Bruckner · Anton Bruckner
Bruckner Symphony No. 1 in C minor
The piece Bruckner called a "saucy little minx"
- Key
- C minor
- Composed
- 1866
- Premiere
- 1868 Linz
- Duration
- about 50 min
- Movements
- 4 movements
- Instrumentation
- Woodwinds 3·2·2·2 (third flute in the second movement only) · Brass 4·2·3·0 · Timpani · Strings (Linz version, Nowak edition)
The story behind this piece
Bruckner wrote this piece (1865–1866) while working as a cathedral organist in Linz. He conducted the premiere himself in Linz in 1868. Later, Bruckner called it, in Austrian dialect, "das kecke Beserl," roughly "the saucy little minx." He said it about its high-spirited character.
More than 20 years later, in 1890–1891 in Vienna, he rewrote it extensively, and in gratitude for the honorary doctorate he received from the University of Vienna in 1891, he dedicated this revised version to the university.
What to listen for
- Opening of the first movement: the theme appears over the strings marking a low, march-like rhythm. It is much nimbler and more unrestrained than the huge Bruckner of later years.
Listen · Score
Credits