Bruckner - Symphony No. 4 - Romantic | Marek Janowski | WDR Symphony Orchestra
Anton Bruckner's Symphony No. 4 in E-flat major, in the "romantic" version of 1878/80, performed by the WDR Symphony Orchestra conducted by Marek Janowski on Dec. 18, 2021, at the Kölner Philharmonie. Anton Bruckner - Symphony No. 4 in E-flat Major "Romantic" Version from 1878/80 00:00:00 I. Bewegt, nicht zu schnell (With motion, not too fast) 00:19:22 II. Andante quasi Allegretto 00:34:47 III. Scherzo. Bewegt (Moving) - Trio. Nicht zu schnell (Not too fast) 00:45:55 IV. Finale: Bewegt, doch nicht zu schnell (With motion, but not too fast) Marek Janowski, conductor WDR Symphony Orchestra ► For more on the symphony orchestra, concerts and current livestreams, visit https://sinfonieorchester.wdr.de ► The WDR Symphony Orchestra on Facebook / wdrsinfonieorchester ► Further concerts and introductions to works from the world of classical music, symphonic crossover, choral singing and concerts for children can also be found in the ARD Mediathek: https://www.ardmediathek.de/klassik Work introduction: If you search the imaginary hidden object of Viennese musical life in the second half of the 19th century for the most idiosyncratic oddball who falls through the cracks of bourgeois conventions but unflinchingly does his thing, the zoom moves purposefully toward a close-up - Anton Bruckner. If Alban Berg is considered the nonchalant, suave one among Viennese composers, Bruckner, 60 years his senior, is a monolith of impenetrability. One of the labels most often applied to his nine symphonies is "erratic." The immutability that his music exudes also seems to be inherent in his personality. Today one would say: a nerd who does not even seem to be aware of his unconformity. In his working methods, too, Bruckner initially proceeded in a structured manner like few others. In his Fourth Symphony, ideas and thoughts did not pop into his head unbundled, but he worked his way forward systematically in a linear fashion. First movement: January 2 to March 26, 1874; second movement: April 10 to June 10; scherzo: June 13 to July 25; finale: July 30 to November 22, and even the time Bruckner recorded: "1/2 9 o'clock in the evening." So much for the outward appearance - a supposed check-off according to plan. But self-doubt lurked behind the attempt to give himself a foothold with the help of the structured work process. No sooner had the work been completed than Bruckner wrote to a friend: "No one is helping me," and: "What should I do? This tension accompanied him his entire career. Reinforced by the head-shaking with which the public initially reacted to his symphonies, Bruckner struggled almost ceaselessly to find the ideal form for each symphony. And so the incessant processes of reworking, filing, and wrestling defined Bruckner's self-image as a composer. But what is the outer form compared to the richness of imagination with which he knows how to imagine sounds: the wafting out of unfathomable worlds at the beginning, the dreaminess of the Andante, the towering waves of increase in the Scherzo and the merging of the finale into all-embracing jubilation. (Text: Otto Hagedorn)
