大象传媒

Donald Macleod uncovers how Bruckner鈥檚 musical ambitions were threatened by his fragile mental health.

From our modern perspective, it can be difficult to appreciate why it took so long for Anton Bruckner to be recognised as one of the leading musical voices of the 19th century. His spectacular symphonies regularly pack out concert halls today, but his own era took many decades to warm to his music. Only in his sixties did Bruckner begin to achieve the popularity he deserved and, even then, he retained a reputation as a bit of an oddball. Colleagues were disturbed by his unsophisticated manners, unquestioning religious devotion and peculiar personal habits. His tendency to see enemies all around regularly tested his relationships. His romantic choices were routinely disastrous.

This week, Donald Macleod marks the 200th anniversary of Bruckner鈥檚 birth by examining Bruckner鈥檚 lifelong struggle to become the great composer we know today.

Today, Donald examines how Bruckner鈥檚 obsessive nature drove him into an intensive study of music theory before plunging into work on his radical first symphony. But his compulsions were also sending him careering towards a dangerous mental breakdown.

Symphony No 8 in C minor (1890 Version, ed. Novak): (2nd mvt, Scherzo, Allegro moderato - Trio, Langsam)
Tonhalle-Orchester Z眉rich, conducted by Paavo J盲rvi

Ave Maria WAB 6
Tenebrae, directed by Nigel Short

Symphony No 1 in C Minor (1877 Rev. Linz Version, Ed. Nowak), (1st mvt, Allegro)
Wiener Philharmoniker, conducted by Claudio Abbado

Mass in F Minor, (3rd mvt, Credo)
Ingela Bohlin (soprano), Ingeborg Danz (contralto), Hans J枚rg Mammel (tenor), Alfred Reiter (baritone)
RIAS Kammerchor, directed by Philippe Herreweghe