Wednesday, July 21, 2010

Anton Bruckner's Seventh Symphony

Categories:
01) "Seventh Symphony": Introductions, Overviews, Essays
02) On Bruckner and his symphonies: Introductions, Overviews, Essays
03) Online Books: On Bruckner + "Seventh Symphony"
04) Main Websites dedicated to Bruckner
05) Videos of "Seventh Symphony" (Selection)
06) Reviews of "Seventh Symphony" record releases, digital downloads, performances
07) Bibliographies



01) "Seventh Symphony": Introductions, Overviews, Essays

- Wikipedia entry
- Short, but essential, comparable to Wikipedia
- A short composition description
- Short, one page article
- Excellent analysis. An excerpt from Michael Steinberg's "The Symphony: A Listener's Guide", here published in the Minnesota Orchestra program for June 2010 (Conductor Osmo Vaenskae). Link leads to an online Google-Doc, relevant text starts at page 4.
- This link leads to a page that offers download/buying of a "Seventh Symphony" recording, conducted by Jean Philippe Tremblay with the Orchestra de la Francophonie. The page also presents an insightful article by Guy Marchand, "Bruckner's Seventh Symphony or Life after Wagner". (In case you can't read it immediately, click on "Read full text" link)
- An excellent essay by Neville Cardus (click download link to a pdf file at bottom of page).
- A rare piece. It combines just a few, nonetheless essential comments on Bruckner's "Seventh Symphony".
- A scholarly article, actually an excerpt from "Bruckner's Symphonies — Analysis, Reception and Cultural Politics — by Julian Horton". Text focuses on reception history.
- This links to a page aimed at technical audiophiles, actually it's a review of a device: the RTP-4 Power Conditioner. After a lengthy and detailed analysis, the author describes the great listening experience by using some recordings, among them the "Seventh Symphony".

He says: "Orchestral music is difficult to reproduce well in this venue. So I was curious how my stereo would fare with the RTP-4 on complex music. I chose the slow movement from Bruckner's Seventh Symphony (Gunter Wand conducting the Berlin Philharmonic, RCA 74321 68716 2), partly because it is music of unusually lush and rich texture, and partly because it is a stupendous performance. It is the only performance of the Seventh I've heard to equal (or exceed) the old Eduard van Beinum / Concertgebouw recording. Bruckner is never in a hurry to get somewhere, and the Adagio is nearly twenty-two minutes long. The effect of its ponderous evolution is intense and emotional, but deeply spiritual; it opens a vast door to a glorious other world. I'd swear the hair on my arms stood on end. More than once I had to remind myself to breathe, so mesmerizing was the experience. The textural detail is lusciously delineated, the architectural structure raised miraculously before me, glorious order from inchoate creation."
- Finally, here you find the score of Bruckner's "Seventh Symphony"



