It took the world 122 years after Bruckner's death to fully understand this Finale. I say "fully understand" because beforehand, this knowledge was only disseminated among musicologists and musicians. I was born in 1979 and I've read zillions of analyses of this movement pointing out as to how amazing, unbelievable, incredible & ginormously impressive it was, but always basically saying: "It would take an entire book to express how great it is". Well, Mankind can all have a summary of said book in 40+min on RUclips thanks to Richard Atkinson.
As a Bruckner fan who lacks your analytical skills and whose aural acuity is near-deafness compared to yours, I thank you for making me love Bruckner even more. A brilliant video!
This symphony is like nothing else in music. A type of crudeness or naivety mixed with the most sophisticated technique. It's like a single man building Stonehenge.
...and that is Bruckner to a tee, the naïf with marvelous technique. I hear the musical expression of a builder of a great cathedral, only this time with sounds instead of masonry.
unbelievable. Whats makes this so much greater than any "regular" fugal work is the form. Bruckner invented his own form and its almost impossible to predict where he's going to go next. Its much like Beethoven's Grosse Fugue in essence. Complete technical mastery breaking free of any restrictions. I was mesmerized the whole time by your video. Thanks!
Can anyone ever forget the days he first heard Beethoven, and Bruckner? For me, the first was the Emperor, played by Claudio Arrau and the Philharmonia; the second was the Third Symphony in a riveting performance by a consummate Brucknerian. A few bars was enough. It was like what Robert Frost said about poetry: 'The right reader of a good poem will know the moment it strikes him that he has taken an immortal wound--that he will never get over it.' This analysis serves to better understand the wound.
Extraordinary analysis of this extraordinary piece of music. This is sure to become a standard resource for the understanding of Bruckner's art for scholars, musicians, and music lovers for years to come. This is an example of musical analysis of the highest order, increasing the understanding of a complex work of art which will affect the way Bruckner's music will be listened to in the future. Thanks for all the great videos in the past and hopefully those to come in the future.
@@Richard.Atkinson Just a reminder that the difference between smart people and dumb people is often their attention spans. This is the antithesis of Top-40 hits of pop music made for easy consumption that leaves one empty if one isn't a dullard. Bruckner's themes may be simple and even naive, but few could ever combine them in such a profound way. Bruckner's Fifth takes time to savor, and one does need the attention span. This is brainy music in the extreme. It is absolutely crazy to write a symphony that has four movements beginning with similar themes and tempos... but Bruckner pulls it off. I have my idea of what constitutes genius, and that is doing what seems crazy and making it obviously true. Bruckner is in that category!
Die 5. Symphonie von Anton Bruckner wurde vom 2. Satz zuerst komponiert. Die Konzeption des "Wiederausbruchs" - im Sinne von Ernst Kurth, was das symphonische Schaffen Bruckners charakterisiert, erst ab der 5. Symphonie erkennbar. Die kontrapunktische Doppelaktion (zum Beispiel Umkehrungsaugmentation = Umkehrung zugliech augmentiert (doppelt verlängert) und die 3 fache Themenmischung sowie der Einsatz des Orgelpunkt am Ende der kontrapunktischen Arbeit plus mehrmalige 5 Klänge Einsätze sind ein für Bruckner eine musikalische Waffe, mit der der Zuhörer sein Verfassungsvermögen verliert. So kommt am Ende ein Moment des musikalischen Erhabenen, in der das Subjekt gegenüber dem Werk dominiert wurde - im Sinne von Kant. Analyse Literatur: Die Analyse und die Ästhetik der Steigerungsprozesse in der Symphonik Anton Bruckners, 3 Bde, Diss. Univ. Frankfurt 2003.
Époustouflant. Le grand Anton Bruckner s'est surpassé. J'ai maintes fois écouté cette 5ème Symphonie et 'est l'une de mes préférées avec la monumentale 8ème. Un immense merci pour votre analyse . . . .
Bravissiomo! Very helpful to me as I am going to hear Bruckners Nr. 5 this afternoon played by the Symphonny Orchestra of the Bavarian Broadcasting Association conducted by Christian Thieleman. Thank You so much for this awsome introduction!
I am a Chinese music lover. Many times have ich the piece heard. But this clip firstly clearly transparently shows me that how and why this piece was so fascinating. Thanks for all!!
Thank you so much for this INCREDIBLE video. I'm going to hear Cleveland play this tomorrow night and even though I'm 50 years old and a classical musician, I've never heard a Bruckner symphony live. Your analysis has given me such a fabulous insight into this work. My experience tomorrow is going to be so much the richer for it. Thank you!
