It may surprise us to learn that Anton Bruckner, a renowned organist and composer of grand late Romantic-era orchestral works and sacred music, composed nearly fifty pieces for solo piano. These simple gems, typically small in scale and graceful in style, expose a different side of this master of ambitious symphonic music.
During the years that Bruckner served as organist and teacher in St. Florian, Austria (1845-1855) and while living in Linz, Austria (1855-1868), he composed solo piano works as educational tools for his music students. These include Austrian dances – a gentile Steiermärker and four cheerful quadrilles – as well as a two-part Fantasia and a single-movement piece intended as the first movement of a sonata.
Most of his piano output, however, dates from 1862, just a few years after completing an impressive collection of sacred and organ works but before embarking on the world of symphonic composition. During this period, the 37-year-old Bruckner began serious composition studies with German cellist, composer and conductor, Otto Kitzler. Kitzler, nine years younger than Bruckner, introduced his student to the music of Richard Wagner, whom Bruckner came to greatly appreciate. The process gave Bruckner the opportunity to explore various compositional styles and expand his study of piano composition through etudes, fantasias, rondos, klavierstϋcke, and variations. And he returned to dance in the form of waltz, polka, mazurka and minuet.
The fact that Bruckner wrote dances – both for teaching purposes and as part of his serious piano oeuvre – may also surprise us. But in fact, the socially reserved and provincial Bruckner was a proficient dancer with a deft sense of rhythm. Bold rhythms are a prominent characteristic of his symphonies.
For the most part, his piano pieces were written for private performance, are straightforward and genial, and are crafted with a simple melody and non-complex harmonic structure. As such, they stand in contrast to his symphonies in terms of density and complexity. It seems that Bruckner didn’t intend for these small pieces to be piano masterworks or major contributions to the piano repertoire, like those of Robert Schumann and Frederic Chopin. Still, they display a Romantic sensibility. His waltzes and diminutive piano studies, for example, are rooted in lyricism, reminiscent of Franz Schubert. His Fantasia in F major and a first movement of an unfinished Sonata in G minor, somewhat larger in scale, are ardent and sincere expressions that recall Robert Schumann’s sprawling piano compositions but without the grandiosity. And his sentimental “Erinnerung” displays his gift for developing a statement through a melodic line that grows and expands, like a longing then gently resolves.
The late Canadian pianist Glenn Gould was especially fond of Bruckner’s piano music. He appreciated the simplicity and beauty, and believed that they were in some cases a distillation of Bruckner’s orchestral scores. Gould was among a group of composers who created piano transcriptions of Bruckner’s symphonies and chamber music.
As we reflect on the depth and profundity of this great Austrian composer during the Bruckner 200 celebration this month, we can appreciate him even more as he humbly reveals another aspect of himself through these affectionate and charming solo piano pieces.
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