List of chamber music works by Anton Bruckner

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In addition to his orchestral and vocal compositions, Anton Bruckner composed a few works for chamber ensembles during his stays in Linz and Vienna.

Linz period[edit]

After the end of Sechter's tuition, Bruckner studied by Otto Kitzler to exercise further in orchestration. During this period (1862-1863) he composed the following works for string quartet:

  • Six scherzi for string quartet, WAB 209.[1] These six scherzi, composed during the spring of 1862, are found on p. 58–74 of the Kitzler-Studienbuch.[2]
    The Scherzo No. 6 in G minor, "a dark, quick movement with a schumannesque, sunny Trio in G major",[3] was performed first in an arrangement for string orchestra on 28 May 2016 by the Göttinger Barockorchester under the baton of Benjamin-Gunnar Cohrs.[3]
    The original version of the Scherzi No. 5 in F major and No. 6 in G minor was premiered by the Bruckners Kammermusik ensemble in Tokyo on 8 March 2019.[4] The performances can be heard on YouTube[5][6] and on John Berky's site.[7]
  • Theme and variations in E-flat major, WAB 210, a theme followed by six variations found on p. 92–104 of the Kitzler-Studienbuch.[8] The work was premiered at the Opening Concert of the St. Florianer Brucknertage 2023.[9] During this premiere, the strings of the Altomonte Orchester performed the two variants of the fifth variation.
  • The String Quartet in C minor, WAB 111, was composed between 28 July and 7 August 1862 as a further student exercise.[10] The work, which is found on pp. 165–196 of the Kitzler Studienbuch,[2][11] is issued in Band XIII/1 of the Gesamtausgabe.[12]
  • Rondo in C minor, WAB 208. After the completion of the composition of the String Quartet, Kitzler tasked Bruckner with writing a new, more fully developed final rondo for the Quartet. The new rondo, which was composed on 15 August 1862,[13] is found on pp. 197–206 of the Kitzler Studienbuch.[2][14] It is issued separate in Band XII/1 of the Gesamtausgabe.[15]

During the period following Kitzler's tuition Bruckner composed the following work:

Vienna period[edit]

During his stay in Vienna, Bruckner composed the following works for viola quintet:

  • The String Quintet in F major, WAB 112, was composed between December 1878 and July 1879 at the request of Joseph Hellmesberger, Sr. and was dedicated to Duke Max Emanuel of Bavaria.[18][19] The work, the manuscript of which is stored in the archive of the Österreichische Nationalbibliothek, is put in Band XIII/2 of the Gesamtausgabe.[12]
  • The Intermezzo in D minor, WAB 113, was composed on 21 December 1879. It was intended to replace the scherzo of the String Quintet, which Hellmesberger found too challenging for the group to perform.[18][20] The Intermezzo, the manuscript of which is stored in the archive of the Österreichische Nationalbibliothek, is put with the String Quintet in Band XIII/2 of the Gesamtausgabe.[12]

References[edit]

Sources[edit]

  • Anton Bruckner: Sämtliche Werke, Band XXV: Das Kitzler Studienbuch (1861-1863), facsimile, Musikwissenschaftlicher Verlag der Internationalen Bruckner-Gesellschaft, Paul Hawkshaw and Erich Wolfgang Partsch (Editors), Vienna, 2015
  • Anton Bruckner: Sämtliche Werke: Band XIII/1: Streichquartett C-Moll Musikwissenschaftlicher Verlag der Internationalen Bruckner-Gesellschaft, Leopold Nowak (Editor), Vienna, 1955
  • Anton Bruckner: Sämtliche Werke: Band XII/1: Rondo C-Moll, Musikwissenschaftlicher Verlag der Internationalen Bruckner-Gesellschaft, Leopold Nowak (Editor), Vienna, 1985
  • Anton Bruckner – Sämtliche Werke, Band XII/7: Abendklänge for violin and piano, Musikwissenschaftlicher Verlag der Internationalen Bruckner-Gesellschaft, Walburga Litschauer (editor), Vienna, 1995
  • Anton Bruckner: Sämtliche Werke: Band XIII/2: Streichquintett F-Dur / Intermezzo D-Moll, Musikwissenschaftlicher Verlag der Internationalen Bruckner-Gesellschaft, Gerold W. Gruber (Editor), Vienna, 2007
  • Uwe Harten, Anton Bruckner. Ein Handbuch. Residenz Verlag [de], Salzburg, 1996. ISBN 3-7017-1030-9.
  • Cornelis van Zwol, Anton Bruckner 1824-1896 - Leven en werken, uitg. Thoth, Bussum, Netherlands, 2012. ISBN 978-90-6868-590-9