Main content
Sorry, this episode is not currently available

The Berlin Philharmonic plays Bruckner

Recorded live at the Philharmonie, Berlin, Christian Thielemann conducts Bruckner rarities: the Symphony in F minor, 'Study Symphony', and the Symphony No. 0 in D minor, 'Nullte'.

The latest treat from this year's 200th anniversary celebrations of Anton Bruckner's birth is a performance given by one of the composer's foremost interpreters with one of the world's great orchestras. Christian Thielemann has long-championed Bruckner's music and in this concert with the Berlin Philharmonic recorded earlier this month at the Philharmonie, Berlin, he conducts two rarities starting with the very beginnings of Bruckner's symphonic journey.

Bruckner's F minor 'Study Symphony' is a product of his early 20s, a student work which was never performed in his lifetime and which he himself called a 'school work'.

The Symphony No. 0 in D minor ('Nullte') was composed in between the first and second symphonies in the Bruckner canon. Its German moniker came about when, years later, as Bruckner was preparing his symphonies for publication, he was still smarting from its rejection by a conductor and wrote the ‘null’ symbol 'Ø' three times in the score, along with the words ‘invalid’, 'completely void’ and ‘annulled’. Yet this is the symphony which will make every Bruckner fan feel instantly at home, able to enjoy and recognise much that they love about Bruckner's mature symphonic style.

Introduced by Fiona Talkington.

Bruckner: Symphony in F minor, WAB 99 ('Study Symphony')
Bruckner: Symphony No. 0 in D minor, WAB 100 ('Nullte')

Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra
Christian Thielemann

1 hour, 58 minutes

Music Played

  • Anton Bruckner

    Symphony in F minor 'Study Symphony'

    Orchestra: Berliner Philharmoniker. Conductor: Christian Thielemann.
  • Johannes Brahms

    Theme and variations in D minor [from Sextet no.1]

    Performer: Denis Kozhukhin.
    • Pentatone.
  • Anton Bruckner

    Symphony in D minor no.0

    Orchestra: Berliner Philharmoniker. Conductor: Christian Thielemann.
  • Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach

    Arioso with 9 Variations in C major, Wq 118/10

    Performer: Marc-André Hamelin.
    • Hyperion.

Broadcast

  • Mon 25 Mar 2024 19:30