The „Symphonic Prelude“ is a one-movement orchestral work composed in 1876. The surviving manuscript is in the handwriting of one of Bruckner's pupils, Rudolf Krzyzanowski. It is either a compositional exercise of Krzyzanowski's on a theme given to him by Bruckner, or a work by his teacher which was later destroyed, and was saved for posterity by the student´s copy; it was given its first performance on this latter basis by the Munich Philharmonic in 1949.
Bruckner's 5th symphony, which he himself described as a „masterpiece of counterpoint“, is a truly vast work pervaded by a dense network of motivic relationships. The conductor Wilhelm Furtwängler considered the final movement to be „the most monumental finale in the whole of musical literature“. The composer never heard the work in its original form, which was given its world premiere by the Munich Philharmonic as late as 1935. For this reason it only exists in one version.
On the 24th and 25th September the Munich Philharmonic under Valerij Gergiev completes its highly acclaimed cycle of all the numbered Bruckner symphonies, which began in 2017, with two works which the orchestra itself premiered.
Anton Bruckner (1824–1896)/Rudolf Krzyzanowski (1859–1911)
„Symphonic Prelude“ in C minor, WAB 336 (1876)
Anton Bruckner
Symphony No. 5 in Bb major, WAB 105 (1875–76, rev. 1877–78)
Munich Philharmonic
Valerij Gergiev | Conductor
The 5th symphony will be repeated as educational concert across generations with a charitable aspect on the September, 23rd in the Monastery church of St. Florian (Registration for this event is required. Please contact education@liva.linz.at).