02) On Bruckner and his symphonies


- An in-depth, encyclopedic entry on Bruckner, his life and his work, on choralpedia.org with lots of references and links.
- "Symphonic Masterpieces 100 Years Since His Death", by Gerald Fenech, 1999, on Classical.Net. An excellent, short article on Bruckner, his compositions, it even reviews some recordings. On classical.net.
- "The Eternal Student", by Dave Lampson, on classical.net. Excellent, insightful analysis of Bruckner’s music.
- "The Music of Eternity", by David B. Hart. An excellent essay on Bruckner and his work.
- An excellent article that focuses on the spiritual dimensions of Bruckner’s compositions.
- Adding to above link, this page on gnosticteachings.org (“For the Alleviation of Suffering”) provides a fine compilation of quotes, stories and pictures that underline the spiritual qualities of Bruckner and his music.
- By the same poster as above link (Ryan) on gnosticteachings.org. A short, but fine article: “PROTO SOUND & TONAL RITUAL - An Essay on Anton Bruckner and the Renewal of the Symphony”
- This looks to be the same poster as above 2 links (Ryan), but this links to a facebook-page with additional quotes, stories, essays – all focusing on the spiritual aspects of Bruckner's music.
- "Spirituality in the Concert Hall", by James McCollough. Another fine essay on the spiritual dimension of Bruckner’s music. (This link refers to a page that allows to download the *.pdf file)
- "Slow but Steady: Appreciating Bruckner in the Sound-Bite Era", by Henry Fogel, July 2008. An inspired, personal review of Bruckner's reception in the USA during last decades.
- A personal article on "The Symphonies of Anton Bruckner" that may not be strictly quintessential, but comes with a personal note – and includes a short link-list (one of the better ones).
- "Understanding Bruckner" by Paul E. Robinson, June 14, 2009. Another quite good overview.
- A brief overview of Bruckner’s musical-historical context. Main reason to mention it… - it's hosted on http://www.brucknerfest.com ("Tribute to Anton Bruckner"). They offer additional material on life and music. More or less biography-oriented material, that include thoughts on Bruckner's music.
- Excellent overview on man, life and work at AllExperts Encyclopedia.
- A fine article on classical.net.
- Good biography by Crawford Howie on arts.jrank.org (“The Arts: Fine Art, Contemporary Art & Music”) that includes discussion of Bruckner’s music and a short bibliography.
- This is a serious Anton Bruckner fan page on myspace.com that provides an insightful text plus pictures.
- "The Life of Anton Bruckner", by Gabriel Engel. From CHORD AND DISCORD
A JOURNAL OF MODERN MUSICAL PROGRESS. Published by the Bruckner Society of America, Inc. in January, 1940 -- (Vol. 2, No.1). I'd say this is the most comprehensive biographic essay available. Maybe secondary, nonetheless helpful material. I doubt these are quintessential…
- Good, short intro on man, life and work on allmusic.com
- Short and good intro man, life and work.
- I’m not sure if this provides any additional or necessary information that is not offered by other sources.


03) Online Books: On Bruckner + "Seventh Symphony"

These following links refer to books that are available online for reading/searching. It's too much material to review, so I order these sources alphabetically.

On Google Books (these books can be bought online):
- Julian Horton, "Bruckner's symphonies: analysis, reception and cultural politics"
- Timothy L. Jackson, Paul Hawkshaw, "Bruckner studies"
- Benjamin M. Korstvedt, "Anton Bruckner, Symphony, Issue 8"
- John Williamson, "The Cambridge companion to Bruckner"

On questia.com
- Keith William Kinder, "The Wind and Wind-Chorus Music of Anton Bruckner"


04) Main Websites dedicated to Bruckner

The following list consists of websites, mainly (or solely) dedicated to Anton Bruckner, his life, work, influence. These sites offer a wide range of material, of different quality. Most of these sites present "link-lists" to other sources – I found many of these lists outdated.

I rank these sites according to my personal judgement of usefulness:
- "The Bruckner Discography". Maintained by John F. Berky. Though it's mainly that, a website with information on recordings/releases of Bruckner's symphonies and orchestral compositions, it also hosts a couple of excellent articles and essays – among those are publications by the Bruckner Society.
- "Anton Bruckner and 19th Century Austrian Music, Culture and Society". Maintained by Yutaka Yamada. A quite comprehensive site with material on historical situation, Bruckner's biography, performances of symphonies, a good bibliography, selected discographies (sadly, it doesn’t include "Seventh Symphony") and an (outdated) link list.
- "Tribute to Anton Bruckner”. Best to say is the collection of biographic articles.
- "Klassikforum – Treffpunkt fuer klassische Musik und Kultur". This is an extensive forum-site with lots of information. Too bad it's only in German.



05) Videos of "Seventh Symphony"

There are a lot of videos available on youtube. Below you’ll find a list with videos of all four movements, by different conductors [05.a)]. Below that you’ll find two links to youtube's search engine, with results for Bruckner and "Seventh Symphony" – to find your preferred performance [05.b)]. Below that you’ll find a link to one whole set, conducted by Guenter Wand, that can be viewed and downloaded [05.c)].


