For many years, Bruckner’s popularity was concentrated on the later works, starting from the Third or Fourth Symphony, with the First and Second somewhat neglected. I think the reason the First was neglected is because it doesn’t have the typical Bruckner sound and mystical atmosphere. It’s notable that the finale is marked feurig (‘with fire’). The mystical elements came later. As in the case of Brahms’s First Symphony, Bruckner’s First was planned. He saw himself following in the footsteps of Beethoven, but in terms of structure and orchestration, notably in its use of trombones, the First Symphony is also influenced by Schubert, especially his Great Symphony in C. Bruckner’s First Symphony also has many connections to his earlier F minor Study Symphony (Symphony No 00). This, along with his other early orchestral pieces, was Bruckner’s starting point. He had studied with Simon Sechter and Otto Kitzler and then encountered the works of Wagner, including Tannhäuser and Tristan und Isolde, and from this something new developed. You can feel in the First Symphony that Bruckner is searching. ‘What will my future be?’ he asks. It is full of questions and full of solutions. For me, the philosophical aspect is a very important part of the symphony.

When I first heard it, I was astonished by the modernity of the music. Although Bruckner adopted the sonata form, he was looking to the future. The First Symphony really shows the start of something new, taking the model of Beethoven and Schubert and opening up a new path for the Romantic symphony. There’s a lot of contrapuntal writing in the finale and the slow movement uses a motif rather than a melody as the basis for development. Of course, other composers do this as well, but Bruckner’s use of harmony at the time was very modern. The influence here is that of Liszt, who was the most modern composer in the 19th century, even more so than Wagner. Many composers of the Romantic period had a problem with the symphonic finale, but for Bruckner the finale was a conclusion, a synthesis. This was absolutely congruent with his view of the world – an unrealistic view, perhaps, but he put his dreams and hopes in the symphonies. You could say the finale of the First Symphony is like a great firework.

Of the two versions of the symphony, I prefer the earlier Linz one. It’s very authentic and fresh, and comes more from emotion than from the brain. Nevertheless, it’s not important which version of the symphony the listener hears. I know I should not say this, especially as I myself find it all so interesting, but we should not focus too much on the different versions. Bruckner himself never spoke about versions. He simply tried to make the best symphony he could.

Beyond the usual technical decisions when conducting a score, the most important thing for me is to communicate the spirit of the music. Every one of the Bruckner symphonies has its own cosmos, and it’s important to find out the dramaturgy and what is speaking to us. What does Bruckner want to tell us in these notes, in these scores, in this material? It’s also important for me not to bring my own emotion to the music. The feeling comes from the music itself, and there comes a point where it’s not possible to do it another way – the music speaks automatically. As I get older, I find I am speaking less and less when rehearsing the music. Of course, the results are not the same every day – we are humans, we are full of life – and there are small changes in matters such as tempo. Like other great composers, Bruckner didn’t only write a symphony, he gave us a message. What is this message? That’s the reason that I cannot conduct the Eighth Symphony one week and the Seventh the next, because it’s another spirit completely. It takes time for me to leave the spirit of one symphony and enter into the spirit of another.

For me, the First Symphony is like a frontal attack to the heart. From the first note, it demands attention. It comes immediately to you. You cannot close your doors if you are open to this kind of music. The later symphonies take their time to develop, but here the impact is immediate. ‘Here I am,’ Bruckner says. It’s like his calling card.

Interview by Christian Hoskins

This article originally appeared in the January 2024 issue of Gramophone. Never miss an issue of the world's leading classical music magazine – subscribe today