Anton Bruckner – Symphony No. 3 in D minor

The Munich concert year of 2005 began at the end of January with two highlights: the two performances of Bruckner’s Third Symphony with Mariss Jansons conducting the Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks in the Philharmonie im Gasteig. The live recording, initially reserved for the orchestra’s subscribers and subsequently offered as part of the two Bruckner Boxes 900716 and 900718, is now being released separately on CD by BR-KLASSIK – so we now have a further exemplary interpretation of one of the most important compositions of the Late Romantic symphonic repertoire, conducted by an outstanding Bruckner connoisseur.

Bruckner completed the score of the opening movement, the Adagio and the Scherzo of his nascent Third Symphony between February and July 1873, and sketched out its finale on August 31, 1873 in Marienbad, Bohemia. The composer then travelled to Bayreuth, and presented Richard Wagner with his Second Symphony and the already completed manuscripts for the Third. Bruckner asked the master to select the symphony he preferred, intending to dedicate it to him – but since both men drank quite a bit of beer during their thorough perusal of the manuscripts, Bruckner was later unable to remember which work Wagner had ultimately chosen, and this had to be clarified in writing. The Third Symphony was completed on December 31, 1873.

This first version of Bruckner’s Third Symphony became famous because it contained quotations from Wagner’s opera “Tristan und Isolde” and his tetralogy “Der Ring des Nibelungen”. These quotations were, however, incorporated into blocks separated by general rests, so they could be removed later on without interfering with the substance of the symphony. In 1877, Bruckner fundamentally revised the work, shortened it and eliminated the Wagner quotations. Then, in 1888, he worked out a third and final version, which forms the basis of the present interpretation.

The premiere of the first version took place in Vienna on December 16, 1877, with Bruckner conducting – and was an utter fiasco. Gustav Mahler was the only person to show any enthusiasm, and created a four-hand piano reduction of the work; in return, Bruckner presented him with the manuscripts of the first three movements. It was not until the premiere of the third version on December 21, 1890, under Hans Richter, that the Third Symphony made its international breakthrough.

Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks
Mariss Jansons conductor
Chief Conductor of the Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks and the Bavarian Radio Chorus from 2003 to 2019

1 CD highprice
Product Number: 900189
Total Time: 56’19 min.