English Commentary by Sergio Cánovas 

Bruckner’s Symphony No.5 was composed between February 1875 to May 1876. It was revised in the following two years, but its one of the few symphonies to exist in a single version. It was performed in an arrangement for two pianos by Joseph Schalk and Franz Zottmann on 20 April 1887 in the Bösendorfersaal in Vienna. Franz Schalk took the score and revised it between 1892-4, with the intention of making it more palatable to the tastes of the times, disregarding Bruckner’s original intentions in the process. The score was reorchestrated to sound more Wagnerian, and large parts of the music was cut, specially in the finale.

In this grotesque revision, the work was premiered in Graz on April 8 of 1894, performed by the Graz City Orchestra conducted by Franz Schalk. This revision was published in 1896, Bruckner disapproved of the changes, but he was sickly and near the end of his life, and he wasn’t even able to attend the premiere nor prepare the score for publication. It wasn’t until the Haas (1935) and Nowak (1951) editions revealed the score in its original form. Ever since then, Bruckner’s original version (also known as the 1878 version) as become the most commonly performed today, while Schalk bastardization has become as a rarity. It has received many nicknames; «Tragic», «Catholic», «Church of Faith» or the «Pizzicato»; Bruckner himself referred to it privately as the «Fantastic». None of them have really stuck around.

The symphony is one of the most unique of the composer: it is a cyclical symphony (motives and themes reappear frequently in each movement) whose construction can be compared with a gothic cathedral. From the solid foundation that is the first movement, each movement, section and phrase of music builds up towards the fugal apotheosis found in the end of the final movement: Three minutes of music preceded by more than an hour of preparation. For these reasons, its performance its a great challege for even the best conductors, who have to consider the tempo and build-up, as well as sustaining that final climax. Bruckner himself saw the symphony as his contrapuntal masterpiece.

The first movement is structured in a large-scale, modified sonata form. It begins with a slow introduction with pizzicati from the doublebasses, followed by a serene chorale on the rest of strings, brilliantly taken by the brass in a solemn way. After a brief pause, the main allegro begins with a dramatic and agitated main theme on full orchestra, divided in two parts. It is followed by a lyrical second theme introduced by pizzicato strings, clearly derived from the opening material. It gives way to a rhythmic third theme, derived from the main one. The development opens with the same opening pizzicati, transforming the material through fragmentation and the use of counterpoint. The music rises in powerful and solemn climaxes. The development ends with a reappearance of the serene chorale on the brass, followed by the dramatic main theme opening the shortened recapitulation. After a passage full of struggle, a triumphal coda, based on the main theme, ends the movement brilliantly.

The second movement is written in an expanded ternary form. It opens with a pizzicato bassline, the same that opened the previous adagio, and which is the basis of a lyrical main theme introduced by the oboe. It is contrasted by a solemn, expansive chorale on strings as the second theme, which rises in a grand and broad climax. The main theme is then recapitulated, growing into a brilliant and affirmative climax. The second theme is also expressively recapitulated, enhanced by the brass. The main theme is repeated once more by woodwinds over string figurations, in a part that greatly prefigures the slow movement of Bruckner’s Symphony No.7. Then the chorale second theme solemnly reappears on full brass. A contemplative coda, based on the main theme, ends the movement calmly.

The third movement is a scherzo written in sonata form. It begins with a vigorous and ferocious main theme, which is a variation of the opening pizzicato bassline. It is soon contrasted by a more gentle second one in form of a Ländler (an Austrian peasant dance). Quickly follows a rondo-like development of these materials, which are combined and transformed in various guises. A triumphal cadence leads us to the contrasting trio section, with a gentle, moderate theme again in form of a slow dance: a Bohemian polka. The scherzo is then continued, ending the movement with a victorious coda

The fourth movement is also structured in a large-scale, modified sonata form. It opens with the same pizzicato introduction from the first movement, before the clarinet mysteriously hints later material. The oboe briefly brings a reminiscence of the main theme of the adagio, but then strings fully reveal an angular and rhythmic main theme derived from the clarinet phrases. It is then unfolded in an intricate fugato section. A variation of the second theme from the scherzo appears as the second theme. After a dramatic return of the main theme, a solemn third theme in form of a chorale is introduced by the brass, which recalls the Dresden Amen. The ensuing development showcases Bruckner astounding contrapuntal mastery: it consists of an ambitious and grand double fugue, divided in three main parts.

The chorale is the main subject while the clarinet six-note figure is the second. This double fugue is developed with staggering contrapuntal skill and dramatic instinct. At its climax the two subjects are combined on full orchestra, and this proves also to be the beginning of an unusual recapitulation. The lyrical second theme appears first, followed by the stormy main one, but the third seems to be absent. The main theme of the first movement is also present, bringing the cyclical design of the symphony to its conclusion. In the coda, the music builds up irresistibly on the basis of the first fugue subject, with other ideas played off against it, until the mighty chorale strides in majestic augmentation, fully harmonised on the brass, against the rhythms of the first subject, to clinch Bruckner’s symphonic argument in terms so glorious and so seemingly inevitable that they can brook no opposition.

Picture: «Morning on the Riesengebirge» (1810-1) by the German painter Caspar David Friedrich.

Sources: https://tinyurl.com/2avax5jp and https://tinyurl.com/2b94sbjz To check the score: https://tinyurl.com/25ownqk2