Dr. Rudolf Innig
"Where then is the third subject ?"
- About a misunderstanding in the symphonies of Anton Bruckner -
According to legend, the conductor of the Vienna Philharmonic, Otto Dessoff, asked during a rehearsal of the Second symphony in D minor (1869, WAB 100), later canceled by Anton Bruckner: "Yes, where is the theme then?" If that had actually been the case, there would be reason to doubt the artistic rank of Otto Dessoff, who was one of the best-known conductors of his time: After positions as music director in Altenburg, Düsseldorf, Kassel, Aachen and Magdeburg, he was appointed court conductor in Vienna in 1860 where, two years later, he became Abonnementdirigent of the Vienna Philharmonic.
Around 50 years later, another 'misunderstanding' occurred in the reception of Bruckner's symphonic music, but a misunderstanding with consequences that continue to have an impact today: In 1921, Alfred Orel wrote in his essay Unknown Early Works by Anton Bruckner(without going into a specific symphony by Bruckner) the momentous sentence: "In principle the second theme of the sonata form is extended to a third theme." This moment can be described as the 'hour of birth' of the so-called third theme....