Symphony No. 2 (Bruckner)
| “Symphony No. 2 in C minor” | |
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| Dedication | none |
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| Composed | 1871 - 1872 1875 - 1876 1890 |
| Premiere | Bruckner conducting, 20 February 1876, Vienna Philharmonic, Vienna |
| First published | 1892 |
| Other editions | ed. Robert Haas, 1938 ed. Leopold Nowak, 1965 ed. William Carragan, 1997 (1877 version) ed. William Carragan, 2005 (1872 version) |
| First recording | Volkmar Andreae, Vienna Symphony Orchestra, 1953 |
Anton Bruckner's Symphony No. 2 in C minor was completed in 1872, and revised, like most of Bruckner's other symphonies, at various points thereafter.
It was composed after the Symphony No. 0 in D minor (which was itself composed after the Symphony No. 1 in C minor). It is the only "official" Bruckner symphony (that is to say, excluding No. 0) without a dedication: Franz Liszt tacitly rejected the dedication, and Richard Wagner chose the Symphony No. 3 in D minor instead. The premiere was given with Bruckner himself conducting in 1873.
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[edit] Description
The score calls for a pair each of flutes, oboes, clarinets, bassoons, four horns, two trumpets, three trombones, timpani, and strings.
The symphony has four movements:
- Moderato, C minor
- Scherzo: Mäßig schnell, C minor, — Trio: Gleiches Tempo, C major (Put in 3rd position in the later versions).
- Feierlich, etwas bewegt, A-flat major
- Finale: Ziemlich schnell, C minor
[edit] Versions
[edit] 1872 Version
This version has been published in an edition by William Carragan (published 2005). In this version, the Scherzo and slow movement are swapped, the scherzo preceding. It has been recorded by Kurt Eichhorn, Georg Tintner, and Simone Young.
[edit] 1873 Version
This version, which was used at the premiere, replaces at the end of the Adagio the horn solo - considered unplayable by the hornist - by a clarinet and the violas, and deletes repeats in the scherzo. It has been recorded by Kurt Eichhorn.
[edit] 1876 Version
This version, together with the 1873 version, appears in the Carragan edition of the symphony. It has also been recorded by Kurt Eichhorn.
[edit] 1877 Version
The editions by Robert Haas (published 1938) and Leopold Nowak (published 1965) are both based on this version.
Haas' edition contains some features of the previous version, which, as in the 1890 version of the 8th symphony,[1] were crossed out by Bruckner in the 1877 manuscript. The edition by William Carragan (published 1997) is a corrected Haas' edition. Most recordings of the symphony are made of the Haas and Nowak versions. The Carragan edition has been recorded by Daniel Barenboim.
[edit] 1892 First Published Version
This version was edited by Cyrill Hynais. Until recently it was thought to be inauthentic, however Carragan has showed that it corresponds closely to the 1877 version. A cut version of the scherzo of this version was used in the first recording of this symphony, by Fritz Zaun in 1934. There is a single full recording of this version, which has been performed by Hermann Scherchen with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra in 1965.
[edit] Discography
The first commercial recording of part of the symphony was made by Fritz Zaun with the Berlin State Opera Orchestra in 1934. It contained only a cut version of the scherzo, in the 1892 first published edition.
The oldest surviving complete performance is by Georg-Ludwig Jochum with the Bruckner Orchestra of Linz. It dates from 1944 and uses the Haas edition.
The first commercial recording was by Volkmar Andreae with the Vienna Symphony Orchestra in 1953, also using the Haas edition. The first recording on Hybrid SACD was by Simone Young conducting the Hamburg Philharmonic.
[edit] Notable recordings
[edit] 1872 version
- Georg Tintner conducting the RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra, studio recording, 1996, Naxos
- Simone Young conducting the Hamburg Philharmonic Orchestra, 2006, BMG SACD
[edit] 1873 version
- Kurt Eichhorn conducting the Bruckner Orchestra Linz, 1991, Camerata
[edit] 1876 version
- Kurt Eichhorn conducting the Bruckner Orchestra Linz, 1991, Abruckner.com BSVD-0103
[edit] 1877 version
[edit] Haas edition
- Franz Konwitschny conducting the Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra, live recording, 1951, Berlin Classics
- Horst Stein conducting the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, studio recording, 1973, Decca/London
- Christoph Eschenbach conducting the Houston Symphony Orchestra, live recording, 1996, Koch
[edit] Nowak edition
- Carlo Maria Giulini conducting the Vienna Symphony Orchestra, studio recording, 1974, Testament
- Eugen Jochum conducting the Staatskapelle Dresden, studio recording, 1980, EMI
- Herbert von Karajan conducting the Berliner Philharmoniker, studio recording, 1981, Deutsche Grammophon
- Stanisław Skrowaczewski conducting the Saarbrucken Radio Symphony Orchestra, studio recording, 1999, Arte Nova/Oehms Classics
[edit] Carragan edition
- Daniel Barenboim conducting the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, 1997, Teldec
[edit] 1892 version
- Herman Scherchen conducting the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, 1965, Disco Archivia CD
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- Symphony No. 2: Free scores at the International Music Score Library Project.
- Full score (Haas/1877) at the Indiana University school of music
- Bruckner Symphony Versions
- Complete discography of the symphony
- [1] Essay by Dr. Benjamin-Gunnar Cohrs on the Editions of Symphony No. 2
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