Симфония № 4 Антона Брукнера: История и Варианты

Symphony by Anton Bruckner

Anton Bruckner's Symphony No. 4 in E flat major, WAB 104, is one of the composer's most popular works. It was written in 1874 and revised several times through 1888. It was dedicated to Prince Konstantin of Hohenlohe Schillingsfürst. It was premiered in 1881 by Hans Richter in Vienna to great acclaim. The symphony's nickname of Romantic was used by the composer himself. This was at the height of the Romantic movement in the arts as depicted, amongst others, in the operas Lohengrin and Siegfried of Richard Wagner. According to Albert Speer, the symphony was performed before the fall of Berlin, in a concert on 12 April 1945. Speer chose the symphony as a signal that the Nazis were about to lose the war.

Bruckner's original version of the symphony was composed between 2 January and 22 November 1874. The edition by Leopold Nowak in 1975, based on manuscript Mus. Hs.6082, includes some revisions from 1875 that Bruckner made in the autograph score. This version was never performed or published during the composer's lifetime, though the Scherzo was played in Linz on 12 December 1909. The first complete performance was given in Linz more than a century after its composition on 20 September 1975 by the Munich Philharmonic conducted by Kurt Wöss. The first commercial recording was made in September 1982 by the Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra conducted by Eliahu Inbal (CD 2564 61371 2).

In 1876 Bruckner made some additional, mainly metrical adjustments, that he introduced in a copy of the autograph score (manuscript Mus. Hs.6032), when he prepared the score for a planned performance – which ultimately fell through. The 1876 variant, that has been premiered in November 2020 by Jakub Hrůša with the Bamberger Symphoniker, has been issued by fr in 2021.

When he had completed the original version of the symphony, Bruckner turned to the composition of his Fifth Symphony. When he had completed that piece he resumed work on the Fourth. Between 18 January and 30 September 1878 he thoroughly revised the first two movements and replaced the original finale with a new movement entitled Volksfest ("Popular Festival"). In December 1878 Bruckner replaced the original Scherzo with a completely new movement, which is sometimes called the "Hunt" Scherzo (Jagd Scherzo). In a letter to the music critic Wilhelm Tappert (October 1878), Bruckner said that the new Scherzo "represents the hunt, whereas the Trio is a dance melody which is played to the hunters during their repast". The original title of the Trio reads: Tanzweise während der Mahlzeit auf der Jagd ("Dance melody during the hunters' meal"). The Volksfest finale was published as an appendix to Robert Haas's edition of 1936, and in a separate edition by Leopold Nowak in 1981. The complete 1878 version of the symphony has been first issued by William Carragan in 2014 for a foreseen performance by Gerd Schaller. A critical edition of the 1878 version has been issued by Benjamin Korstvedt in 2022. In close contact with Korstvedt, MusicaNova Phoenix, Arizona, has performed a world premiere of the 1878 version of the Symphony on 1 May 2022.

After the lapse of almost a year (during which he composed his String Quintet in F Major), Bruckner took up his Fourth Symphony once again. Between 19 November 1879 and 5 June 1880 he composed a new finale – the third, though it shares much of its thematic material with the first version – and discarded the Volksfest finale. This was the version performed at the work's premiere on 20 February 1881, which was the first premiere of a Bruckner symphony not to be conducted by Bruckner himself. Some changes made after the first performance of the latter – numerous changes in orchestration, a replacement of a 4 bar passage with a 12 bar passage in the Finale, and a 20 bar cut in the Andante. Most of these changes are described in Carragan's "Red Book". Moreover, Bruckner reworked the passage that bridges the end of the development section of the Finale and the beginning of the reprise. Bars 351–430, i. e. the transition at the end of the development as well as the reprise of the first motif and the first part of the second motif, were removed and replaced by a few bars new transition. This abbreviated version was used for the first performance and Bruckner specifically requested that it was used when the Fourth was played for a second time. The 1880 version is available in an edition by Robert Haas, which was published in 1936, based on Bruckner's manuscript in the Austrian National Library. A critical edition of the 1880 version has been issued by Benjamin Korstvedt in 2019. Another edition has been issued by Benjamin Gunnar Cohrs for the Anton Bruckner Urtext Gesamtausgabe in 2021 – with the abbreviated finale as it was performed by Felix Mottl on 10 December 1881 in Karlsruhe.

In 1895 Gustav Mahler made an arrangement of the 1888 version which is heavily cut and reorchestrated. It is available in recordings by Gennady Rozhdestvensky and Anton Nanut.

The following table summarises the details of the different versions. Year Common designation Korstvedt Redlich Cooke Other designation Source Printed editions 1874–1876 I I I – Original VersionUrfassung – Nowak 1975Korstvedt 2021 (1876 revision) 1878 II IIa II – Volksfest Version – Haas 1936 (Finale)Haas 1944 (Finale)Nowak 1981 (Finale)Carragan 2014Korstvedt 2022 1880 IIb III First Definitive Vienna Version1878/80 Version – Unpublished 1881 Karlsruhe VersionOriginalfassung1878/80 Version Autograph: A Wn Mus. Hs. 19.476 Haas 1936Haas 1944Korstvedt 2019Cohrs 2021 1886 Revised New York Version1878/80 Version Copyist's Score: Columbia Nowak 1953 1887 III III IV Löwe/Schalk – Stichvorlage (private collection)Photographs: A Wst M. H. 9098/c Unpublished 1888 Schalk & Löwe VersionEndfassungFassung letzter Hand Stichvorlage (private collection)Photographs: A Wst M. H. 9098/c Gutmann 1889Wöss 1927Redlich 1955Korstvedt 2004

Any critical appraisal of Bruckner's Fourth Symphony must take into account the so called Bruckner Problem – that is, the controversy surrounding the degrees of authenticity and authorial status of the different versions of his symphonies. Between 1890 and 1935 there was no such controversy as far as the Fourth was concerned: Gutmann's print of the symphony, the 1888 version, was unchallenged. British musicologist Donald Tovey's analysis of the symphony mentioned no other version, nor does the Swiss theorist Ernst Kurth. Gutmann's version was the one performed by the leading conductors of the day: Mahler, Weingartner, Richter and Fischer.

With the Anschluss of Austria to Hitler's Germany in 1938, the Musikwissenschaftlicher Verlag Wien (MWV) and the Internationale Bruckner Gesellschaft (IBG) in Vienna had been dissolved, and all efforts had been transferred to Leipzig. In 1945, late into a bomb attack on Leipzig, the publishing stock was destroyed. After the war, the IBG, the MWV, and Bruckner's documented output returned to Austria. In 1951 Leopold Nowak presented the first volume of the Neue Bruckner Gesamtausgabe with a corrected reprint of Alfred Orel's edition of the Ninth Symphony. Nowak had already served in score editing capacities before 1945, had worked on discovering new sources, and had corrected errors. About the Fourth Symphony, Nowak was not immediately convinced that the 1888 version was authentic. He rejected the evidence of the Stichvorlage on the grounds that Bruckner had not signed it. He also repeated, and revised, arguments Haas had invoked to cast doubt on Bruckner's involvement in the preparation of the 1887 version. Throughout the second half of the twentieth century most commentators accepted Haas's and Nowak's arguments without taking the trouble to investigate the matter any further. The rediscovery of the copyist's score of the 1886 version was the only significant change to the Gesamtausgabe during Nowak's long editorship (1951–1989). Nowak issued critical editions of the original 1874 version (1975), the 1886 version (1953) and the Volksfest finale of the 1878 version (1981), as well as a new edition of the 1881 version (1981). Gutmann's print of the 1888 version, however, remained beyond the pale as far as Nowak was concerned. Critical appreciation of the symphony took an interesting turn in 1954, when Eulenburg issued a new edition of the 1888 version by the German born British musicologist Hans F. Redlich. According to Redlich, the publication of the revised version in 1889 did not mark the end of the Fourth Symphony's long process of composition and revision, as most commentators had assumed, for on 18 January 1890 Bruckner supposedly began to indite yet another version of the symphony:

The strangest feature in this tangle of conflicting evidence is the fact that the so called Endfassung (final version) of the symphony which – according to R. Haas – combined versions II and III [i. e. essentially the same as the 1880 version] and is embodied in HS 19476 of the Nat. Bibl. Vienna Austrian National Library, seems to have been put on paper after the issue of the "revised version" (i. e [the published 1888 version]). This emerges clearly from the Facsimile of its first page [published as Plate IV in R. Haas, Anton Bruckner (Potsdam, 1934), p. 128], which bears the date of its commencement: Vienna January 18, 1890. It is possible to see in this MS score as well as in its date a silent protest of Bruckner's against the published score of 1889. Redlich buttressed this argument by questioning the authenticity of a number of emendations to the score which he considered alien to Bruckner's native style. Among these, the following may be noted: the introduction of piccolo and cymbals in bar 76 of the finale; the use of cymbals in bar 473 of the finale; and the use of muted horns in bar 147 of the finale, the aperto command for which is omitted in bar 155. In 1969 Deryck Cooke repeated these arguments in his influential series of articles The Bruckner Problem Simplified, going so far as to claim that Bruckner "withheld his ultimate sanction by refusing to sign the copy sent to the printer". Cooke, who referred to the 1888 version as the "completely spurious Löwe/Schalk score", concluded that the existence of the alleged manuscript of 1890 to which Redlich had first drawn attention effectively annulled all revisions made after 1881.

In 1996, however, critical opinion of the Fourth Symphony was turned on its head by the American musicologist fr, who demonstrated that the manuscript referred to by Redlich and Cooke does not in fact exist: "Were it true that Bruckner made such a copy, Cooke's claim would merit consideration. But Bruckner never did. Redlich and Cooke were misled by a photograph in Haas's biography of Bruckner. This photograph, which shows the first page of Bruckner's autograph score of the second version, is cropped in such a way that the date 18. Jänner 1878 – which is mentioned by Haas – seems to read 18 Jänner 1890". Korstvedt has also refuted Haas's oft repeated argument that Bruckner was a diffident composer who lacked faith in his own ability and was willing to make concessions that contravened his own artistic judgement. No evidence has been adduced in support of this assessment of the composer. On the contrary, there are first hand accounts from Bruckner's own associates that it was impossible to persuade him to accept emendations against his own better judgement. It is Korstvedt's contention that while the preparation of the 1888 version was indeed a collaborative effort between Bruckner, Löwe, and probably also Franz and Joseph Schalk, this in no way undermines its authorial status; it still represents Bruckner's final thoughts on his Fourth Symphony and should be regarded as the true Endfassung or Fassung letzter Hand. There is no evidence that Bruckner "refused" to sign the Stichvorlage. He may have omitted to do so, but this is also true of other Bruckner manuscripts whose authenticity is not doubted. Furthermore, there is no real evidence that Bruckner was forced to accept revisions in order to get the work published, as Haas claimed. The only condition that Gutmann made prior to publication was that he be paid 1,000 fl. in advance to cover his costs. Once this money was delivered to him, he would have been quite happy, presumably, to print whatever version of the symphony Bruckner sent him. In 2004 Korstvedt issued the first modern edition of the 1888 version of the symphony for the Gesamtausgabe. In 2019 Korstvedt issued a modern edition of the 1881 version, in 2021 an edition of the 1876 variant of the first version, and in 2022 the 1878 version.

