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Symphony No. 2 (Bruckner)
Encyclopedia
Anton Bruckner
's Symphony No. 2 in C minor was completed in 1872, and revised, like most of Bruckner's other symphonies, at various points thereafter.
It was composed after the Symphony No. 0 in D minor
(which was itself composed after the Symphony No. 1 in C minor
). It is the only "official" Bruckner symphony (that is to say, excluding No. 0
) without a dedication: Franz Liszt
tacitly rejected the dedication, and Richard Wagner
chose the Symphony No. 3 in D minor
instead. The premiere was given with Bruckner himself conducting in 1873.
s, oboe
s, clarinet
s, bassoon
s, four horn
s, two trumpet
s, three trombone
s, timpani
, and strings
.
The symphony has four movements
:
, Georg Tintner
, and Simone Young
.
.
.
(published 1938) and Leopold Nowak
(published 1965) are both based on this version.
Haas' edition contains some features of the previous version, which, as in the 1890 version of the 8th symphony
, were crossed out by Bruckner in the 1877 manuscript. The edition by William Carragan (published 1997) is a corrected Haas' edition. Most recordings of the symphony are made of the Haas and Nowak versions. The Carragan edition has been recorded by Daniel Barenboim
.
The oldest surviving complete performance is by Georg-Ludwig Jochum with the Bruckner Orchestra of Linz. It dates from 1944 and uses the Haas edition.
The first commercial recording was by Volkmar Andreae
with the Vienna Symphony Orchestra
in 1953, also using the Haas edition. The first recording on Hybrid SACD was by Simone Young
conducting the Hamburg Philharmonic.
Anton Bruckner
Anton Bruckner was an Austrian composer known for his symphonies, masses, and motets. The first are considered emblematic of the final stage of Austro-German Romanticism because of their rich harmonic language, complex polyphony, and considerable length...
's Symphony No. 2 in C minor was completed in 1872, and revised, like most of Bruckner's other symphonies, at various points thereafter.
It was composed after the Symphony No. 0 in D minor
Symphony No. 0 (Bruckner)
This Symphony in D minor composed by Anton Bruckner was not assigned a number by its composer, and has subsequently become known by the German designation Die Nullte .-Composition:...
(which was itself composed after the Symphony No. 1 in C minor
Symphony No. 1 (Bruckner)
Anton Bruckner's Symphony No. 1 in C minor was the first symphony the composer thought worthy of performing, and bequeathing to the Vienna national library. Chronologically, it comes after the Study Symphony in F minor and before Symphony No. 0 in D minor. The first version of the Symphony No. 2...
). It is the only "official" Bruckner symphony (that is to say, excluding No. 0
Symphony No. 0 (Bruckner)
This Symphony in D minor composed by Anton Bruckner was not assigned a number by its composer, and has subsequently become known by the German designation Die Nullte .-Composition:...
) without a dedication: Franz Liszt
Franz Liszt
Franz Liszt ; ), was a 19th-century Hungarian composer, pianist, conductor, and teacher.Liszt became renowned in Europe during the nineteenth century for his virtuosic skill as a pianist. He was said by his contemporaries to have been the most technically advanced pianist of his age...
tacitly rejected the dedication, and Richard Wagner
Richard Wagner
Wilhelm Richard Wagner was a German composer, conductor, theatre director, philosopher, music theorist, poet, essayist and writer primarily known for his operas...
chose the Symphony No. 3 in D minor
Symphony No. 3 (Bruckner)
Anton Bruckner's Symphony No. 3 in D minor was dedicated to Richard Wagner and is sometimes known as his "Wagner Symphony". It was written in 1873, revised in 1877 and again in 1891....
instead. The premiere was given with Bruckner himself conducting in 1873.
