At age 57, Anton Bruckner was still largely unknown as a composer; the son of a village school teacher, he had become Austria’s best organist and a professor of harmony and counterpoint at the Vienna Conservatory after years of tireless work, but his original music was largely ignored or dismissed by the sophisticated capital’s musical establishment.
After the rehearsal, Bruckner approached the conductor, Hans Richter, and gave him a coin. Speaking with his rustic Upper Austrian accent, Bruckner said, “Take this and drink my health with a glass of beer.” Richter kept the coin on his watch chain for the rest of his life.
The premiere of Bruckner’s Fourth Symphony with the Vienna Philharmonic proved a major turning point in Bruckner’s career. Though critics remained divided, the audience responded enthusiastically, and the musicians of the Philharmonic realized that Bruckner was one of the major composers of their time.
The genesis of this work—considered by many to be his first symphonic masterpiece—had been difficult for the perfectionist composer; after completing the first draft in 1874, he revised it thoroughly in 1878, completely rewriting the last two movements. He rewrote the finale again in 1880, producing the version most frequently heard today.
I have tried many times to listen to this music. Often I feel that it is about to end, yet it seems to gather more energy and the music continues. See what you think after you select the link below:
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