MUSIC 427/627 Anton Bruckner (1824-1896)

Composer of nine

 Very religious, and served as church organist, which gave some background for composition  Like Brahms, Bruckner observed classical traits of the , especially in terms of form; but where Brahms was more concise, Bruckner was more expansive; he was also devoted to Wagner (unlike Brahms)  Bruckner’s Symphonies contain many traits in common:  Almost all open with a string , followed by the Urthema ("primordial theme"), which is usually was triadic and establishes key of piece  The Urthema is followed by a rhythmic idea which combines duple and triple: the “Bruckner Polyrhythm”  The second key area usually contains 2 themes in against each other: a Gesangsperiode (“song period”)  Bruckner frequently used successive rhythmic diminutions  Fourth movements (finales) often have these characteristics too  Other Wagnerian traits:  Great expansion (long movements).  Free dissonance and chromatic chord progressions at times (alternating with very classically-conceived chord progressions)  Bruckner frequently revised his symphonies at the urging of friends, and after his death further revisions were made; these diluted his style and authenticity  Example: Symphony No. 4 in E-flat Major (1873; final rev. 1889; 2 other interim versions by Bruckner; another in 1954)  First movement  Typical opening: Urthema over tremolo; then theme with "Bruckner Polyrhythm"  Second Key area has two in counterpoint Gesangsperiode  (movement. 3): hybrid: combination of ABA scherzo form and sonata-allegro.  Very developmental:

ABA (scherzo) - Dev. - ABA||: Trio :||trio devel. - trio - ABA

This makes much more developmental scheme than is typical of 19th c

 This movement also has duple-plus-triple  Fourth movement: has similar features to first movement but with different themes  Instead of tremolo, there is an ostinato