05.a) youtube videos of “Seventh Symphony”
I. Allegro moderato

Set 01: by user Shartanx
Anton Bruckner (1824-1896)

Symphony No. 7 in E major WAB 107
I. Allegro moderato (Part 1 of 3)

Sinfonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks
Mariss Jansons, conductor

Recorded at Philharmonie im Gasteig, München, 2007

A. Bruckner - (1/10) Symphony No. 7 in E major - I. Allegro moderato
A. Bruckner - (2/10) Symphony No. 7 in E major - I. Allegro moderato
A. Bruckner - (3/10) Symphony No. 7 in E major - I. Allegro moderato

Set 02: by user americobottone

Bruckner Symphony 7 E major - Eugen Jochum, Concertgebouw 1986 Mvt1 Allegro moderato Part1
Bruckner Symphony 7 E major - Eugen Jochum, Concertgebouw 1986 Mvt1 Allegro moderato Part2
Bruckner Symphony 7 E major - Eugen Jochum, Concertgebouw 1986 Mvt1 Allegro moderato Part3

II. Adagio

Set 01: by user Khlifeguard

Bruckner Symphony No 7 in E-major
II Adagio Sehr feierlich und sehr langsam

Wiener Philharmoniker
Herbert von Karajan

THE LAST RECORDING BY HERBERT VON KARAJAN
Recorded: April 1989 in Musikverein, Vienna

Bruckner Symphony No 7 (1/3) II Adagio, VPO Karajan (April 1989)
Bruckner Symphony No 7 (2/3) II Adagio, VPO Karajan (April 1989)
Bruckner Symphony No 7 (3/3) II Adagio, VPO Karajan (April 1989)

Set 02: by user Invisus944

Bruckner Symphony No. 7 in E Major - II. Adagio. Sehr feierlich und sehr langsam

Bruckner 7 Adagio (Furtwängler BPO 1942) 1/3
Bruckner 7 Adagio (Furtwängler BPO 1942) 2/3
Bruckner 7 Adagio (Furtwängler BPO 1942) 3/3

III. Scherzo

Set 01: by user NeuroticoAnimono
Anton Bruckner (1824-1896)

Symphony No. 7
3rd. Movement:
Scherzo: Sehr schnell - Trio: Etwas langsamer
Berliner Philharmoniker
Herbert von Karajan”

Bruckner Symphony No. 7

Set 02: by user Mozpiano2
Kurt Masur, New York Philharmonic

Bruckner Symphony No. 7 in E major (Lyric) - Scherzo

IV. Finale

Set 01: by user BPanncho
Bruckner Christian Thielemann Séptima Sinfonía Finale Münchner Philharmoniker

Bruckner - Symphony No. 7 - Thielemann

Set 02: by user Shartanx
Anton Bruckner (1824-1896)
Symphony No. 7 in E major WAB 107
IV. Finale

Sinfonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks
Mariss Jansons, conductor
Recorded at Philharmonie im Gasteig, München, 2007”

A. Bruckner - (9/10) Symphony No. 7 in E major - IV. Finale
A. Bruckner - (10/10) Symphony No. 7 in E major - IV. Finale

05.b) links to youtube search results

link to youtube results for "Bruckner" + "Seventh Symphony"
link to youtube results for "Bruckner” + “Symphony 7"

05.c) links to complete set of “Seventh Symphony” conducted by Guenter Wand

“Description: BRUCKNER Symphony No. 7 Günter Wand, conductor North German RSO TDK COWAND8 (DVD: 69:02) Live: Lübeck 8/28/1999 This recording, taken from the Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival in 1999, is a valuable reproduction of Günter Wands final thoughts on Bruckners Seventh Symphony. The NDR Symphony Orchestra has gone a long way together with the German maestro; and fortunately for us listeners, that collaboration has now been released on DVD. “

http://www.24listen.net/w8BxYTQi7YM/bru%D1%81kner-symphony-no.7-wand-ndr-so-7-1/
http://www.24listen.com/bru%D1%81kner-symphony-no.7-wand-ndr-so-7-2.html
http://www.24listen.com/bru%D1%81kner-symphony-no.7-wand-ndr-so-7-3.html
http://www.24listen.com/bru%D1%81kner-symphony-no.7-wand-ndr-so-7-4.html
http://www.24listen.net/9i3m_s3luo8/bru%D1%81kner-symphony-no.7-wand-ndr-so-7-5/
http://www.24listen.net/u6nNFQc7oTk/bru%D1%81kner-symphony-no.7-wand-ndr-so-7-6/



06) Reviews of "Seventh Symphony"

Performances and record releases


This section comes with four sub-categories:
06.a) Records: Reviews and ordering opportunities of Audio-records/CD’s
06.b) Digital: Real-time listening and (legal) download-opportunities
06.c) Performance: Reviews of performances by different conductors and orchestras
06.d) Discography: more or less comprehensive listings of “Seventh Symphony” recordings

These lists come without ranking. They are sorted in alphabetical order, according to the name of the conductor.

