jmc's classics
This year is the 200th anniversary of Bruckner's birth. I have seen some interesting articles about him and his music.
He could have been labeled as an idiotic savant. I have seen a lot of anecdotes about him such as he sked teenage girls to merry him at his first meeting. His music is often misunderstood. He was a devout Catholic. He is mainly remembered for his nine symphonies including one that was left incomplete at his death in 1896. He also wrote a lot of religious music including settings for the Catholic mass. He wrote a string quartet a an Intermezzo for string quintet and a Rondo for string quartet. My favorite works of his are his Third Symphony and the Intermezzo for string Quintet. He is mainly known for his symphonies. However his other music is important. Bruckner was a late bloomer in that he did not start composing until he was in his 40's. He wrote two early symphonies which as of now I have not heard. His symphony in D and Symphony in F which he had left out. They are popular now. There may be other composers who wrote symphonies that are not numbered. One such is Camille Saint-Saens. He wrote three numbered symphonies plus two that are not given a number. He was a devout Catholic as I have mentioned. He dedicated a lot of his works to God. Some people consider his symphonies to be transcendental in nature. There are some who look to his symphonies as a religious experience. He was born to a poor family. Emperor Franz Joseph l of the Austria Hungary Empire was a patron of Bruckner. Vienna Austria was an important music center in the 19th century. Some people find his music to be boring. I remember reading in the local newspaper that a concert people walked out of a performance of one of his symphonies because the thought that it was boring. To people who do not understand his music they may thin it so. He was not lucky in love either. He had never married and he may have had some girlfriends or female friends. If he was around now he would have might have been labeled as eccentric. I enjoy his music and I hope that there is a lot of commemoration of him this year.
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