There are eleven Bruckner symphonies in all. In addition to the numbered
nine he composed and subsequently withdrew two scores: the 'Symphony No 0'
in D minor (1869) and this present F minor symphony which he wrote between
March and May 1863.
In an interesting booklet note Michael Lewin argues that Bruckner withdrew
the D minor work, which actually post-dates the Symphony No 1, 'because he
recognised that the path from his 1
st Symphony could no longer be
continued in this form.' He goes on to point out that Bruckner himself
dismissed the F minor score as an example of school work. Both the F minor
and D minor scores are rarely heard today except as part of some - but by no
means all - Bruckner symphony cycles on disc. Simone Young has given us the
D minor symphony already (
review) and I've now caught up with her account of the
'Studiensinfonie', a title coined by Leopold Nowak - some people refer to
it, alternatively, as the 'Symphony 00'.
The F minor Symphony was not performed until 1924, the year in which the
score was published; perhaps its appearance then was connected to the
composer's centenary. Michael Lewis justly observes that the influences of
Wagner, which carried such weight later in Bruckner's career, are not
evident here - it was too soon; instead the music is indebted to Mendelssohn
and Schumann. The Schumann influence is especially evident, it seems to me,
in the first movement, though his shadow hovers over all the movements with
the possible exception of the scherzo.
The first movement -
Allegro molto vivace - is constructed round
three themes, all of which are heard in the first few minutes. There's no
introduction; instead the first theme is presented at once. The music is
quite light in tone - strings and woodwind predominate - and the character
is genial. It may be imperfect by comparison with the mature symphonies but
each time I've listened to this movement I've found it very attractive, an
impression that's helped greatly by the alert and excellent playing of the
Philharmoniker Hamburg. Had Bruckner's symphonic music carried on in this
vein then I think we should unhesitatingly place him in a line that runs
from Mendelssohn and Schumann through Bruckner to Brahms and Dvořák. There's
something of a premonition of later Bruckner in the closing bars and
particularly in the brass writing in this passage.
Two themes form the basis for the slow movement, which is marked
Andante molto. This movement comes nowhere near the breadth and
depth of Bruckner's great slow movements which lay in the future. Yet I hope
I'm not being fanciful - or listening with the benefit of hindsight - in
believing that one can detect that the composer of this music would be
capable, in due course, of thinking on a much broader scale. The movement
opens promisingly and the episode that starts around 6:30 and runs to 8:40
does show signs of the mastery that was to come in later years. Twice we
hear passages in which one solo woodwind instrument after another weaves
quite elaborate decoration around the main material which is being presented
on the strings; these strike me as atypical of mature Bruckner, though very
interesting to hear. Michael Lewin observes that in this movement 'the [two]
themes merely circle round themselves; in his later works, Bruckner
typically conceives the themes of his slow movements as leading towards a
dramatic climax.' I must confess that I wasn't so conscious of the themes
'circling' but I completely agree that the movement doesn't achieve a
memorable and inevitable climax, which is surely a sign of lack of
experience - or, perhaps, symphonic confidence - on Bruckner's part.
The energetic third movement seems to pre-figure future Bruckner scherzos.
The trio, in which the woodwind are prominent, seems somewhat
inconsequential. I have to admit that the scherzo movements in one or two of
the later symphonies come close to outst
aying their welcome so far as I'm concerned. That's not the
case here: the movement is over and done with in less than six minutes.
The finale strikes me as being earnest and worthy but the music doesn't
exactly hold me spellbound. Indeed I had the impression that the symphony
has rather run out of steam. In symphonies 4 - 8 one feels that the finale
is where the work has been heading but that's not the case here. I'd agree
with the verdict of Michael Lewin that this is the weakest movement.
The F minor symphony is by no means the finished Brucknerian article but
it's far from negligible and I think it's well worth hearing. Here it
benefits from committed advocacy from Simone Young and her accomplished
orchestra. The playing is polished and Ms Young makes a strong case for the
work. The SACD recording presents the performance in warm yet clear and very
pleasing sound. The playing time is ungenerous and it might have been
preferable to present this symphony as a two-disc set, coupled with one of
the better-known later symphonies.
Michael Lewin hits the nail on the head when he says in his notes that
hearing this symphony 'is an encounter that one would no longer actually
wish to forego, from time to time.' The symphony is a valuable part of this
fine Bruckner cycle.
John Quinn
The Simone Young Bruckner cycle on MusicWeb
International:-
Symphony No 0 (Original version 1869)
Symphony No 1 (Original version 1865/66)
Symphony No 2 (Original version 1872)
Symphony No 3 (Original version 1873)
Symphony No 4 (Original version 1874)
Symphony No 6 (1881)
Symphony No 8 (Original version 1887)
