PersonalGroup
Start free

Bruckner · Anton Bruckner

Bruckner Symphony No. 6 in A major

The piece the composer called "the boldest"

Key
A major
Composed
1881
Premiere
1899 Vienna
Duration
About 57 min
Movements
4 movements
Instrumentation
Woodwinds 2·2·2·2 · Brass 4·3·3·1 · Timpani · Strings

The story behind this piece

Bruckner called No. 6, written in 1879–1881, his "boldest" symphony. But in his lifetime, all he heard was two middle movements (the Adagio and Scherzo) played by the Vienna Philharmonic under Wilhelm Jahn in 1883. He never once heard the whole piece.

In 1899, after Bruckner's death, Gustav Mahler gave the first complete performance, in a version he had heavily altered and cut.

What to listen for

  • Opening of the first movement: the violins insistently mark a "two notes + triplet" rhythm (the so-called "Bruckner rhythm"), while the low strings sing the theme beneath. The violins have to concentrate so the rhythm doesn't waver.
  • Second-movement Adagio: counted among Bruckner's most beautiful slow movements. The oboe sings a sad melody.

Listen · Score

Credits