Marek Janowski conducts Bruckner’s Eighth

In 1887, after three years’ work, Anton Bruckner wrote “Hallelujah!” and “May it find favour” in the score of his Symphony No. 8. His concern was justified: the conductor Hermann Levi, to whom he sent his new work, was dissatisfied, particularly with regard to the symphony’s form and orchestration. As was so often the case, the criticism unsettled Bruckner so much that he completely revised his composition – a process that took a further three years. The result is, above all, one thing: huge! With a running time of around 80 minutes, Bruckner presented the longest symphony that music history had seen up to that point. The woodwinds are tripled, the brass section is augmented by Wagner tubas, and, surprisingly, there are also three harps. He commented: “A harp doesn’t belong in a symphony, but I just couldn’t help myself!”

The opening movement strikes a mysterious note, which through the use of a distinctive dotted motif soon takes on a fateful quality. A theme in Bruckner’s characteristic 2+3 rhythm provides a conciliatory counterpoint. Between these two extremes, powerful intensifying waves surge until the movement fades quietly away, a unique feature in the composer’s symphonic output: “It is as if someone were lying on their deathbed and, opposite them, a clock were hanging, ticking away steadily.” The scherzo then reveals itself to be full of vibrant energy, before the emotional centre is reached with the adagio: is it the heartbeat that pulses gently here in the string syncopations? Quotations from Wagner’s Siegfried and Parsifal are unmistakable, “in memory of the master”. Indeed, this movement, with its heartfelt, climbing melodies, seems to soar towards the heavens – written in D flat major, the devout Bruckner has in fact “raised” it above the root key of C minor. At its conclusion, the death clock once again serves as a reminder of mortality, a sentiment that seems to be reinforced by the ominous wind chorale, which intones the main theme of the finale over precisely “ticking” strings. However, Bruckner repeatedly creates islands of tranquillity, and in the end, hope appears to triumph as the opening theme bursts forth in a majestic C major.

The composer, too, has reason to feel triumphant: the audience at the world premiere in 1892 called him back onto the stage after every movement, and he was presented with three enormous laurel wreaths – the Eighth did more than “find favour”; it was Bruckner’s greatest success. 

Berliner Philharmoniker

Marek Janowski