Wow! Thank you for your wonderful video and talk. I have known this symphony since my late teens when Gunter Wand conducted a promenade concert of it at the Royal Albert Hall in 1990 (I think) with the BBC Symphony Orchestra. Up until that moment I had hated Bruckner and found his symphonies impossible (I was a Mahler fan). I can’t say that I fell in love with it right away. Rather, I found it utterly compelling, a feeling augmented by Wand’s autocratic command of the music and stoical conducting. It was one of those “event” concerts, when you know that this is a piece of music that you must learn to know, that in time you will unlock its secrets. Over the years I have come back to it again and again and I am deeply in love with it now…..the entry of the chorale at the Coda usually brings tears to my eyes and electricity flows through my body, just as it did as I watched your film. I have slowly realised that it is perhaps the purest expression of Bruckner’s musical genius. Your film has helped explain to me why this is so. I cannot listen to Bruckner’s music too often. It’s too powerful. Too cosmic, too moving. He is capable of unlocking a particular and overwhelming vision of the divine in a unique way. Thank you for explaining the tools and mastery by which he achieved this.
Thank you. Sometimes we are simply swept away by the beauty of the music and we forget how much meticulous planning went into the composition of these symphonies. But as opposed to other subjects, where working through the details can become a tedious slog, this sort of analysis only increases my appreciation for the music of Bruckner.
I had not realized that I had commented previously...this miracle has again brought forth tears of disbelief....to think that Bruckner sat at that table in that church in that small stone walled room and created this architectural cathedral on paper and actually heard it in his head....Much appreciated if not entirely understood.
HOLY MOTHER OF ALL SYMPHONIES! That was amazing! I went into this work expecting some impressive counterpoint but not with this level of epicness! Thank you so much for sharing. Your channel is also a huge help for any and many composers out there today looking for inspiration for their new original works. Again, huge thanks! Brilliant work!
Thank you Richard! I've been listening to Herr Bruckner's symphonies for more than 50 years and this is the best deep dive into one of his scores I've ever seen. You are wonderful at your craft!
As an avid listener to Bruckner's 5th since many years, and as an amateur-orchestral score student, I would like to convey my thanks for your cristal-clear and perceptive analysis of the fugal techniques in the unique and amazing 4th Movement. This music never fails to move me deeply, and your video allows me to understand more of the genius composer Bruckner. It has deepened the emotional impact of the music as I experience it while listening. An enrichment of the part of my life that is dedicated to great music such as this!
WOW!!!!! I LOVE BRUCKNER!! I'M SO HAPPY THAT YOU'VE ACTUALLY DONE A BRUCKNER ANALYSIS VIDEO!! THANK YOU SO MUCH!!! I HOPE MORE BRUCKNER SYMPHONIES WILL BE UPLOADED IN THE FUTURE!!! THANKS!!
I first discovered Bruckner's genius in his motet Os Iusti. Having heard nothing else from him, I didn't know what to expect, the motet itself was rather "out there" for being in the Lydian mode and yet itself was very subdued (extremely simple harmony, very little 'oomph'). Hearing his other choral pieces, I was taken aback by how radical the harmonies were in comparison. Every piece I discover by Bruckner is a further surprise. I have never seen anybody combine traditional musical structures with radical harmonies as well as him.
Thank you so much, Richard Atkinson. Youre as good as Leonard Bernstein in analysis, AND youre master od a system of video display that is dazzling as the different themes go thru a color dance to the music. This is a magnificent exercise in close.attention.
I just love your presentation of the scores using different colours and brief verbal indications. This helps to grasp quickly what otherwise only a long and arduous study of the score would reveal. Maybe Bruckner's or Beethoven's contemporaries would have been able to simply hear all these details, but we live in such a visual world now that the use of colours does the trick best! Looking forward to more great videos like this.
Many Many Thanks for this.I have been listening to this tremendous symphony for 40 years and regard it as one of the pinnacles of western art. To see an excellent analysis of the finale has been immensely gratifying. Isn’t the reappearance of the chorale (blue) in the coda one of the great moments in all music?
One of the great moments in all music? Thé one, thé greatest symphonic moment in a way, the whole coda, and yes, one of the pinnacles of modern art! I very much admire Richard for his feat here, all of what he has done, the complexity & means deployed along with his rightfully and properly restrained voice and the remarks that hit the nail on the head and suit this titanic achievement 1000 % . Unlike Bruckner himself, I once attended (a spectacularly good) performance of this symphony, and with the start of "coda of all codas", a just couldn't remain seated any more. I had to stand up to deal with the burst of accumulated adrenaline. Luckily, it was in the last back row of the rear stalls... 😊
@@Emerald_City_ Totally agree! I recall many years ago when I first attended a concert performance of the 5th (Israel Philharmonic- do not remember the conductor) . I was so excited to finally "see and listen in the flesh" after so many listenings on tapes. I was totally immersed for the whole performance but with a smile I remember the person who always sat in front of me (subscription series) get up after the final cords, turn to me and said " Ah that was difficult". Not everyone's taste.
6 лет назад+11
Beautiful! I hear so much more now when I listen to it. A casual listener does not notice all these details, but once they are pointed out, it's impossible not to notice.
If you use a color filter on your computer or phone in the evening, you should disable it before watching this video, since it might make the green and blue themes look indistinguishable.
No fugue fatigue man, i was rocking with my feet and headbanging, don't apologize for this amazing work of yours (for sure not for Bruckner's :P), this is gold content on youtube!
