Günter Wand — Anton Bruckner — Symphony in C Minor No. 8

★★★★★

   After great century of radical artistic experiments and many new ideas in music esthetics, old symphonic form in its late romantic shape still remains most significant form in repertoire of every philharmonic orchestra of civilized world. These works are demanding highest quality, quantity, space and volume of orchestral sound. Most popular and are symphonies by Johannes Brahms, Antonin Dvořak, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Anton Bruckner and Gustav Mahler. Symphonies of these and many other composers are basic repertoire of musical education and every symphonic orchestra. Some esthetic ideas, especially those which are understanding history of musical forms in categories of progress, indicate symphonies by Bruckner and Mahler as the greatest achievements in 19th century history of this form. Especially these two composers are great symphony innovators and their cycles of symphonies are milestones in the history of music.
   As far as Mahler’s symphonies were instant hits, symphonic works by Bruckner were somehow neglected. Although historians of music were talking about both composers in the same breath, in modern times critics and artists were paying more attention to Mahler, considering Bruckner’s symphonies as too much of formalistic and academic. This situation had changed in last decades of 20th century, when many great artists tried to revive interest in Bruckner’s legacy, especially symphonies. From contemporary the point of view these refreshed symphonies showed how attractive is late romantic symphonic music and how much potential it has. In sixties and seventies these works were in repertoire of every ambitious conductor and orchestra. Following these phonographic editions some conductors took on the challenge to record complete set of Bruckner’s symphonies.

Günter Wand — Anton Bruckner — Symphony in C Minor No. 8 (1979)

   One of conductors famous for achieving best results in this challenge was Günter Wand (1912-2002) conductor and composer famous throughout postwar decades for his work on post of music director in Cologne Opera. Born in Elberfeld (today part of Wuppertal), he started his career in the age of twelve attending production of Johann Strauss operetta The Gypsy Baron in his native city. In his twenties he took his first post as music director of city theatre in Allenstein (today Olsztyn) where he founded first orchestra and gave many successful productions of operas by Bizet, Verdi and Wagner. His great career started in 1939 when he started work as conductor of Cologne Opera, after the war he took the post of Generalmusikdirektor what was associated with the position of 1st conductor for both of the Cologne Opera and in Gürzenich Orchestra. In late 1970’s Günter Wand recorded with Kölner Rundfunk-Sinfonie-Orchester complete sets of symphonies by Franz Schubert and Anton Bruckner. In 1980’s he was conductor of NDR Symphony Orchestra in Hamburg and made new series of recordings. In last years of his life he made recordings of selected Bruckner’s symphonies with Berliner Philharmoniker.
   First recording of Bruckner’s symphonies with Kölner Rundfunk-Sinfonie-Orchester was great artistic success of Günter Wand, who was known for his reliable and amenable attitude to historic works. Since he was convinced the first interpreter’s obligation is to reveal composers intention and to create musical performance as close to original as possible, he was ideal conductor for bringing new works or establishing new standards for known compositions. Wolfgang Seifert called Wand “one of the most unusual and independent interpreters”. For Bruckner’s symphonies Wand’s performances were the act of pure congeniality. This is one of three Bruckner’s symphonies in this key – the same first two symphonies. Recorded in 1979 Symphony in C Minor No. 8 was probably the most difficult challenge. This mighty work (here 83 minutes) is great construction of absolute music. Although there are no reasonable programmatic explanations of this symphony, later it was nicknamed ‘Apocalyptic’. Recorded with WDR Orchestra, album shows great scale of sound and expression of Bruckner symphonic form. This great achievement deserves five stars.

Rozhdestvensky conducts Bruckner’s Fourth

   Symphony was pure classical form, perfectly matching enlightenment ideas with its formal balance and clear emotional rhetoric. After Beethoven’s improvements it became suitable container ready for romantic ideas. The augmented construction where minuet has been replaced with scherzo has still had a great potential for developing expressive and rhetoric means. And next generations in 19th century music have adopted this symphonic idea of forming and rebuilding construction of symphony. They gain excellent results giving different and new directions for French symphonic music, Austrian and German symphonies or Russian symphonic movement in romanticism and then in 20th century music. One of highest achievements as composer of full-blown romantic symphonies was Anton Bruckner.
   Anton Bruckner was born in 1924 in Ansfelden near Linz in the family of village teacher. He started school as 6 year old and his first teacher was his father, then he continued education to be an organist. When Anton Bruckner was 13, his father died, so was send to school in Augustinian monastery in Sankt Florian to be a choir boy, and to learn to play organ and violin. And, and from his early years he was an organist and a teacher of village schools. As composer he started career in his twenties, but real progress he made as 30 year old. He showed his Missa Solemnis and was accepted to be a student of famous music theorist Simon Sechter. Twenty years later, in 1974 he started to compose his fourth symphony, finishing first version in 1980. 

Anton Bruckner – Symphony No. 4 (1985)

   Symphony E-flat Major No 4 „Romantic” is probably most popular work by Anton Bruckner. On the list of his symphonies it is certainly the most commonly performed and recorded one. His nine accomplished symphonies are numbered from No. 1 to No 8. There is also an early „student” symphony called „00” and Symphony No. 0 D Minor (Die Nullte) which has been rejected by composer and thus numbered as Zero. Last of his great works, Symphony No. 9 D Minor remained unfinished. Many of his symphonies had different versions, because he was reworking most of his symphonies many times. This lack of clear decision and between concurrent releases was called The Bruckner Problem. One of such works was the Symphony No. 4. It was so frequently edited, with composer’s revisions it was known in seven versions and six versions were separately published. 

   But there was one more version of Bruckner’s Fourth. When Gustav Mahler was preparing in 1895 premiere in Hamburg, he cut some parts and rearranged the symphony by changing orchestration, giving the form and a whole sound more transparent and polyphonic character. And in Mahler manner it really sounds different, yet great in terms of symphonic form. Once more Anton Bruckner appeared as consequent continuator of the traditions of Austro-German Romanticism and talented follower of symphonic ideas derived from Beethoven's works. In 1984 great Russian conductor Gennadi Rozhdestvensky became the head of newly established ensemble, The USSR Ministry of Culture Orchestra. With this orchestra Gennadi Rozhdestvensky recorded in 1984 complete of Bruckner symphonies, published as a series of albums very next year. He choose Mahler’s version and it is probably the one and only recording of this beautiful version. Two composers presented in this solo work are both great and despite the difference somehow similar. Great version and great rendition both deserve more than four stars.