Anton Bruckner

Bruckner's First Symphony exists in several authorial states, beginning with the score completed during his Linz period. It already uses the four-movement sequence that would remain central to his symphonic work....

Bruckner's Second Symphony survives in significantly different 1872 and 1877 versions. Alterations affect its proportions, orchestral details and the ordering of the inner movements. These authorial states have also...

Bruckner dedicated his Third Symphony to Wagner, and its early version includes references to Wagner's music. Revision repeatedly changed the score's proportions, orchestration, and quoted material. The symphony's...

Bruckner's Fourth begins with a solitary horn call over quiet string tremolo. Its familiar hunting scherzo belongs to the major revision of the work rather than the original 1874 score. Bruckner repeatedly...

Bruckner's Fifth begins with a slow introduction whose separate gestures become important to the larger structure. Its finale recalls earlier movements before developing elaborate fugal writing and a powerful...

Bruckner's Sixth has four movements and an unusually persistent rhythmic figure at its opening. Only its two middle movements were performed publicly during his lifetime. The full work reached the stage after his...

Bruckner's Seventh opens with a long melody that rises over a softly sustained background. Related shapes reappear in altered rhythmic and instrumental forms across the symphony. The Adagio introduces the distinctive...

Bruckner's Eighth builds an immense four-movement structure from recurring motives and long harmonic spans. A substantial Adagio stands between a strongly profiled scherzo and a finale that draws earlier material...

Bruckner's Ninth survives with three completed movements: a vast opening, a sharply driven scherzo, and an expansive Adagio. Their monumental scale is built from repeated shapes, sustained harmonic spans, and...