Munich Philharmonic: Schnittke / Brucknerfeaturing Alexander Melnikov, conducted by Pablo Heras-Casado
Pablo Heras-Casado and Alexander Melnikov explore the surprising and fascinating similarities between Schnittke and Bruckner.
Pablo Heras-Casado and Alexander Melnikov explore the surprising and fascinating similarities between Schnittke and Bruckner.
All that Anton Bruckner buffs appreciate in the composer’s works is already present in this early symphony: sweeping arcs of tension and intimate moments of sound, sudden breaks and powerful crescendos, vigorous rhythms and touches of burlesque. Bruckner composed his Symphony No 2 in 1871 whilst going through a personal crisis. By quoting from Joseph Haydn’s oratorio The Seven Last Words of Our Saviour on the Cross, Bruckner offers a subtle hint as to his own state of mind at the time of its composition.
In his 1979 piano concerto, Alfred Schnittke, for his part, takes up the famous Adagio from Bruckner’s Symphony No 7. That same year also saw the composition of Schnittke’s Symphony No 2, titled Sankt Florian – a deliberate reference to Bruckner’s spiritual home and centre of his creativity.
With
- Conductor: Pablo Heras-Casado
- Piano: Alexander Melnikov
- Munich Philharmonic
Programme
- Alfred Schnittke: Concerto for Piano and String Orchestra
- Anton Bruckner: Symphony No 2 in C minor, WAB 102