Dood! Thanx!! That was a whole college course in composition, arranging, orchestration, counterpoint, harmony and everything else. You did an amazing job explaining this. I could study this for years and not come close to what Bruk did.
Brilliant video. What joy the composer must have felt on completing this mighty symphonic journey. The clarinet tune at bar 11 reminds me of a little coiled spring, gaining strength through this movement until it rears up in unrecognisable splendour to drive the fugue to its conclusion.
Whenever I hear this movement, I am always reminded of the last movement of Beethoven 9, not just with the opening reminiscences of themes from earlier movements, but later in the movement too. I hear the "green" theme in this analysis as being the "Freude schone gotterfunken" theme and the "blue" chorale theme as the "Seid umschlungen, millionen" theme which Beethoven also treats as a chorale. Then Beethoven combines the two themes as a double fugue in the same fashion as Bruckner does with his.
A magnificent analysis of the most knotty and overwhelming Bruckner finale. There is so much here that I did not appreciate. Many thanks for all your work that went into this. I am a lifelong Bruckner listener, and occasionally performer. This is an incredibly valuable resource and learning video, of a substance comparable to its subject. I applaud you.
Wonderful ! And right in time for me as I listened to this 5th symphony like once every week since 6 months ago ! Thank you so much for this great analysis revealing again the genius of those composers and bringing to conscience what we can feel by our heart when listening to the music !
I remember hearing this work for the first time live when I was a child.(I can't remember the artists, certainly a British Orchestra, maybe Halle orchestra). You can imagine what the impact of the incredible loudness of that final coda had on me. Never forgotten!. Bruckner just an incredible, unique man. Hooked on him ever since.
@@banjocracy I honestly can't remember. All I remember was the first half of the concert was a first time hearing of the conductors own composition. And it went down like a lead balloon.....!
Astute analysis of a monumental, but joyfully exuberant finale. Anton was having some pedagogical fun composing this one. Haitink well conveys the hijinks.
Bravo, Richard -- this must have taken so much time to create. One of my favorite Bruckner movements. His level of craft was astounding and one could get lost for years in a Bruckner or Brahms Symphony. Thanks for making these for all to enjoy!
When I first heard you say "Various other combinations that will make your head spin" in reference to the many contrapuntal combinations in this brilliant movement at 25:15, the first thought that popped into my head was "why didn't I know about this amazing composer earlier?"
Wow. I really appreciate this effort that went into this video, and it's a fitting tribute to the great last movement. I can't say I followed everything ( fugue fatigue) but I enjoyed trying. Many thanks.
Oh dear...this is what RUclips could be/should be. Magnificent achievement....I thank you for helping me to better understand the complexity of Bruckner's near unimaginable architectural achievement. I will now wipe away the tears. Thank you again.
Sublime analysis, sublime Bruckner 5! Thank you so much for bringing this experience to me: I never thought of its hypercomplex structure when I listened to this mvt before. Makes me appreciate it much much more now!
This video must have been a nightmare to make. Your hard work is much appreciated. The John Williams theme was always one of my favourite moments in the symphony!
I only have one thing to say: thank you for this wonderful effort... or to say it better: for this "Counterpoint fatigue"!! 😁😉 By a grateful italian brucknerian.
Even though I'm not an immense fan of Bruckner's symphonies (I do very much like his choral work), I never fail to recognize his genius that he had possessed and his monumental importance to western classical music.
watching this i had a memory that i thought might be a mandela-effect: that some conductors included extra brass (the so called "eleven apostles") for this movement. thankfully, google is my friend. "The Fifth was a particular favorite of Jochum. TAHRA's notes include many detailed comments by the conductor on interpreting the entire symphony and how he uses 11 additional brass instruments in the finale: 4 horns, 3 trumpets, 3 trombones and 1 bass tuba, jokingly called "the 11 Apostles - Judas, the Twelfth, is not among them." Franz Schalk found when he conducted the work that when it came to the majestic last-movement chorale brass players were so tired they were unable to present this music in its full glory, so he introduced the 11 extra players in a raised position behind the orchestra, a concept supported by Jochum except that he has the extra players mixed in with the regular brass section. From bar 583 onward in this performance all of the brass, regular and added, join in the chorale, producing a grandiose effect indeed. " from classicalcdreview.com/bruckner5ej.htm
Thank you, Richard, for this wondrous labor of love, intellect, musicianship, and spirit. I have more to say, but I must recover from this journey and labyrinth of mindblowing counterpoint and construction. I must and will say more as the profound work that you have so kindly shared with all of us merits so much more. But most importantly, for now, I once again bow to you with ever sincere gratitude, admiration, and respect......I shall return...Thanks again, Richard.
Bravo bravo bravo. It sounds good, excellent. I'm a musicologyst and I appreciated your analysis nice and rigorous. You are a brave man who 'll shake the spleeping minds of the world and the culture. You're very accultureted over any romantique and classics repertoire. Everyone, with a minimum of basic skills, can learn and appreciate the capitalwork of the big of the music. Bravo bravo bravo. I'll follow your lessons. I'm italian, destroyed country by rude people who follow only sex, money and power and they don't know the true happyness is to feed souls of the beautiful experience of the classics music.
