Anton Bruckner - Sinfonie d-Moll Nr. 1 (WAB 100)
(app. 90 pages, 30 €)
Anton Bruckner's Symphony in D minor is of course not his 'zero', even if this nonsensical use of language can still be found in the title of the score of the Bruckner Complete Edition and in current publications in 2024. However, there has been clarity about the dates of composition of this symphony in 1869 since the early 20th century.
The confusion arose from Bruckner's remark on the title page of the autograph and the transcript that the symphony was invalid, supplemented by the cancellation sign Ø. This was later misunderstood as 'zero', an error that continued in the four-volume Bruckner biography by August Göllerich/Max Auer (1931-35) and the score of the Complete Edition (1968) up to the present day. It is therefore not surprising that the Symphony in D minor was first performed in 1924 on the occasion of Anton Bruckner's 100th birthday and even today - 100 years later - is rarely on the repertoire of international orchestras.
In a very unusual decision, Anton Bruckner declared the autograph of his four-movement symphony and its two copies (each about 200 handwritten pages) invalid and 'only an attempt'. What prompted him to take this step, which was unique in the history of 19th century music, only becomes understandable when one takes a closer look at his personal situation around 1868...
In the symphony, structural differences can be seen in movements two and four compared to the other two movements, which suggest that Bruckner drew on movements he had already composed previously. They probably did not originate in 1869, at least in the form of sketches, but before the Symphony in C minor No. 1, composed in 1865/66.
While several sketches and fragments of the Symphony in C minor No. 1 have been preserved, these drafts, which are so characteristic of Bruckner's working method, are missing from the Symphony in D minor...
(Dr. Rudolf Innig)