repetition, with three enourmous
tonal jumps, has been constructed in a way that shows that the main key
hasn't yet been etablished.

The coda in C-Minor is deeply tragic music.  After the peak of the
enourmous climax at the returnth of the third theme, horns and trumpets
continue to chugchug the rythm on a monotonous C in four bars after that
the rest of the orchestra has stopped.  Bruckner referred to this event
as "The Announcement of Death".  Tympanirolls and a very long series
of a repeated figure that follows, Bruckner referred to as "The Deaths
Clockwork".  A man dies in a room, but the clock continues to tick after
his life is run out.  The nervous moves that shadows the first movement
are contrasted in the Scherzo with its elementar freedom and unbound
energy.  Two conbined onebars-phrases are being frenetically repeated in
the keys C-Minor and Eb-Major, including a pizzicatostrings dancing Austian
highland peasant Laendler.  The slow middle section, which is the third
movement unusually, had Bruckner made several speeches about its meaning.
Everything from his comment on the sonore theme "There I looked to deeply
into the eyes of a young woman" (At age 64?) - and he connected this to
his selfsubscribed mission to steer the pure arts, as apostel Paulus, as
bridemaster to steer the church infor God as "a pure virgin".  And Bruckner
under the voice in the partiture carrying the melody of the adagio quoted
Offertorium 19:7-19:8 "The wedding of the lamb".  And at other occasions he
spoke about it as a portrait of "Der deutsch Michel", and stressed that it
was thought to be a joke.  In the main strophes kehrstollen we also find
theme known from other symphonies as "Brautmotif", "Sehnsuchtmotif" (2nd),
"Glaubenmotif" (which had religoius meaning to Bruckner), "Segenmotif"
and a bunch of cryptic retrograde inversions of parts of other motifs.
It seemed to have had much meaning to Bruckner, but still, the important
things don't happen in this movement.  The Finale has on a first sight very
much in common with the first movement as formal sheme - and can thereby
be said to incyclen the work - especially when it comes to the unclear
tonality in the incitament thoughts, the punctuated rythm in the first
theme (under the "Unmenschmotif"), the character of the second theme,
the third groups dubbelunisone structure in E-Minor, finally cemented in
the paralell E-Major.  But the special character of each of the combined
elements - melody, rythm, harmpny, orchestration - are so different, so
at the triumphant finale the effect that reminds of the sensatoin of
expreience a cloudy stormnight weak for a radiant dawn is imposant.

The Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, who see themselves as experts of this
repertoire (Wagner of course omitted as usually) takes Bruckners great
masterwork very intelligently and all the time cleverly bring out the
intriguing connections between different parts and figures in the symphony,
with the conductors deep understanding as an attempt to give the listener
a much more increased exchange from his musical experience.

Though different in harmony and character, they manage to play the rythm
that opens the theme in the first movement so it sound identical to the
rythm that opens Beethovens 9th.  The figure in the end of this phrase (in
explicit B-Minor) is given extra emphasis, and so every time it appears,
yet in slight metamorphosis, like as a cadenzafigure in many important
places of the symphony; at the end of the first movement, in modified form
in the coda of the Adagio and in the finale transcribed into triumphatory
C-Major.  The way the main theme of the second group in the first movement
is atriculated in the strings to show it to be connected with the motif
of the Brucknerrythm is absolutely genial, and should clearly bring out
Bruckners masterhand again.  The triumphant fanafres in the end of the
exposition are gorgeously taken by the ISO trumpets,a s if they wanted
to manifest the geniality of a new Brucknerian idea (usually Bruckner
insert the parallelkey in the second group).  The way this arpeggioidea
is connected to the final fanfare is very insighsful indeed, and show
evidence of very good understanding of the partiture both by the conductor,
and also by the orchestra for Bruckners logical spirit.  The power which
the tutti B-Minor sections of the first movement are taken are just
imposant.  Very interesting are the emphasic connections and contrasts
between the 2/4-feeling in every Nr.1&2 bars and every Nr.5&6 bars versus
the 2/8-feeling in every Nr.3&4 bars and every Nr.7&8 bars.  I have never
heard an orchetsra who got this actually important feature right.  There
are as much to undertand in late Bruckner as in "Tristan und Isolde"(!)
and few can manage the more sublime delicatesses of Bruckner.  And the
juxtaposition in the section just between the finale of the Kehsatz of
two unison themes, the sonore christian "Maertyrermotif" and the plastic
maching "Soldatenmotif", is just gorgeously clear; every voice can be
recognized all the time.  The playing is generally concise and right to the
point, with clearly marked rythms and phrasings.  Especially imressing was
the way in which the chugchugchug-chug-chugging from the "The Announcement
of Death" was emphasized in the bottom of the imposant flow of the
"Siegmotif" in the C-Major final fanfares in fff that conludes this
masterwork.

Over all, on the battlefield on which the keys C-Minor and B-Minor fought
for dominance, the way the relating themes are made connect with each other
through The Israel Philharmonics frim and secure playing, are highly
interesting and illuminating indeed, and therefore this recording should
add much to listeners joy for the geniality of such a masterfully clever
construction.  The 0th symphony (here 1869 version in Nowaks edition BTW)
perhaps comes out even more clear then the 8th, although some cheating on
the main theme.  But seldom a recording has provided a so perfect audial
medium for musical analysis as this recording of the 8th, and although
being coupled with such an intellectual masterwork, the given 0th symphony
verifys it to be truly described in its essence by Ernst Kurth when he
enraptured so poetically talked about; "Der schoenesten Blutenwunder
deutscher Kunst".

Mats Norrman
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