Jesus Christ, how the hell does one man create such a behemoth? As an amateur composer, just thinking about the complexity of Bruckner symphonies make me wanna crawl into a corner and cry, especially when I've been stuck in the same fugatto section for the past month
The only comparison after J.S. Bach is to another Fifth -- that of Gustav Mahler, who uses counterpoint differently. His is a rondo instead of a fugue, and Mahler uses counterpoint to put off after a similarly-wondrous technique over a similar time the final chord after which anything else is anticlimax. In Mahler's fifth, one is led to a sublime joke; in Bruckner's fifth one meets God.
Very many thanks! I've been a Bruckner fan since age 15, too many decades ago. I read music, as a five yr old reads text; but the explantations, score, and playing are very helpful to extending understanding. It's like seeing a vast, comples and beautiful machine disassembled, the parts played with to see how they mesh or interact. when i come to revisit the whole 5th (tomorrow!) I'll be listening carefully. I look forward to more videos - and have of course subscribed and requested updates.
I first heard Bruckner when I was 15 too :) It was the 9th in a 1973 concert, followed by the LP's of the 4th, the 7th, and the 3rd, then by the 6th, then by the 8th in a radio broadcast... the addiction was definitive and locked after hearing the first bars of 4th and the 7th's Adagio. When some years later I heard the 1st, I didn't expect much but was still impressed. I think it's been underrated, though the real fun begins indeed with the 3rd... and the 4th is such a masterpiece, it's hard to fathom how Wagner could make such a mistake by choosing the 3rd instead of 4th.
Richard, your commentary and score illustrations are very good. Excellent choice of subjects and examples. You make this former music major recall the harmony lessons he endureed so long ago with great enjoyment.
Unfortunately what Sibelius heard was the spurious version by Franz Schalk who completely re-orchestrated the entire symphony, and made ruinous cuts in the last two movements, and and augmented the final choral with brass band, cymbals and triangle. Bruckner's original version wasn't performed or published until the early 1930's.
If you don't want to watch this all at once:
0:39 - Slow intro quoting prior movements
5:54 - Exposition, first theme (fugue, green subject)
8:17 - Exposition, second theme ("gesangsperiode" orange theme)
13:53 - Exposition, closing (3rd) theme (green augmented variant)
16:07 - Brass chorale theme (blue)
18:30 - Development (fugue, blue subject)
22:47 - Development (double fugue, blue/green subjects)
27:52 - Recapitulation (blue/green themes)
30:24 - Recapitulation ("gesangsperiode" orange theme)
33:13 - Recapitulation, closing theme, return of purple theme from first movement, counterpoint involving purple/green themes
37:01 - "Coda of all codas" with return of green/blue/purple themes in augmentation
Thanks. I love this kind of videos
It took the world 122 years after Bruckner's death to fully understand this Finale. I say "fully understand" because beforehand, this knowledge was only disseminated among musicologists and musicians. I was born in 1979 and I've read zillions of analyses of this movement pointing out as to how amazing, unbelievable, incredible & ginormously impressive it was, but always basically saying: "It would take an entire book to express how great it is". Well, Mankind can all have a summary of said book in 40+min on RUclips thanks to Richard Atkinson.
This is tremendous, an analysis that musical students, scholars and lovers will return to over and over again for years to come.
As a Bruckner fan who lacks your analytical skills and whose aural acuity is near-deafness compared to yours, I thank you for making me love Bruckner even more. A brilliant video!
My god, 45 minutes analysis, this is a good day
RDVMusic - 🙂
I swear to god, that coda gets better every single time I hear it.
There are 5 minute videos I can't sit through.
Sat through all 44 minutes of this without interruptions.
We don't deserve this channel. I feel like crying with delight when I see one of these new videos!
Well said!
This symphony is like nothing else in music. A type of crudeness or naivety mixed with the most sophisticated technique. It's like a single man building Stonehenge.
...and that is Bruckner to a tee, the naïf with marvelous technique. I hear the musical expression of a builder of a great cathedral, only this time with sounds instead of masonry.
unbelievable. Whats makes this so much greater than any "regular" fugal work is the form. Bruckner invented his own form and its almost impossible to predict where he's going to go next. Its much like Beethoven's Grosse Fugue in essence. Complete technical mastery breaking free of any restrictions. I was mesmerized the whole time by your video. Thanks!
Its about time that Bruckner should be standing on a pedestal next to Beethoven as the two greatest
composers of symphonies
pretty amazing and imagine anton over your shoulder, telling you what a great job you did!
Your work here so concisely and clearly outlines everything, it makes me feel smarter than I really am.
The 5th and 8th are my favourite Bruckner symphonies; this survey of the final movement of the 5th is superb.
Can anyone ever forget the days he first heard Beethoven, and Bruckner? For me, the first was the Emperor, played by Claudio Arrau and the Philharmonia; the second was the Third Symphony in a riveting performance by a consummate Brucknerian. A few bars was enough. It was like what Robert Frost said about poetry: 'The right reader of a good poem will know the moment it strikes him that he has taken an immortal wound--that he will never get over it.' This analysis serves to better understand the wound.
