Anton Bruckner (born in 1824 in Ansfeld near Linz, died in Vienna in 1896) was a composer, organist and educator. Alongside Richard Wagner and Franz Liszt, he is regarded as one of the most striking figures of romanticism in music. The basis of his work consists of 9 grand symphonies, 3 masses and choral works, a quintet.
A. Bruckner was born into the family of a rural teacher and followed in his father’s footsteps quite early on. He probably would have remained working as a provincial teacher, an organist, but in the end his desire to create was insurmountable. It must be noted that Bruckner remained largely self-taught. He became a professional musician in 1853, when he won the Linz Organ Competition. It was also in Linz that he created his first mature works and soon began extramural studies of harmony and counterpoint in Vienna with prof. Simon Sechter. After his death, A. Bruckner took his place in the conservatory and from 1868 finally settled in Vienna. He worked as a professor until 1891, and a year later ceased serving as an organist at the Palace Chapel. His organist talent was universally appreciated. Starting with 1875, he lectured at the University of Vienna. Among his students were such personalities as Gustav Mahler and Arthur Nikisch. In Vienna, A. Bruckner devoted himself almost exclusively to the creation of symphonies, but his name was not recognized until after 1880.
In 1886 A. Bruckner was awarded the Order of Francis Joseph, and in 1891 he was also bestowed the title of Honorary Doctor of the University of Vienna. The composer died while composing the end of his Symphony No. 9. A. Bruckner is buried in the St. Florian Monastery in Linz.
A. Bruckner secured his place in the history of music as one of the most famous and original symphonists in the world. His orchestra is very peculiar: there are no such colourful instruments as English horn, piccolo and bass clarinets, harp, cymbals, triangle. In his symphonies, there is no need to look for any "plots", specific "actions" or events: the music itself is expressive and specific enough. He treats the cycle as a single epic: the first part captures the main conflict; in the second he often establishes tragic conflicts (A. Bruckner is often regarded as the greatest master of Adagio after Ludwig van Beethoven); the third, the Scherzo, is a respite, usually filled with the rhythms and intonations of Austrian folklore. The finals are the culmination and atomic nucleus of the whole cycle. The themes of the former parts often emerge. The Codas sound like hymns to the composer’s most important ethical attitudes: God, Nature, and the Spirit.
Symphony No. 7 in E major, op. 109, 1881–1883, premiere on 30 December 1884 in Leipzig.
The last meeting between Anton Bruckner and Richard Wagner took place during the creation of the Seventh. In July 1882 they both attended the premiere of R. Wagner's final opera “Parsifal“. After the event, R. Wagner solemnly promised to perform all of his friend’s symphonies in Bayreuth. Unfortunately, the promise remained unfulfilled as R. Wagner died just a few months later. “Parsifal's” music left an indelible impression on A. Bruckner. Contemporaries testify that the composer, with his characteristic exaltation, knelt before R. Wagner to express his boundless admiration for his work. R. Wagner quenched his enthusiasm as follows: “Calm down, Bruckner. Reduce your fervour. Good night!” These were R. Wagner's last words to A. Bruckner.
The extraordinary spiritual uplift experienced in Bayreuth entirely overwhelmed the composer while he wrote the Seventh. However, in the development of the second part, news came of R. Wagner's death. A. Bruckner was shocked to the depths of his heart. This sorrow was expressed by the composer with great artistic power in Adagio's last forty bars. He wrote, "...I came to this place when mail arrived from Venice, and then for the first time I wrote really mournful music in memory of the Master."
Like all symphonies of that period, the Seventh is very masterful. Along with the Sixth, it is the only one that the composer did not remake later. Due to the predominant brightly radiant colouring in side parts, accentuated by E major, the symphony is among the most perceptible. Even more so than in the Sixth, the musical artistic images here are particularly emotional, full of the affirmation of life. Not surprisingly, the symphony became one of Bruckner’s most popular works.
In addition, it became fateful for the composer. Its second premiere on 10 March 1885 in Munich, under the direction of Ferdinand Löwe, turned into the triumph of A. Bruckner. He was now recognized outside Austria as well. It must be mentioned, however, that the first premiere in Leipzig, conducted by Arthur Nikisch three months earlier, was not met with such enthusiasm. But one critic wrote that A. Bruckner, "rises like a giant above modern composers – a swarm of pygmies".
The fact that A. Bruckner's music was performed in Germany helped change attitudes towards it in composer’s homeland as well. It can be said that A. Bruckner's period of international fame had begun there and then.
Proponents of the composer called the Seventh "heroic", but that description is merely conditional. The symphony is a grandiose epic that speaks of the confusion and experiences of human feelings that are very rich, complex and diverse. Thus, the monumental form (around 70 minutes) is in perfect tune with the harmonious logic of the composition.
The main artistic images of the first part are developed in later sections. It is multifaceted: epic contemplation and heartfelt, elegiac lyricism "make friends" with dance-like episodes, and intense dramatic development – with the festive, uplifting Coda. By the way, A. Bruckner claimed that he heard the main theme in a dream, woke up, and wrote it down. Interestingly, the theme contains a quote from his Credo from Mass in C minor (1864), which he was rewriting at the time.
Adagio deepens the elegiac moods and leads to a tragic generalization. A. Bruckner began composing this part overcome with premonition of R. Wagner's death. So here, for the first time in the history of the symphonic genre, we hear Wagner's Tubas. According to a legend, at the culmination of the music, the composer used cymbals upon the news of his friend’s death. Later, an unknown person added to the score: "Not worth it" (Nicht gelf). Scherzo develops a dance-like heroic line, and the Finale conveys lyrical dramaticism. The cycle ends with a heroic Coda – an anthem.
I. Adagio moderato
II. Adagio. Sehr feierlich und serh langsam
III. Scherzo. Sehr schnell
IV. Finale. Bewegt, doch nicht schnell