Description
The score calls for a pair each of fluteFlute
The flute is a musical instrument of the woodwind family. Unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is an aerophone or reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air across an opening...
s, oboe
Oboe
The oboe is a double reed musical instrument of the woodwind family. In English, prior to 1770, the instrument was called "hautbois" , "hoboy", or "French hoboy". The spelling "oboe" was adopted into English ca...
s, clarinet
Clarinet
The clarinet is a musical instrument of woodwind type. The name derives from adding the suffix -et to the Italian word clarino , as the first clarinets had a strident tone similar to that of a trumpet. The instrument has an approximately cylindrical bore, and uses a single reed...
s, bassoon
Bassoon
The bassoon is a woodwind instrument in the double reed family that typically plays music written in the bass and tenor registers, and occasionally higher. Appearing in its modern form in the 19th century, the bassoon figures prominently in orchestral, concert band and chamber music literature...
s, four horn
Horn (instrument)
The horn is a brass instrument consisting of about of tubing wrapped into a coil with a flared bell. A musician who plays the horn is called a horn player ....
s, two trumpet
Trumpet
The trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air...
s, three trombone
Trombone
The trombone is a musical instrument in the brass family. Like all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player’s vibrating lips cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrate...
s, timpani
Timpani
Timpani, or kettledrums, are musical instruments in the percussion family. A type of drum, they consist of a skin called a head stretched over a large bowl traditionally made of copper. They are played by striking the head with a specialized drum stick called a timpani stick or timpani mallet...
, and strings
String instrument
A string instrument is a musical instrument that produces sound by means of vibrating strings. In the Hornbostel-Sachs scheme of musical instrument classification, used in organology, they are called chordophones...
.
The symphony has four movements
Movement (music)
A movement is a self-contained part of a musical composition or musical form. While individual or selected movements from a composition are sometimes performed separately, a performance of the complete work requires all the movements to be performed in succession...
:
- ModeratoTempoIn musical terminology, tempo is the speed or pace of a given piece. Tempo is a crucial element of any musical composition, as it can affect the mood and difficulty of a piece.-Measuring tempo:...
, C minor - Scherzo: Mäßig schnell, C minor, — Trio: Gleiches Tempo, C majorC majorC major is a musical major scale based on C, with pitches C, D, E, F, G, A, and B. Its key signature has no flats/sharps.Its relative minor is A minor, and its parallel minor is C minor....
(Put in 3rd position in the later versions). - Feierlich, etwas bewegt, A-flat major
- Finale: Ziemlich schnell, C minor
1872 Version
This version has been published in an edition by William Carragan (published 2005). In this version, the Scherzo and slow movement are swapped, the scherzo preceding. It has been recorded by Kurt EichhornKurt Eichhorn
Kurt Peter Eichhorn , was a German conductor.Eichhorn was born in Munich, the son of a painter. He studied music at the conservatory in Würzburg with Hermann Zilcher. His conducting debut was in 1932 as a conductor and choral conductor in Bielefeld...
, Georg Tintner
Georg Tintner
Georg Tintner CM was an Austrian-born conductor whose career was principally in New Zealand, Australia, and Canada....
, and Simone Young
Simone Young
Simone Margaret Young AM is an Australian conductor. She is music director of the Hamburg Philharmonic and general manager of the Hamburg State Opera...
.
1873 Version
This version, which was used at the premiere, replaces at the end of the Adagio the horn solo - considered unplayable by the hornist - by a clarinet and the violas, and deletes repeats in the scherzo. It has been recorded by Kurt EichhornKurt Eichhorn
Kurt Peter Eichhorn , was a German conductor.Eichhorn was born in Munich, the son of a painter. He studied music at the conservatory in Würzburg with Hermann Zilcher. His conducting debut was in 1932 as a conductor and choral conductor in Bielefeld...
.
1876 Version
This version, together with the 1873 version, appears in the Carragan edition of the symphony. It has also been recorded by Kurt EichhornKurt Eichhorn
Kurt Peter Eichhorn , was a German conductor.Eichhorn was born in Munich, the son of a painter. He studied music at the conservatory in Würzburg with Hermann Zilcher. His conducting debut was in 1932 as a conductor and choral conductor in Bielefeld...
.
1877 Version
The editions by Robert HaasRobert Haas (musicologist)
Robert Maria Haas Austrian musicologist.At the beginning of his career with the Austrian national library, Haas was mostly interested in Baroque and Classical music...