I do not like bruckner. I thought I would enjoy it after hearing about it but it didn’t happen
Eons worse then Beethoven
@@charlie7531 that's why I like it even more!
Daniel Barenboim likened a Bruckner symphony to an archaeological dig, exposing layer upon layer!
The amount of dedication you put into your videos is amazing. Great job. Thank you for your knowledge.
KnOwLeDgEEE
Extraordinary analysis of this extraordinary piece of music. This is sure to become a standard resource for the understanding of Bruckner's art for scholars, musicians, and music lovers for years to come. This is an example of musical analysis of the highest order, increasing the understanding of a complex work of art which will affect the way Bruckner's music will be listened to in the future. Thanks for all the great videos in the past and hopefully those to come in the future.
That is a wonderful compliment and it makes me want to continue making these videos. Now if only more people would share them...
@@Richard.Atkinson Just a reminder that the difference between smart people and dumb people is often their attention spans. This is the antithesis of Top-40 hits of pop music made for easy consumption that leaves one empty if one isn't a dullard.
Bruckner's themes may be simple and even naive, but few could ever combine them in such a profound way. Bruckner's Fifth takes time to savor, and one does need the attention span. This is brainy music in the extreme.
It is absolutely crazy to write a symphony that has four movements beginning with similar themes and tempos... but Bruckner pulls it off. I have my idea of what constitutes genius, and that is doing what seems crazy and making it obviously true. Bruckner is in that category!
Die 5. Symphonie von Anton Bruckner wurde vom 2. Satz zuerst komponiert. Die Konzeption des "Wiederausbruchs" - im Sinne von Ernst Kurth, was das symphonische Schaffen Bruckners charakterisiert, erst ab der 5. Symphonie erkennbar. Die kontrapunktische Doppelaktion (zum Beispiel Umkehrungsaugmentation = Umkehrung zugliech augmentiert (doppelt verlängert) und die 3 fache Themenmischung sowie der Einsatz des Orgelpunkt am Ende der kontrapunktischen Arbeit plus mehrmalige 5 Klänge Einsätze sind ein für Bruckner eine musikalische Waffe, mit der der Zuhörer sein Verfassungsvermögen verliert. So kommt am Ende ein Moment des musikalischen Erhabenen, in der das Subjekt gegenüber dem Werk dominiert wurde - im Sinne von Kant.
Analyse Literatur: Die Analyse und die Ästhetik der Steigerungsprozesse in der Symphonik Anton Bruckners, 3 Bde, Diss. Univ. Frankfurt 2003.
Époustouflant. Le grand Anton Bruckner s'est surpassé. J'ai maintes fois écouté cette 5ème Symphonie et 'est l'une de mes préférées avec la monumentale 8ème. Un immense merci pour votre analyse . . . .
Bravissiomo! Very helpful to me as I am going to hear Bruckners Nr. 5 this afternoon played by the Symphonny Orchestra of the Bavarian Broadcasting Association conducted by Christian Thieleman. Thank You so much for this awsome introduction!
A brilliant analysis of the complicated work of a genius. Thank you so much!
I am a Chinese music lover. Many times have ich the piece heard. But this clip firstly clearly transparently shows me that how and why this piece was so fascinating. Thanks for all!!
I think this is your magnum opus. Bruckner is simply the best. THANKS
Thank you so much for this INCREDIBLE video. I'm going to hear Cleveland play this tomorrow night and even though I'm 50 years old and a classical musician, I've never heard a Bruckner symphony live. Your analysis has given me such a fabulous insight into this work. My experience tomorrow is going to be so much the richer for it. Thank you!
So, how was it?
Wow! Thank you for your wonderful video and talk. I have known this symphony since my late teens when Gunter Wand conducted a promenade concert of it at the Royal Albert Hall in 1990 (I think) with the BBC Symphony Orchestra. Up until that moment I had hated Bruckner and found his symphonies impossible (I was a Mahler fan). I can’t say that I fell in love with it right away. Rather, I found it utterly compelling, a feeling augmented by Wand’s autocratic command of the music and stoical conducting. It was one of those “event” concerts, when you know that this is a piece of music that you must learn to know, that in time you will unlock its secrets. Over the years I have come back to it again and again and I am deeply in love with it now…..the entry of the chorale at the Coda usually brings tears to my eyes and electricity flows through my body, just as it did as I watched your film. I have slowly realised that it is perhaps the purest expression of Bruckner’s musical genius. Your film has helped explain to me why this is so. I cannot listen to Bruckner’s music too often. It’s too powerful. Too cosmic, too moving. He is capable of unlocking a particular and overwhelming vision of the divine in a unique way. Thank you for explaining the tools and mastery by which he achieved this.
Superb work!
Thank you. Sometimes we are simply swept away by the beauty of the music and we forget how much meticulous planning went into the composition of these symphonies. But as opposed to other subjects, where working through the details can become a tedious slog, this sort of analysis only increases my appreciation for the music of Bruckner.
