AND AGAIN AND AGAIN THE THIRD! ANTON BRUCKNER'S THIRD SYMPHONY AND ITS VARIOUS VERSIONS
A SYMPHONY FOR LIFE
It is rare for a symphony to follow a composer throughout his entire life. This was the case with Bruckner's Third Symphony. Here you can see the master of St. Florian's struggle to find the ideal form of his child. It is important to note that Bruckner often referred to his symphonies as his children, although he was busy with the child of the Third his entire life.
FIRST VERSION
Even in the first version of 1873 it was clear that the symphony in this form would hardly have a chance of being performed at that time. The technical demands on the orchestra were too great – the dimensions were too enormous, which put contemporaries off – the harmonic turns were too bold and radical. In short: the time was not yet ripe for such a futuristic work.
The rejection of the Third by contemporary conductors and musicians prompted Bruckner to revise the original version of 1873, the result of which is the intermediate version of 1874, although he added even more lavish orchestral details to the first movement. In 1876, Bruckner again created his own new version of the slow movement, the Adagio. It was not until the 1877 version that Bruckner made major cuts, thereby further condensing the form. He concentrated on the orchestration and dropped a lot of orchestral ballast. Finally, further revisions were made, so that the symphony was available in a more condensed form in 1890. There are therefore no fewer than five versions of the slow movement: from 1873, 1874, 1876, 1877 and 1890.
CLASSICAL CONCERT WITH THE PHILHARMONIE FESTIVA IN BAD KISSINGEN
On March 16, 2025, at 5 p.m., the Third Symphony will be performed in the bold first version in the Regentenbau in Bad Kissingen, performed by the Philharmonie Festiva. This concert should not be missed, because the enormous dimensions and the wonderful harmonic twists, which were a closed book to contemporaries, inspire us all the more today.
MUSICAL JOURNEY OF DISCOVERY
The symphony is very rarely heard in this form. It is a huge solitaire. So go on an exciting discovery with the Philharmonie Festiva