(published 1938) and Leopold Nowak
Leopold Nowak
Leopold Nowak was a musicologist chiefly known for editing the works by Anton Bruckner for the International Bruckner Society. He reconstructed the original form of some of those works, most of which had been revised and edited many times.Nowak was born in Vienna, Austria. He studied piano and...
(published 1965) are both based on this version.
Haas' edition contains some features of the previous version, which, as in the 1890 version of the 8th symphony
Symphony No. 8 (Bruckner)
Anton Bruckner's Symphony No. 8 in C minor is the last Symphony the composer completed. It exists in two major versions of 1887 and 1890. It was premiered under conductor Hans Richter in 1892 in Vienna...
, were crossed out by Bruckner in the 1877 manuscript. The edition by William Carragan (published 1997) is a corrected Haas' edition. Most recordings of the symphony are made of the Haas and Nowak versions. The Carragan edition has been recorded by Daniel Barenboim
Daniel Barenboim
Daniel Barenboim, KBE is an Argentinian-Israeli pianist and conductor. He has served as music director of several major symphonic and operatic orchestras and made numerous recordings....
.
1892 First Published Version
This version was edited by Cyrill Hynais. Until recently it was thought to be inauthentic, however Carragan has showed that it corresponds closely to the 1877 version. A cut version of the scherzo of this version was used in the first recording of this symphony, by Fritz Zaun in 1934. There is a single full recording of this version, which has been performed by Hermann Scherchen with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra in 1965.Discography
The first commercial recording of part of the symphony was made by Fritz Zaun with the Berlin State Opera Orchestra in 1934. It contained only a cut version of the scherzo, in the 1892 first published edition.The oldest surviving complete performance is by Georg-Ludwig Jochum with the Bruckner Orchestra of Linz. It dates from 1944 and uses the Haas edition.
The first commercial recording was by Volkmar Andreae
Volkmar Andreae
Volkmar Andreae was a Swiss conductor and composer.Andreae was born in Bern. He received piano instruction as a child and his first lessons in composition with Karl Munzinger. From 1897 to 1900, he studied at the Cologne Conservatory and was a student of Fritz Brun, Franz Wüllner, and Friedrich...
with the Vienna Symphony Orchestra
Vienna Symphony Orchestra
-History:In 1900, Ferdinand Löwe founded the orchestra as the Wiener Concertverein . In 1913 it moved into the Konzerthaus, Vienna. In 1919 it merged with the Tonkünstler Orchestra. In 1933 it acquired its current name...
in 1953, also using the Haas edition. The first recording on Hybrid SACD was by Simone Young
Simone Young
Simone Margaret Young AM is an Australian conductor. She is music director of the Hamburg Philharmonic and general manager of the Hamburg State Opera...
conducting the Hamburg Philharmonic.
1872 version
- Georg TintnerGeorg TintnerGeorg Tintner CM was an Austrian-born conductor whose career was principally in New Zealand, Australia, and Canada....
conducting the RTÉ National Symphony OrchestraRTÉ National Symphony OrchestraThe RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra is the concert music orchestra of Raidió Teilifís Éireann...
, studio recording, 1996, Naxos - Simone Young conducting the Hamburg Philharmonic Orchestra, 2006, BMG SACD
1876 version
- Kurt EichhornKurt EichhornKurt Peter Eichhorn , was a German conductor.Eichhorn was born in Munich, the son of a painter. He studied music at the conservatory in Würzburg with Hermann Zilcher. His conducting debut was in 1932 as a conductor and choral conductor in Bielefeld...
conducting the Bruckner Orchestra LinzBruckner Orchestra LinzThe Bruckner Orchester Linz is an Austrian orchestra based in Linz. It is especially associated with the music of Linz-Land native Anton Bruckner. The parent ensemble of the orchestra is the Linz Theater Orchestra. The orchestra acquired its current name in 1967, under conductor and musicologist...
