Josef Anton Bruckner (1824 – 1896) was an Austrian
composer and organist best known for his symphonies and
sacred music, which includes Masses, Te Deum and
motets. The symphonies are considered emblematic of the
final stage of Austro-German Romanticism because of
their rich harmonic language, strongly polyphonic
character, and considerable length. His compositions
helped to define contemporary musical radicalism, owing
to their dissonances, unprepared modulations, and
roving harmonies. (+)
Josef Anton Bruckner (1824 – 1896) was an Austrian
composer and organist best known for his symphonies and
sacred music, which includes Masses, Te Deum and
motets. The symphonies are considered emblematic of the
final stage of Austro-German Romanticism because of
their rich harmonic language, strongly polyphonic
character, and considerable length. His compositions
helped to define contemporary musical radicalism, owing
to their dissonances, unprepared modulations, and
roving harmonies.
Unlike other musical radicals such as Richard Wagner
and Hugo Wolf, Bruckner showed respect, even humility,
before other famous musicians, Wagner in particular.
This apparent dichotomy between Bruckner the man and
Bruckner the composer hampers efforts to describe his
life in a way that gives a straightforward context for
his music. Hans von Bülow described him as "half
genius, half simpleton". Bruckner was critical of his
own work and often reworked his compositions. There are
several versions of many of his works.
His works, the symphonies in particular, had
detractors, most notably the influential Austrian
critic Eduard Hanslick and other supporters of Johannes
Brahms, who pointed to their large size and use of
repetition, as well as to Bruckner's propensity for
revising many of his works, often with the assistance
of colleagues, and his apparent indecision about which
versions he preferred. On the other hand, Bruckner was
greatly admired by subsequent composers, including his
friend Gustav Mahler.
Anton Bruckner's Symphony No. 7 in E major, WAB 107, is
one of the composer's best-known symphonies. It was
written between 1881 and 1883 and was revised in 1885.
It is dedicated to Ludwig II of Bavaria. The premiere,
given under Arthur Nikisch and the Gewandhaus Orchestra
in the opera house at Leipzig on 30 December 1884,
brought Bruckner the greatest success he had known in
his life. The symphony is sometimes referred to as the
"Lyric", though the appellation is not the composer's
own, and is seldom used. Like many of Bruckner’s
earlier scherzos, the Scherzo of the Seventh Symphony
reveals its rustic Upper Austrian roots at almost every
turn—in his younger days Bruckner had boosted his
meagre teacher’s salary by playing in village dance
bands. However there is an obsessive, elemental drive
here, which is to become still more pronounced in the
scherzos of the next two symphonies. The Trio is much
gentler, more songful, featuring Bruckner’s signature
ONE-two ONE-two-three rhythm..
Source: Wikipedia
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Symphony_No._7_(Bruckner
)).
Although originally created for Orchestra, I created
this Interpretation of Scherzo in A Minor from Symphony
No. 7 (WAB 107 Mvt. 3) for String Quartet (2 Violins,
Viola & Cello).
SHEET MUSIC