Bruckner: Symphony No. 7 - An Analysis

[@jp-gl9fm]

Thanks for this, our orchestra is playing this next week and I will get so much more out of it after this analysis. There is a lot I would miss in the music without your run through. I particularly like your description of the second subject in the funeral march as a "personal reminisce". That really changed the way I listened to that movement.

[@IkelosOne]

Your channel is criminally underrated. I’ve listened to two of your videos and loved them. As someone who loves music and knows little about it formally, finding it a bit impenetrable, this is the sort of resource I’ve been dreaming of finding. Thank you.

[@ellenwu9166]

I found your video in your analysis of Bruckner 7, it’s really helpful, thank you!

[@theenergyflowtribejamesbro1302]

Wow, yes. That section you play and sing at just before 7 minutes in. And that opening of the second movement .... I find myself with eyes warring with certain tones. I am rather glad if the 'remembering Wagner' section. It is I feel recalling that damous evening. The melody suggests the question from Bruckner as to which symphony will Wagner pick for dedication. The third movement suggests a Cockerell announcing a new day, post Wagner. I feel the reverse of the three subjects in the Finale is very much reflective of the recognition Bruckner was subsequently beginning to finally achieve. Thanks for mention. I am preparing a video on something perhaps contraversial on Bruckner that J shall record soon but thee is the back-story to àdd to this.

[@vincentsheehan3193]

Great comment - look forward to your video

[@ddrothste]

Thanks for this. I have listened to Bruckner for over 50 years and this was the first work I knew. However, I must admit, that in recent years I prefer listening to the other symphonies (save maybe n. 2). Although it is a lovely symphony, I feel it lacks the thrust and power of the others (especially 4,5,6,8,9). Also the main climax is in the Adagio (not in the finale) with the rest constituting a kind of a release of tension. Of course the codas at the end of the 1st and 4th movements are stupendous. A few extra comments: * The A theme in Movement 2 is the same as the "Non Confundar" at the end of the "Te Deum", composed roughly at the same time. * The big debate concerning the use or non use of cymbals and triangle in the climax of movement 2. * The rising A theme in movement 1 that reappears in the final coda, also appears in the coda of the Adagio in symphony 9 and even in the coda of one version of the attempted completion of the finale of symphony 9.

[@vincentsheehan3193]

Thank you for sharing these great insights

[@franciscojaviermunozgarcia2609]

Thank you very much for the video, very interesting and useful. Allow me to make a suggestion for your next videos that at the end recommend some interpretation that you like

[@vincentsheehan3193]

Thank you - please go ahead and ask for a piece

[@NN-df7hl]

As always, thank you! I was listening to the slow mvt today and wondered about the form. Read somewhere it was a Rondo, but could hear no "C" section. You make clear how it unfolds. But what would you call that ABABA/Coda form? Is it an extended Ternary? BTW, do the Wagner tubas only show up at the very beginning and at the very end? Cheers! :D PS: Lastly, what are your thoughts about the cymbal crash at the climax? Needed or not needed? ;)

[@paulwang8224]

Fantastic video, Vince! Have you considered an analysis of Bruckner’s Ninth Symphony?

[@vincentsheehan3193]

Yes - this has been on my radar for while - watch this space! Thanks for the suggestion

[@vincentsheehan3193]

Hi Paul, Bruckner 9 is up now and I’ve name checked you at the end! Cheers

[@remomazzetti8757]

The first three movements contain some of the greatest and most beautiful music Bruckner had written up to that time. But I'm afraid I find the Finale to be extremely weak. (I find the same thing with Shostakovich's 5th Symphony.) I think Bruckner's 6th is his most perfect and accomplished work before the monumental 8th.

[@vincentsheehan3193]

I completely agree about finale of Shostakovich 5

[@onezerozeroonethree2369]

I agree. The first three movements are spectacular. They show the pinnacle of Bruckner's musical ability, but the fourth movement is not only mediocre, but painful to listen to. As I am a composer, I'm skeptical of Bruckner's intentions on acount of how bad his taste is in the last movement. I wonder if he meant to ommit the fourth, but he didn't think he could because he didn't think it was in good taste to end a piece in dedication to Wagner on a schezo. It just makes little sense.

[@mr-wx3lv]

Yeah, I agree, especially as Bruckner was ace at finales. But I don't think a big, bombastic finale like in the 5th or 8th symphony would have worked here.

[@petermyers7562]

This has made my day because I utterly agree that the opening theme is one of the greatest melodies ever composed. Did God write it? Possibly. Could I ask you, as an expert, if you agree with me that the greatest melodies tend to take a long time to repeat? They are extended tunes BUT still can be perceived as a unit. I would give as a very simple example Hey Jude. I'm afraid that Mozart puts me off with his tiny repeated fragments - e.g.eine kleine nachtmusik. I don't doubt that I'm being totally unfair to him!

[@vincentsheehan3193]

Great melodists are rare and to be treasured: Tchaikovsky for instance, or McCartney as you suggest. However, great melodies don’t always lend themselves to symphonies as they can be difficult to break down & develop - thus great symphonic composers often focus on motifs rather than perfectly formed melodies. I think this melody in Bruckner’s 7th is exquisite; and as a man of faith I do think it suggests something of a heavenly realm in its transcendent beauty. Thanks for commenting & best wishes!