Yet the meticulous planning you mention somehow sum up in a gloriously organic whole, with nothing contrived in it!
I had not realized that I had commented previously...this miracle has again brought forth tears of disbelief....to think that Bruckner sat at that table in that church in that small stone walled room and created this architectural cathedral on paper and actually heard it in his head....Much appreciated if not entirely understood.
All of Bruckner 8 next!!
The finale of the eighth is rather monumental itself. An insane piece of music.
PLEASEEE ^^^^^^
Please Bruckner 8 Finale
Yes finale 8. next
What about no. 9?
HOLY MOTHER OF ALL SYMPHONIES! That was amazing! I went into this work expecting some impressive counterpoint but not with this level of epicness! Thank you so much for sharing. Your channel is also a huge help for any and many composers out there today looking for inspiration for their new original works. Again, huge thanks! Brilliant work!
Fabulous! Thanks so much.
Thank you Richard! I've been listening to Herr Bruckner's symphonies for more than 50 years and this is the best deep dive into one of his scores I've ever seen. You are wonderful at your craft!
I did it! Watched the whole thing uninterruptedly :-)
Good job! I see you also share my talent for making adverbs out of long adjectives!
@@Richard.Atkinson A quintessentially important talent!
This is the single most monumental RUclips video ever!
It took me about 10 times longer than any of my other videos to make, so I appreciate the comment!
As an avid listener to Bruckner's 5th since many years, and as an amateur-orchestral score student, I would like to convey my thanks for your cristal-clear and perceptive analysis of the fugal techniques in the unique and amazing 4th Movement. This music never fails to move me deeply, and your video allows me to understand more of the genius composer Bruckner. It has deepened the emotional impact of the music as I experience it while listening. An enrichment of the part of my life that is dedicated to great music such as this!
Where Bruckner's genius explodes and makes his "enemies" speechless. So much science of counterpoint for a so musical, lyrical, romantical result !
Simply....thank you!!!!!!
Thank you! The finale is unbelievable. Thank you for the explanation.
WOW!!!!! I LOVE BRUCKNER!! I'M SO HAPPY THAT YOU'VE ACTUALLY DONE A BRUCKNER ANALYSIS VIDEO!! THANK YOU SO MUCH!!! I HOPE MORE BRUCKNER SYMPHONIES WILL BE UPLOADED IN THE FUTURE!!! THANKS!!
I’ve watched the whole video 4 times. Fascinating stuff.
Richard - thank you for this wonderful exposition of the Symphony of Symphonies. Best wishes, B
I first discovered Bruckner's genius in his motet Os Iusti. Having heard nothing else from him, I didn't know what to expect, the motet itself was rather "out there" for being in the Lydian mode and yet itself was very subdued (extremely simple harmony, very little 'oomph'). Hearing his other choral pieces, I was taken aback by how radical the harmonies were in comparison.
Every piece I discover by Bruckner is a further surprise. I have never seen anybody combine traditional musical structures with radical harmonies as well as him.
Os Justi
Can'timagine the work it took to produce this, and, of course, the underlying erudition. Thanks.
This is a magnificent video about one of my favourite movements in all the repertoire. Bravo!
Thank you so much, Richard Atkinson.
Youre as good as Leonard Bernstein in analysis,
AND youre master od a system of video display that is dazzling
as the different themes go thru a color dance to the music.
This is a magnificent exercise in close.attention.
I just love your presentation of the scores using different colours and brief verbal indications. This helps to grasp quickly what otherwise only a long and arduous study of the score would reveal. Maybe Bruckner's or Beethoven's contemporaries would have been able to simply hear all these details, but we live in such a visual world now that the use of colours does the trick best! Looking forward to more great videos like this.
Many Many Thanks for this.I have been listening to this tremendous symphony for 40 years and regard it as one of the pinnacles of western art. To see an excellent analysis of the finale has been immensely gratifying. Isn’t the reappearance of the chorale (blue) in the coda one of the great moments in all music?
It certainly is one of the great moments!
Yes, I agree, it is one of the finest moments in all music.
Yes it is.
One of the great moments in all music? Thé one, thé greatest symphonic moment in a way, the whole coda, and yes, one of the pinnacles of modern art! I very much admire Richard for his feat here, all of what he has done, the complexity & means deployed along with his rightfully and properly restrained voice and the remarks that hit the nail on the head and suit this titanic achievement 1000 % . Unlike Bruckner himself, I once attended (a spectacularly good) performance of this symphony, and with the start of "coda of all codas", a just couldn't remain seated any more. I had to stand up to deal with the burst of accumulated adrenaline. Luckily, it was in the last back row of the rear stalls... 😊
@@Emerald_City_ Totally agree! I recall many years ago when I first attended a concert performance of the 5th (Israel Philharmonic- do not remember the conductor) . I was so excited to finally "see and listen in the flesh" after so many listenings on tapes. I was totally immersed for the whole performance but with a smile I remember the person who always sat in front of me (subscription series) get up after the final cords, turn to me and said " Ah that was difficult". Not everyone's taste.
