Bruckner’s Symphony No. 8
In the Concertgebouw Orchestra’s Bruckner Cycle, Manfred Honeck conducts Smphony No. 8
Discover Anton Bruckner, architect of mighty symphonic buildings, in the monumental Eighth Symphony under the baton of Manfred Honeck.
Bruckner invites you, takes you along and doesn’t let go.
Concert programme
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Anton Bruckner
Symphony No. 8
Performers
About this concert
Anton Bruckner, who was deeply religious, built great musical cathedrals to honour God. The monumental Eighth Symphony is a perfect example. Using simple motifs and themes as building blocks, he creates awe-inspiring forms. Bruckner’s Eighth is a mighty fortress and a thrilling ride from darkness into light. Its world is, by turns, complex, gracious, peaceful, and turbulent – Bruckner invites you in, takes you along, and never lets you go.
The long opening theme of the first movement also contains the seeds for the other two themes. In the Finale, Bruckner ultimately achieves a grand climax of the symphony by juxtaposing four themes from different movements. The composer called his Eighth Symphony ‘a mystery.’
On October 2, 1920, the Concertgebouw Orchestra gave the Dutch premiere. In one of the newspapers, the performance was called ‘most splendid’; in another, the reviewer noted ‘that many attendees’ left the hall before the finale. The time was not yet ripe for Bruckner. Not until the 1950s did the Concertgebouw Orchestra truly become a Bruckner Orchestra.
Christian Thielemann has unfortunately had to cancel his performances with the Concertgebouw Orchestra due to illness. We are very grateful to Manfred Honeck for agreeing to step in at short notice.
Dates and tickets
About this concert
Anton Bruckner, who was deeply religious, built great musical cathedrals to honour God. The monumental Eighth Symphony is a perfect example. Using simple motifs and themes as building blocks, he creates awe-inspiring forms. Bruckner’s Eighth is a mighty fortress and a thrilling ride from darkness into light. Its world is, by turns, complex, gracious, peaceful, and turbulent – Bruckner invites you in, takes you along, and never lets you go.
The long opening theme of the first movement also contains the seeds for the other two themes. In the Finale, Bruckner ultimately achieves a grand climax of the symphony by juxtaposing four themes from different movements. The composer called his Eighth Symphony ‘a mystery.’
On October 2, 1920, the Concertgebouw Orchestra gave the Dutch premiere. In one of the newspapers, the performance was called ‘most splendid’; in another, the reviewer noted ‘that many attendees’ left the hall before the finale. The time was not yet ripe for Bruckner. Not until the 1950s did the Concertgebouw Orchestra truly become a Bruckner Orchestra.
Christian Thielemann has unfortunately had to cancel his performances with the Concertgebouw Orchestra due to illness. We are very grateful to Manfred Honeck for agreeing to step in at short notice.
A preview
Don’t miss these concerts
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Bruckner: Symphony No. 1
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Bruckner: Symphony No. 6
Simone Young conducts Bruckner’s Sixth in the Bruckner Cycle
In the Concertgebouw Orchestra’s Bruckner cycle, Simone Young conducts the Sixth Symphony, Bruckner’s nimblest and ‘sauciest’.