06.a) Records:
Reviews and ordering opportunities of Audio-records/CD’s

- Daniel Barenboim, Berlin Philharmonics, (Date: Unkown). Barenboim's conductions of "Seventh Symphony" are critically acclaimed to be among the best. Here's a link to order a TELDEC release, either directly or by link to amazon.com. There are also some enthusiastic customer reviews.
- Daniel Barenboim, Berlin Philharmonics, (Date: Unkown). Very weird. This is a different site, but it offers the very same TELDEC release as mentioned above – bundled with the very same enthusiastic customer reviews. Maybe that's 21st century content syndication. Yes, one can place an order here too.
- Wilhelm Furtwaengler, Unknown, Unknown. In essence, this links to a site where one can order a record of Furtwaengler conducting both Brahms and Bruckner with both Berlin and London Philharmonic Orchestras sometime between 1947-1950. PR-blurb is unspecific, but as it mentions "the wartime Telefunken recording of second movement"… I give it a good guess, that’s the same as available on youtube [see section 05.a) II. Adagio].
- Carlo Maria Giulini, London Philharmonic Orchestra, 1982. A night at the proms. Here's a critic, Paul Shoemaker, who's in love with his topic. You may not feel inclined to listen to this record – but to read his review may deepen appreciation of "Seventh Symphony". Btw, Shoemaker underscores "spiritual" dimension of this specific interpretation.

Links available to order recordings.
- Bernhard Haitink, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, May 2007. A knowledgeable review by Patrick P. Lam, published in April 2010.
- Bernhard Haitink, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, May 2007. Published in February 2008, critic Michael Shmith is enthusiastic.
- Bernhard Haitink, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, May 2007. In my opinion, one of the best, precise reviews, by critic Christian Hoskins on classicalsource.com. Site offers link to amazon.com to order record.
- Bernhard Haitink, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, May 2007. Here's a link that comes with a couple of loud PR-blurbs… but also, essentially, with the opportunity to order this acclaimed record.
- Paavo Jaervi, Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra, 2006. Two sensible reviews, open/clear in argumentation to understand how comes they like it.
- Paavo Jaervi, Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra, (no recording date mentioned; release date: April 2010). This is just a link to order this record. If you want to read/learn more about it… - see above link. Be aware that above link present reviews of two different recordings; it's the second one that corresponds to the RCA-release on sale here.
- Paavo Jaervi, Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra, (no recording date mentioned; release date: April 2010). An amazon link, one can order CD here. It seems, this one is the SACD-version as reviewed above, definitely worth a read: http://www.audaud.com/article?ArticleID=7394
- Herbert von Karajan, Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, 1996 (refers to release of Audio-CD). This is an amazon.com link. There’s no "professional" review here, only enthusiastic voices of music lovers – but Karajan’s last/final interpretation of "Seventh Symphony" is "canonically" acclaimed. As it's an amazon.com link, yes, one can order CD, immediately.
- Herbert von Karajan, Berlin Philharmonic, 1971 (??? Jesus-Christ church performance). It comes with a "review" – though I guess, better opportunity is to simply order it online.
- Herbert von Karajan, Berlin Philharmonic. Deutsche Grammophon Bruckner cycle release. Here's a spirited review of a whole Bruckner-"cycle" release. Written by another lover of his topic, this site also supplies some fine comments.
- Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Orchestre Métropolitain du Grand Montréal, 2007. Critic Blair Sanderson (of allmusic.com) definitely likes it.
- Sir Simon Rattle, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, (No record date, article published in November 1997). Down below [in section 06.c)] you’ll find a review of a Simon Rattle performance with Berlin Philharmonics in 2006. But this article discusses a record made almost ten years earlier. Again, here’s a critic, SJ, knowledgeable and sensitive – and: critical.
- Kurt Sanderling, SWR Radio Symphony Orchestra (Stuttgart), 1999. Another sensible, knowledgeable review, this time by critic David Hurwitz (published in 2001). Obviously, he enjoys it.
- Stanislaw Skrowaczewski, Saarbrucken RSO, 1991. Critic Mike D. Brownell likes it.
- Guenter Wand, Berlin Philharmonics, 1999. This is not to be confused with the links given under section [05.c)] Here, critic James Leonard (All Music Guide) reviews a record with Berlin Philharmonics. He likes it.
- Guenter Wand, Berlin Philharmonics, (Date Unknown). Here's a link that present some fine costumer-reviews of above release (I guess). Main offer is to order CD online; either directly or by hopping over to amazon.com.
- Guenter Wand, NDR Sinfonieorchester, 1999. Here you’ll find the DVD-version of the clips provided under section [05.c)]. Some nice PR-blurb + plenty of links to order it.