Beautiful! I hear so much more now when I listen to it. A casual listener does not notice all these details, but once they are pointed out, it's impossible not to notice.
Awesome analysis of this monstrous piece. To be watched several times.
If you use a color filter on your computer or phone in the evening, you should disable it before watching this video, since it might make the green and blue themes look indistinguishable.
Well done for tackling this, the greatest of symphonic fugues.
Started watching, had to watch it all.
Amazing amount of work. Excellent presentation. Thank you.
Thank you so much for posting! As a Bruckner fan and non-music major, this helped a lot in understanding Bruckner’s music. Thank you so much!
No fugue fatigue man, i was rocking with my feet and headbanging, don't apologize for this amazing work of yours (for sure not for Bruckner's :P), this is gold content on youtube!
Counterpoint -- the only addiction that elevates its addict!
Dood! Thanx!! That was a whole college course in composition, arranging, orchestration, counterpoint, harmony and everything else. You did an amazing job explaining this. I could study this for years and not come close to what Bruk did.
Brilliant video. What joy the composer must have felt on completing this mighty symphonic journey. The clarinet tune at bar 11 reminds me of a little coiled spring, gaining strength through this movement until it rears up in unrecognisable splendour to drive the fugue to its conclusion.
Actually he said he wouldn’t compose it again even if they pay him 500 gulden.
Thanks so much for your insightful musical analysis.
Whenever I hear this movement, I am always reminded of the last movement of Beethoven 9, not just with the opening reminiscences of themes from earlier movements, but later in the movement too. I hear the "green" theme in this analysis as being the "Freude schone gotterfunken" theme and the "blue" chorale theme as the "Seid umschlungen, millionen" theme which Beethoven also treats as a chorale. Then Beethoven combines the two themes as a double fugue in the same fashion as Bruckner does with his.
A magnificent analysis of the most knotty and overwhelming Bruckner finale. There is so much here that I did not appreciate. Many thanks for all your work that went into this. I am a lifelong Bruckner listener, and occasionally performer. This is an incredibly valuable resource and learning video, of a substance comparable to its subject. I applaud you.
I ate this video like I eat my pancakes. All of them at once and left with a great, happy, saturated feeling. Great work!
Three-quarter-hour Atkinson video? This week is turning out great.
Amazing analysis, thank you!
Wonderful ! And right in time for me as I listened to this 5th symphony like once every week since 6 months ago ! Thank you so much for this great analysis revealing again the genius of those composers and bringing to conscience what we can feel by our heart when listening to the music !
I remember hearing this work for the first time live when I was a child.(I can't remember the artists, certainly a British Orchestra, maybe Halle orchestra). You can imagine what the impact of the incredible loudness of that final coda had on me. Never forgotten!. Bruckner just an incredible, unique man. Hooked on him ever since.
Might have been the BBC Philharmonic, was it very early 80s?
@@banjocracy I honestly can't remember. All I remember was the first half of the concert was a first time hearing of the conductors own composition. And it went down like a lead balloon.....!
Astute analysis of a monumental, but joyfully exuberant finale. Anton was having some pedagogical fun composing this one. Haitink well conveys the hijinks.
Bravo, Richard -- this must have taken so much time to create. One of my favorite Bruckner movements. His level of craft was astounding and one could get lost for years in a Bruckner or Brahms Symphony. Thanks for making these for all to enjoy!
When I first heard you say "Various other combinations that will make your head spin" in reference to the many contrapuntal combinations in this brilliant movement at 25:15, the first thought that popped into my head was "why didn't I know about this amazing composer earlier?"
Well now you know about him, which is one of the main goals of my channel!
That coda is magnificent.
Wow. I really appreciate this effort that went into this video, and it's a fitting tribute to the great last movement. I can't say I followed everything ( fugue fatigue) but I enjoyed trying. Many thanks.
Oh dear...this is what RUclips could be/should be. Magnificent achievement....I thank you for helping me to better understand the complexity of Bruckner's near unimaginable architectural achievement. I will now wipe away the tears. Thank you again.
GREAT WORK, THANK YOU!!!
Sublime analysis, sublime Bruckner 5! Thank you so much for bringing this experience to me: I never thought of its hypercomplex structure when I listened to this mvt before. Makes me appreciate it much much more now!
Thank you for ending only on the music, Richard. My goosebumps lasted over a minute. Incredible work. I keep coming back to this video over and over.
Such a great symphony!
Absolutely fantastic work! Cannot thank you enough for your time. Wow Bruckner really is a disciple of Bach!
This video must have been a nightmare to make. Your hard work is much appreciated. The John Williams theme was always one of my favourite moments in the symphony!
Absolutely...
Superb explanation!
My best love symphony. Thanks very much for this very indepth analysis to give me a much deeper appreciation of this masterpiece.
Richard - you make this all sound so EASY! :) Thank you!
I only have one thing to say: thank you for this wonderful effort... or to say it better: for this "Counterpoint fatigue"!! 😁😉
By a grateful italian brucknerian.
An analysis like this for the first movement of mahlers 7th symphony would be incredible!