, 1991, Abruckner.com BSVD-0103
Haas edition
- Franz KonwitschnyFranz KonwitschnyFranz Konwitschny was a German conductor and violist.He started his career on the viola, playing in the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra under Wilhelm Furtwängler. In 1925, he moved to Vienna, where he played the viola with the Fitzner Quartet. He also began teaching at the Wiener Volkskonservatorium...
conducting the Berlin Radio Symphony OrchestraBerlin Radio Symphony OrchestraBerlin Radio Symphony Orchestra can refer to one of two orchestras:* The Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, known from 1956 to 1993 as the Radio-Symphonie-Orchester Berlin and situated in West Berlin during the Cold War...
, live recording, 1951, Berlin Classics - Horst SteinHorst SteinHorst Walter Stein was a German conductor.- Biography :...
conducting the Vienna Philharmonic OrchestraVienna Philharmonic OrchestraThe Vienna Philharmonic is an orchestra in Austria, regularly considered one of the finest in the world....
, studio recording, 1973, Decca/London - Christoph EschenbachChristoph EschenbachChristoph Eschenbach , born February 20, 1940, Breslau, Germany is a German-born pianist and conductor. He currently holds positions in Washington, D.C. as music director of the National Symphony Orchestra and music director of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.-Early...
conducting the Houston Symphony OrchestraHouston Symphony OrchestraThe Houston Symphony is an American orchestra based in Houston, Texas. Since 1966, it has performed at the Jesse H. Jones Hall for the Performing Arts in downtown Houston....
, live recording, 1996, Koch
Nowak edition
- Carlo Maria GiuliniCarlo Maria GiuliniCarlo Maria Giulini was an Italian conductor.-Biography:Giulini was born in Barletta, Italy, to a father born in Lombardy and a mother born in Naples; but he was raised in Bolzano, which at the time of his birth was part of Austria...
conducting the Vienna Symphony OrchestraVienna Symphony Orchestra-History:In 1900, Ferdinand Löwe founded the orchestra as the Wiener Concertverein . In 1913 it moved into the Konzerthaus, Vienna. In 1919 it merged with the Tonkünstler Orchestra. In 1933 it acquired its current name...
, studio recording, 1974, Testament - Eugen JochumEugen JochumEugen Jochum was an eminent German conductor.Born in Babenhausen, near Augsburg, Germany, Jochum studied the piano and organ in Augsburg until 1922. He then studied conducting in Munich...
conducting the Staatskapelle Dresden, studio recording, 1980, EMI - Herbert von KarajanHerbert von KarajanHerbert von Karajan was an Austrian orchestra and opera conductor. To the wider world he was perhaps most famously associated with the Berlin Philharmonic, of which he was principal conductor for 35 years...
conducting the Berliner Philharmoniker, studio recording, 1981, Deutsche Grammophon - Stanisław Skrowaczewski conducting the Saarbrucken Radio Symphony Orchestra, studio recording, 1999, Arte Nova/Oehms Classics
Carragan edition
- Daniel BarenboimDaniel BarenboimDaniel Barenboim, KBE is an Argentinian-Israeli pianist and conductor. He has served as music director of several major symphonic and operatic orchestras and made numerous recordings....
conducting the Berlin Philharmonic OrchestraBerlin Philharmonic OrchestraThe Berlin Philharmonic, German: , formerly Berliner Philharmonisches Orchester , is an orchestra based in Berlin, Germany. In 2006, a group of ten European media outlets voted the Berlin Philharmonic number three on a list of "top ten European Orchestras", after the Vienna Philharmonic and the...
, 1997, Teldec
1892 version
- Herman Scherchen conducting the Toronto Symphony OrchestraToronto Symphony OrchestraThe Toronto Symphony Orchestra is a Canadian orchestra based in Toronto, Ontario.-History:The TSO was founded in 1922 as the New Symphony Orchestra, and gave its first concert at Massey Hall in April 1923. The orchestra changed its name to the Toronto Symphony Orchestra in 1927. The TSO...
, 1965, Disco Archivia CD
External links
- Full score (Haas/1877) at the Indiana University school of music
- Bruckner Symphony Versions
- Complete discography of the symphony
- http://www.opusklassiek.nl/componisten/bruckner_symphony_2_editions.pdf Essay by Dr. Benjamin-Gunnar Cohrs on the Editions of Symphony No. 2