Bruckner · Anton Bruckner
Bruckner Symphony No. 7 in E major
The Adagio that became a funeral music for Wagner
- Key
- E major
- Composed
- 1883
- Premiere
- 1884 Leipzig
- Duration
- about 65 min
- Movements
- 4 movements
- Instrumentation
- Woodwinds 2·2·2·2 · Brass 4·3·3·1 (+ 4 Wagner tubas) · Timpani · Percussion (cymbals, triangle; Nowak edition) · Strings
The story behind this piece
Bruckner began writing No. 7 in September 1881. While writing the second-movement Adagio, he said he had a premonition that "the Master will soon pass away," and indeed, news came that Wagner had died in Venice on February 13, 1883. The end of the Adagio became a funeral music in Wagner's honor.
This Adagio features four Wagner tubas, an instrument Wagner created for the Ring of the Nibelung. It was the first time another composer used the instrument in a symphony. The piece was dedicated to King Ludwig II of Bavaria, Wagner's patron.
It was premiered on December 30, 1884, in Leipzig by the Gewandhaus Orchestra under Arthur Nikisch, and it became the greatest success of Bruckner's life. Having always been ridiculed, he was finally recognized as a composer at around the age of 60.
The single cymbal crash at the climax of the Adagio is famous too. There's a story that he added it on hearing of Wagner's death, but that isn't certain. In the score, this cymbal is marked "invalid (gilt nicht)," but it seems not to be in Bruckner's handwriting, so most performances play it as written.
What to listen for
- Opening of the first movement: over the violins' soft tremolo, the cellos sing a long, broad melody. It's a moment of pride for the cello section.
- Second-movement Adagio: it begins with a dark, majestic chorale from the Wagner tubas. The cymbal rings out at the climax, and near the end the tubas and horns play the funeral music for Wagner.
Listen · Score
Credits