06.b) Digital:
Real-time listening and download-opportunities

- Jascha Horenstein, Berlin Philharmonics Orchestra, 1928. This is (supposed to be) the first ever audio recording of Bruckner’s "Seventh Symphony". Site doesn't offer any critical review, but one can download mp3 and FLAC versions.
- Jascha Horenstein, Berlin Philharmonics Orchestra, 1928. Here’s a link to some detailed messages on a google group that discuss above mentioned release by pristine.
- Herbert von Karajan, Berliner Philharmoniker, 1971. This is an _illegal_ download link. I do _not_ condone illegal copyright infringement. I post this link as it quotes some fine reviews.
- Herbert von Karajan, Berliner Philharmoniker, 1971. This is an _illegal_ download link. I do _not_ condone illegal copyright infringement. I post this link as it quotes some fine reviews.
- Arturo Toscanini, New York Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra, Recorded live from a concert at Carnegie Hall on 27th January, 1935. A link to a download-source for mp3 and FLAC-versions. As the original recording is from 1935, expect reduced technical quality.
- Arturo Toscanini, New York Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra, Recorded live from a concert at Carnegie Hall on 27th January, 1935. This is a review of some of pristine's releases – it includes the above mentioned Toscanini download.
- Jean-Philippe Tremblay, Orchestre de la Francophonie Canadienne. I don’t know the record but the review/critique is very much worth a read as it goes way beyond the actual recording. On-site download opportunity.

06.c) Performance:
Reviews of performances by different conductors and orchestras

- Kurt Masur, New York Philharmonics, Venue/Date: Avery Fisher Hall, Lincoln Center, New York City; May 13, 2010. I doubt this review is related to the youtube video referred to above [section 05.a) III. Scherzo]. In any case, this review on classicalsource.com sounds like… one missed a great night.
- Conductor: Simon Rattle. Orchestra: Berlin Philharmonic. Venue/Date: Royal Albert Hall, London; 2 September 2006. Quite good review, makes you yearn to have attended performance.
- Conductor: Unknown. Orchestra: Probably Los Angeles Philharmonic. LA Phil can claim to have performed "Seventh Symphony" in 1936, conducted by Otto Klemperer. Nonetheless, this critique, though worth a read, mentions no specific performance. There’s a link "to listen" which will bring you to amazon.com's Karajan's record (see above).

06.d) Discography:
more or less comprehensive listings of recordings

This links to the "Seventh Symphony"-section of the discography available at abruckner.com. It supplies just that… info on conductor, orchestra, recording date, label and duration of movements. Keeping to its restrictions… it offers a main valuable source.
- An excellent source site.

Quote.on:

"Ratings:
... a few recordings of the symphonies have been rated with stars, like this: (***). These ratings are based on reviews in various magazines for serious record collectors, and range from one (worst) to four (best). Recordings by Furtwängler, Knappertsbusch, Klemperer, Haitink, and Jochum are considered by this writer to be sui generis and therefore above any rating."

Now that you've heard names of some conductors "above any rating"… go and find them on youtube (see my link to youtube search results above [section 05.b)]).

- "Symphony No.7 in E major (Bruckner, Anton)". A wiki-page with pictures of some scores and a shortlist of commercial recordings available via amazon.com.



07) Bibliographies

Links to the articles section on abruckner.com. There one finds publications of the Bruckner Society and more.

- A very comprehensive bibliography, dated 1999.
- This is the bibliography section of Yutaka Yamada’s excellent Bruckner-site. It’s a "selected" bibliography – but it includes more recent books than mentioned in link above.

1 comment:

  1. Hi, I work a blog about comparative discography, and my next work will be the magnificent Bruckner 7.
    Thanks for the great resources in this page.

    ReplyDelete