I will admit that I have had difficulties with Bruckner’s symphonies over the years. Most of these troubles centered around my sense that he brought his music to a high point that led me to expect an end, and then the music continued and continued…
After all these years and without clarification, I now find that I have greater patience to enjoy the music.
Bruckner’s symphonies numbers 1-6 encountered a difficult time in terms of their acceptance as music that the public wanted to hear. However, the Bruckner Seventh Symphony stands apart from its predecessors as having been accepted as a repertory item almost from its introduction.
Bruckner finished it in September 1883, and two now-legendary conductors—Arthur Nikisch and Hermann Levi—set it on its way in 1884 and 1885, respectively. Amazingly enough, it had made its way to Chicago by 1886 thanks to that enterprising American conductor Theodore Thomas. Its immediate and lasting popularity isn’t at all difficult to understand.
It is not quite as lengthy as most of its predecessors, but most importantly, it has a special sweep and a compelling inner urgency. Even if it might seem silly to describe an hour-plus symphony as economical, the word is actually quite apt. Impressively grand, majestic, and passionate, the Bruckner Seventh propels itself firmly along its destined journey. It isn’t just that it comes off as good. It comes off as right.
Here is the Berlin Philharmonic to play this music for you:
