Carl Schuricht - Bruckner: Symphony No. 8 (1964) [2016] Hi-Res

Bruckner began work on the Eighth Symphony in July 1884. Working mainly during the
summer vacations from his duties at the University of Vienna and the Vienna Conservatory,
the composer had all four movements completed in draft form by August 1885. The
orchestration of the work took Bruckner until April 1887 to complete: during this stage of
composition the order of the inner movements was reversed, leaving the scherzo second and
the Adagio as the third movement.
In September 1887 Bruckner had the score copied and sent to conductor Hermann Levi. Levi
was one of Bruckner's closest collaborators, having given a performance of the Seventh
Symphony in Munich that was "the greatest triumph Bruckner had yet experienced". He had
also arranged for Bruckner's career to be supported in other ways, including financial
assistance from the nobility, and an honorary doctorate from the University of Vienna.
However the conductor wrote back to Bruckner that:
I find it impossible to perform the Eighth in its current form. I just can't make it my own! As
much as the themes are magnificent and direct, their working-out seems to me dubious;
indeed, I consider the orchestration quite impossible... Don't lose your courage, take another
look at your work, talk it over with your friends, with Schalk, maybe a reworking can achieve
something.
By January 1888 Bruckner had come to agree with Levi that the symphony would benefit from
further work. He began work on the revision in March 1889 and completed the new version of
the symphony in March 1890. Once the revision was completed, the composer wrote to
Emperor Franz Josef I for permission to dedicate the symphony to him. The emperor
accepted Bruckner's request and also offered to help pay for the work's publication. Bruckner
had some trouble finding a publisher for the work, but in late 1890 the Haslinger-Schlesinger-Lienau company agreed to undertake publication. Bruckner's associates Josef Schalk and
Max von Oberleithner assisted with the publication process: Schalk prepared the musical text
to be sent to the printer while Oberleithner corrected the proofs and also provided financial
support. The symphony was eventually published in March 1892. It was the only one of
Bruckner's symphonies to be published before its first performance.
By the time the 1890 revision was complete Levi was no longer conducting concerts in
Munich: as a result he recommended that his protege Felix Weingartner, Kapellmeister of
Mannheim, lead the first performance of the symphony. The premiere was twice scheduled
to occur under the young conductor's direction during 1891, but each time Weingartner
substituted another work at the last minute. Eventually the conductor told Bruckner that he
was unable to undertake the performance because he was about to take up a new position
at the Berlin Opera. However, Weingartner admitted, in a letter to Levi, that the real reason
he was unable to perform the symphony was because the work was too difficult and he did
not have enough rehearsal time: in particular, the Wagner tuba players in his orchestra did
not have enough experience to cope with their parts.
After a Munich performance by Levi was canceled because of a feared outbreak of
cholera, Bruckner focused his efforts on securing a Vienna premiere for the symphony. At
last Hans Richter, subscription conductor of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, agreed to
conduct the work. The first performance took place on 18 December 1892. Although some
of the more conservative members of the audience left at the end of each movement, many
of Bruckner's supporters were also present, including Hugo Wolf and Johann Strauss.
The well known critic Eduard Hanslick left after the slow movement. His review described
the symphony as "interesting in detail, but strange as a whole, indeed repellent. The
peculiarity of this work consists, to put it briefly, in importing Wagner's dramatic style into
the symphony." (Korstvedt points out that this was less negative than Hanslick's reviews of
Bruckner's earlier symphonies.) There were also many positive reviews from Bruckner's
admirers. One anonymous writer described the symphony as "the crown of music in our
time". Hugo Wolf wrote to a friend that the symphony was "the work of a giant" that
"surpasses the other symphonies of the master in intellectual scope, awesomeness, and
greatness".
The symphony was slow to enter the orchestral repertoire. Only two further performances
occurred during Bruckner's lifetime. The American premiere did not take place until 1909,
while the symphony had to wait until 1929 for its first London performance.



Tracks:

1 Allegro Moderato 15:41
2 Scherzo (Allegro Moderato) - And Trio (Langsam) 14:05
3 Adagio - (Feierlich Langsam Doch Nicht Schleppend) 21:48
4 Finale (Feierlich, Nicht Schnell) 19:50

Personnel:

Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra,
Carl Schuricht.