Continue the journey…
We suggest five works to explore after Bruckner’s Symphony No. 5
Three years after completing his Fifth Symphony, Bruckner set to work on his Sixth. It’s a work that has rarely enjoyed its moment in the sun, despite its typically Brucknerian mix of thrilling climaxes and, particularly in the elegiac second movement Adagio, haunting beauty. Occasionally dubbed the ‘Philosophical’, its mood is often one of reflection, though there are glimpses of the sprightlier Fifth too. (BBC Philharmonic/ Juanjo Mena Chandos CHAN 20221).
A major Bruckner enthusiast before he had his head turned by Sibelius, Wilhelm Stenhammar (1871-1927) conducted the first performances of the Austrian’s symphonies in his home country of Sweden. He also described his own First Symphony as ‘idyllic Bruckner’, a description that seems entirely apt as one is greeted by the work’s serene opening in the horns. But Stenhammar by no means indulges in mere pastiche here, and there is a charm that is very much his own. (Gothenburg So/neeme Järvi BIS BISCD219).
Like Bruckner, Max Reger (1873-1916) was one of the most revered organists of his era. And just as Bruckner does in the finale of the Fifth, Reger could also craft an impressive fugue – in this case in his Variations and Fugue on a Theme of JA Hiller, probably his best known orchestral piece and a thrilling tour de force. (New Zealand So/franz-paul Decker Naxos 8.553079).
Talking of which, William Walton’s First Symphony (1935) had a troubled birth. After completing the first three movements, Walton hit a bit of a brick wall, so fellow composer Constant Lambert suggested he finish it with a fugue. Walton did so – with aplomb – and later considered it the best of the four movements. (BBC Symphony Orchestra/ Edward Gardner Chandos CHSA 5136).
Finally, we mustn’t leave out Bruckner’s pupil and ardent admirer Gustav Mahler. A chorale forms part of the fabric from which Bruckner tailors the last movement of his Fifth Symphony, and the finale of Mahler’s Fifth features one too. In Mahler’s case, the chorale we’ve heard earlier in the second movement is brought back triumphantly to provide one of the most blazingly thrilling endings in the entire symphonic repertoire. (Vienna Philharmonic/leonard Bernstein DG 477 6334).
Stenhammar described his First Symphony as ‘idyllic Bruckner’