Description
Book SynopsisWhile unappreciated and controversial during most of his life, Anton Bruckner is today regarded as the greatest symphonist between Beethoven and Gustav Mahler – in terms of originality, boldness and monumentality of his music. The image of Bruckner the man, however, is still extreme instance of the tenacious power of prejudice. No less a figure than Gustav Mahler coined the aperçu about Bruckner being «a simpleton – half genius, half imbecile». The author is out to correct that misperception. His thesis in this study is that contrary to what has hitherto been asserted, there is an intimate relation between Bruckner’s sacred music and his symphonies from multiple perspectives: biographical data, sources and influences, the psychology of creation, musical structure, contemporary testimony and reception history. Additional chapters assess important Bruckner recordings and interpreters and the progressiveness of his music.
Trade Review«A masterful achievement» (Süddeutsche Zeitung
about the German edition of the book)
«All in all, this is a thought-provoking book that helps to widen our understanding of Bruckner’s multi-faced compositional style.» (Professor Crawford Howie)
Table of ContentsContents: Who was Bruckner? – Neurosis – Libido – Emotionality – Persecution Mania – Religiosity – Personality and Œuvre – Music as Religious Confession – A new Dramatic Conception of the Mass – The Fiction of «Absolute Music» – Originality and Modernity – Imaginations.
