The one problem with Bruckner... is that you run out of Bruckner all too soon.
And he is, of course, utterly unique. For years I tried to find worthwhile music that was directly descended from Bruckner, that made a logical next step. A few discoveries came tantalisingly close, but nothing really hit the target... until I discovered the Second Symphony of Martin Scherber.
Who? you might say... Well, Scherber is the one composer who, in my opinion, shows us where Bruckner might conceivably have gone had he lived on into his eighties. Scherber's 2nd symphony is the finest of his very few recorded works, and in it he finally pinned down the quasi-mystical principle of musical metamorphosis, with which he had wrestled for years. It does not obey the usual conventions of symphonic form; it is in a single 46 minute movement which although it has five clear sections uses the same thematic material throughout. When it appeared in 1952 it was both conservative, in that it ignored then-current musical fashion, and mould-breaking, in that nothing quite like it had been written before.
It does not break new harmonic ground. Its orchestral language is, for a post-war composition, old-fashioned; essentially, Brucknerian. Its statement/development/denoument is logical, inevitable... and consequently, by the end, thrilling. (Remember - Bruckner was a great innovator when it came to symphonic form; his breathtaking recapitulation in simultaneous counterpoint of all the previous movements' main themes at the climax of the finale of his 8th symphony suggests that he would have been sympathetic towards Scherber's ideas about metamorphosis-as-form).
So: I need to hear this wonderful discovery, you say! Point me towards a recording of it! And therein lies the problem. Scherber's 2nd symphony has received one (very fine) recording, a CD on an obscure German label. It was pressed in very limited numbers, and when those had sold, that was it. It is not available to stream anywhere, nor does it appear complete on Youtube, although there are tantalising excerpts. I was taken aback to see that the very few available copies of the CD are now priced from £1200 upwards.
But there is hope... I have that CD. In my opinion it is simply wrong that others are unable to experience this great music. If you want to hear it, you know what to do.
And he is, of course, utterly unique. For years I tried to find worthwhile music that was directly descended from Bruckner, that made a logical next step. A few discoveries came tantalisingly close, but nothing really hit the target... until I discovered the Second Symphony of Martin Scherber.
Who? you might say... Well, Scherber is the one composer who, in my opinion, shows us where Bruckner might conceivably have gone had he lived on into his eighties. Scherber's 2nd symphony is the finest of his very few recorded works, and in it he finally pinned down the quasi-mystical principle of musical metamorphosis, with which he had wrestled for years. It does not obey the usual conventions of symphonic form; it is in a single 46 minute movement which although it has five clear sections uses the same thematic material throughout. When it appeared in 1952 it was both conservative, in that it ignored then-current musical fashion, and mould-breaking, in that nothing quite like it had been written before.
It does not break new harmonic ground. Its orchestral language is, for a post-war composition, old-fashioned; essentially, Brucknerian. Its statement/development/denoument is logical, inevitable... and consequently, by the end, thrilling. (Remember - Bruckner was a great innovator when it came to symphonic form; his breathtaking recapitulation in simultaneous counterpoint of all the previous movements' main themes at the climax of the finale of his 8th symphony suggests that he would have been sympathetic towards Scherber's ideas about metamorphosis-as-form).
So: I need to hear this wonderful discovery, you say! Point me towards a recording of it! And therein lies the problem. Scherber's 2nd symphony has received one (very fine) recording, a CD on an obscure German label. It was pressed in very limited numbers, and when those had sold, that was it. It is not available to stream anywhere, nor does it appear complete on Youtube, although there are tantalising excerpts. I was taken aback to see that the very few available copies of the CD are now priced from £1200 upwards.
But there is hope... I have that CD. In my opinion it is simply wrong that others are unable to experience this great music. If you want to hear it, you know what to do.