Even though I'm not an immense fan of Bruckner's symphonies (I do very much like his choral work), I never fail to recognize his genius that he had possessed and his monumental importance to western classical music.
Symphony of the majestic nature with mountains and river streams just like holiday in Baff National Park Canada.
Incredibly helpful! Thank you so much!!!!!!
Fantastic Video, Ms Atkinson!! Thanks!
Thank you!
Thank you very much for this detailed analysis of the stunning movement!! I sure would like to watch this over and over again.
Richard, this fascinated me. Please do the same with my favorite part, the 2nd movement!
Nothing in my life impressed me more musically than Anton Bruckner. He was awesome.
Yeah, it is as simple as that
watching this i had a memory that i thought might be a mandela-effect: that some conductors included extra brass (the so called "eleven apostles") for this movement. thankfully, google is my friend.
"The Fifth was a particular favorite of Jochum. TAHRA's notes include many detailed comments by the conductor on interpreting the entire symphony and how he uses 11 additional brass instruments in the finale: 4 horns, 3 trumpets, 3 trombones and 1 bass tuba, jokingly called "the 11 Apostles - Judas, the Twelfth, is not among them." Franz Schalk found when he conducted the work that when it came to the majestic last-movement chorale brass players were so tired they were unable to present this music in its full glory, so he introduced the 11 extra players in a raised position behind the orchestra, a concept supported by Jochum except that he has the extra players mixed in with the regular brass section. From bar 583 onward in this performance all of the brass, regular and added, join in the chorale, producing a grandiose effect indeed. "
from classicalcdreview.com/bruckner5ej.htm
Thank you, Richard, for this wondrous labor of love, intellect, musicianship, and spirit. I have more to say, but I must recover from this journey and labyrinth of mindblowing counterpoint and construction. I must and will say more as the profound work that you have so kindly shared with all of us merits so much more. But most importantly, for now, I once again bow to you with ever sincere gratitude, admiration, and respect......I shall return...Thanks again, Richard.
I stand behind each and every word of yours...
Bravo bravo bravo. It sounds good, excellent. I'm a musicologyst and I appreciated your analysis nice and rigorous. You are a brave man who 'll shake the spleeping minds of the world and the culture. You're very accultureted over any romantique and classics repertoire. Everyone, with a minimum of basic skills, can learn and appreciate the capitalwork of the big of the music. Bravo bravo bravo. I'll follow your lessons. I'm italian, destroyed country by rude people who follow only sex, money and power and they don't know the true happyness is to feed souls of the beautiful experience of the classics music.
Italia > Stati Uniti. Le vostre forze armate non uccidono i bambini come le nostre...
@@Richard.Atkinson ♥ (but they did cooperate in that in 1999)
the downward drop motive I call the "Hammer" appears in many of Bruckner's symphonies.
True! So many of them have it, and almost always in the same location.
Indeed a coda of all codas... brave us watched all at once (and became quite disfunctioned near the end). Bravo!
Jesus Christ, how the hell does one man create such a behemoth? As an amateur composer, just thinking about the complexity of Bruckner symphonies make me wanna crawl into a corner and cry, especially when I've been stuck in the same fugatto section for the past month
The only comparison after J.S. Bach is to another Fifth -- that of Gustav Mahler, who uses counterpoint differently. His is a rondo instead of a fugue, and Mahler uses counterpoint to put off after a similarly-wondrous technique over a similar time the final chord after which anything else is anticlimax. In Mahler's fifth, one is led to a sublime joke; in Bruckner's fifth one meets God.
Very many thanks! I've been a Bruckner fan since age 15, too many decades ago. I read music, as a five yr old reads text; but the explantations, score, and playing are very helpful to extending understanding. It's like seeing a vast, comples and beautiful machine disassembled, the parts played with to see how they mesh or interact.
when i come to revisit the whole 5th (tomorrow!) I'll be listening carefully. I look forward to more videos - and have of course subscribed and requested updates.
I first heard Bruckner when I was 15 too :) It was the 9th in a 1973 concert, followed by the LP's of the 4th, the 7th, and the 3rd, then by the 6th, then by the 8th in a radio broadcast... the addiction was definitive and locked after hearing the first bars of 4th and the 7th's Adagio. When some years later I heard the 1st, I didn't expect much but was still impressed. I think it's been underrated, though the real fun begins indeed with the 3rd... and the 4th is such a masterpiece, it's hard to fathom how Wagner could make such a mistake by choosing the 3rd instead of 4th.
Richard, your commentary and score illustrations are very good. Excellent choice of subjects and examples. You make this former music major recall the harmony lessons he endureed so long ago with great enjoyment.
Sibelius said the 5th symphony is the greatest one among the symphonies that he heard earlier after hearing the premier of this work.
Unfortunately what Sibelius heard was the spurious version by Franz Schalk who completely re-orchestrated the entire symphony, and made ruinous cuts in the last two movements, and and augmented the final choral with brass band, cymbals and triangle. Bruckner's original version wasn't performed or published until the early 1930's.
I realize I was listening to this twice... and like it may be more at the second time... :)