The following table summarizes the Fourth Symphony's complicated history of composition (or Wirkungsgeschichte, to use the critical term preferred by Bruckner scholars). The principal sources for these data are and (B = Bruckner; FS = Fourth Symphony; mvt = movement.) 1874 2 January B sketches the 1st mvt of his FS 24 January 1st mvt: sketch of score is completed 21 February 1st mvt: full score and instrumentation are worked out 10 April B begins to sketch 2nd mvt 13 June B begins to sketch 3rd mvt 25 July 3rd mvt is completed 5 August B begins to sketch 4th mvt 22 November 1st version (1874) of the FS is completed 1875 passim Unsuccessful attempts by B to have his FS performed 1876 August B meets the progressive music critic Wilhelm Tappert at the inaugural Bayreuth Festival September Tappert persuades the conductor Benjamin Bilse to perform the FS in Berlin B sends Bilse a score and a set of orchestral parts 12 October B writes to Tappert, declaring his intention to thoroughly revise the FS before any performance He engages Tappert's efforts to recover the score and parts from Bilse (without success) 1878 18 January B begins to revise the FS 1 August B begins composition of the Volksfest finale 30 September 1st revision completed (1878 version) 9 October B writes to Tappert; another unsuccessful attempt to recover score and parts from Bilse B describes the revised version of his FS and announces his intention of replacing the Scherzo with a new "Hunt" Scherzo December "Hunt" Scherzo is composed 1879 19 November B begins to compose a 3rd version of the finale to replace the Volksfest finale 1880 5 June New finale is completed (1880 version) 1881 20 February 1880 version premiered in Vienna by the VPO conducted by Richter; 1st premiere of a B symphony to be conducted by someone other than B ? ? B makes some changes to the symphony after the first performance, resulting in the 1881 version 10 December A performance of the 1881 version in Karlsruhe under Felix Mottl is a failure; 1st performance of a B symphony at which the composer is not present 1885 ? ? B sends the score of the 1881 version to publishers Bote and Bock of Berlin with a view to publication, but it is rejected 1886 ? ? B sends the score of the 1881 version to publishers Schott of Mainz with a view to publication, but it is again rejected 4 June 1st and 3rd movements of the 1881 version are performed at the Sondershausen Musikfest in Thuringia ? ? B makes some further changes while preparing the score to be sent with Anton Seidl to New York City, resulting in the 1886 version Summer B sends a copy of the score of the 1886 version to Anton Seidl, who takes it to New York August 2nd version (1878–1886) of the symphony set aside by B 1 October Hermann Levi sends a postcard to Viennese publisher Albert Gutmann interesting him in the publication of the FS October? Gutmann agrees to publish the FS, but demands an advance fee of 1,000 marks (1,000 fl.) 16 November B writes to Levi rejecting Gutmann's terms as impossible for him to meet 1887 3 January B relents and agrees to Gutmann's terms when it becomes clear that Levi will be able to raise the 1,000 fl. (does Gutmann receive the 1,000 fl. now?) Spring? B and his collaborators (Ferdinand Löwe, Franz Schalk and Joseph Schalk) begin to revise the FS for publication 9 May Franz Schalk writes to his brother Joseph, telling him that Löwe has reorchestrated much of the FS with B's approval December? 1887 version completed (partially preserved in some surviving orchestral parts from the premiere) 14 December A planned performance of 1887 version in Munich under Levi is cancelled due to the unavailability of orchestral parts 1888 22 January 1887 version is premiered in Vienna by the Vienna Philharmonic under Hans Richter February The Stichvorlage (engraver's copy of the 1887 version) is extensively revised in B's hand, completed and dated, resulting in the 1888 version 23 February B writes to Franz Schalk: asks him to thank Löwe for list of differences between score used at premiere on 22 January 1888 and revised Stichvorlage 27 February B sends Levi the Stichvorlage for a concert Levi was preparing to give in Munich on 14 April 1888 (the concert was cancelled when Levi fell ill) and asks him to have the orchestral parts amended accordingly at his, B's, expense; attached to the Stichvorlage is Löwe's list of revisions 9 March B writes to Levi: requests that the Stichvorlage and revised parts be sent to him (Levi actually had a new set of parts drawn up from scratch) 4 April 1886 version performed in New York under Anton Seidl 15 May B signs the contract for the publication of the FS (does Gutmann receive his 1,000 fl. now?) 20 June B writes to Arthur Nikisch: the Stichvorlage has been sent via Gutmann to the printers Engelmann & Mühlberg of Leipzig 1889 September Gutmann finally publishes the 1888 version of B's FS; this is the first printed edition of the work 1890 ? ? Gutmann issues a corrected edition of the 1888 version 10 December The 1888 version is performed in Munich under Franz Fischer (deputizing for the indisposed Hermann Levi) 11 December Fischer writes to B: first rehearsal has had to be abandoned; the handwritten orchestral parts were defective and had to be revised by a local copyist 1891 18 April B writes to Levi, asking him to send Fischer's revised orchestral parts to Gutmann for printing ? ? 3 more performances of the 1888 version take place using Fischer's revised handwritten orchestral parts 1892 Spring Gutmann publishes the orchestral parts of the FS (1888 version) and another print of the full score 15 June 1st performance of the FS using Gutmann's printed orchestral parts takes place in Vienna under Joseph Schalk

The score calls for two flutes, two oboes, two clarinets, two bassoons, four horns, three trumpets, three trombones, timpani and strings. From the 1878 revision onwards, a single bass tuba is also incorporated into the instrumentation. The published score of 1889 introduces a part for third flute (doubling on the piccolo) and a pair of cymbals.

The first commercial recording of part of the symphony was of the scherzo from the 1888 version, made by Clemens Krauss with the Vienna Philharmonic in 1929. The first commercial recording of the entire symphony was made by Karl Böhm with the Staatskapelle Dresden in 1936, in the Haas/1881 version. The versions most often recorded are the Haas and Nowak editions of the 1880 score (referred to as the 1881 and 1886 versions in the list above). Any modern recording that does not specify this can be safely assumed to be one of these versions, while early LPs and CD remasterings of old recordings are usually of Ferdinand Löwe's 1888 edition (for example, those by Wilhelm Furtwängler and Hans Knappertsbusch). The first recording of the original 1874 version was by Kurt Wöss with the Munich Philharmonic – a live performance on 20 September 1975. The first studio recording of the 1874 version was by Eliahu Inbal with the Frankfurt Radio Symphony. The first recording of the 1878 version was by Warren Cohen with the MusicaNova Orchestra – a live performance on 1 May 2022.

Simon Rattle conducting the London Symphonic Orchestra, Bruckner – Symphony No. 4 – LSO Live LSO085, 2022

Simon Rattle conducting the London Symphonic Orchestra, Bruckner – Symphony No. 4 – LSO Live LSO085, 2022