Great Bruckner riff, no such thing as greatest, and are we roaring?

 

Anton Bruckner, one of my favorite composers, wrote his Symphony no 3 in 1873. He later revised it several times...the 1877 revision seems to be the one most often performed. I am hesitant to even use the word "often" because this symphony is rarely performed at all. I understand why his 4th, 7th, 8th, and 9th are the symphonies most often listened to and performed...they are generally considered his best. But I am coming around to the conclusion that the 3rd may be at that level as well. The four bars of music above are a musical statement that appear in the first minute of the first movement. I like to call these either "riffs" or "licks" which are rock terms, but describe the same thing. It has an odd "beat" or "feel" to it, at least to my ear. The long pause after the c-sharp followed by the quick sixteenth notes at the end make it feel decidedly "un-nineteenth century" to me. Here is a clip from Andris Nelson talking about the 3rd and the "mysticism" of Bruckner, which is also what I feel when I hear these very unique four bars which appear at the 1:15 mark of this video clip:

In 1891, Anton Bruckner was given an honorary degree from the University of Vienna. The Rector who presented the degree said, "At the point where Science must cease, where it's unbreachable bounds are set, there begins the realm of Art, able to express all that which remains hidden to Knowledge." I love this quote. Another interesting note about his 3rd Symphony...he dedicated it to his musical hero, Richard Wagner. As the story goes, he offered the dedication to Wagner during a gathering that involved a lot of beer drinking. Bruckner had submitted his second and third symphonies to Wagner and asked him pick which one he would like for the dedication. Wagner told him his choice during the party, but the next morning, Bruckner could not remember which one Wagner had picked so he had to follow-up with him and ask again....it was the third.

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I don't know why it is so important for people to make statements about who the "greatest" is, in any context. The other day, I saw a headline that proclaimed Jimi Hendrix was the "greatest" guitarist of all-time. Hendrix was an incredible musician and perfomer...no doubt. But as great as he may have been, was he better than Segovia? or Wes Montgomery? or Paganini? (yes, Paganini was a guitarist as well as a violinist.) No, of course not. Hendrix was great. Just leave it at that. 

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My oldest son Jack asked a great question. We were walking around the campus of the University of Wisconsin. Several of the buildings had been built in the 1920's. So we started talking about how the world has changed since that time.....what the students there in 1922 thought about the world and how they imagined the future would be. He also pointed out that those were the "roaring '20s". What did that mean exactly? But also, as we were having this conversation in the 2020's, are we roaring? Neither of us feel like our country is roaring at the moment.