St. Florian Bruckner Days: Symphony Concert - III. Symphony

"From Sonata to Symphony"
Anton Bruckner: Instrumentation of the Beginning of Beethoven's Piano Sonata Op. 13 "Pathétique"
Symphony No. III in D minor, WAB 103, "Wagner Symphony," 2nd Version 1877

The lifelong, tireless learner Anton Bruckner chose the 10 years younger conductor Otto Kitzler (1834-1915) as his mentor during his time in Linz. Kitzler introduced him to the works of Beethoven, Wagner, and the study of instrumentation. One of Bruckner's first "assignments" was the instrumentation of the first movement of Beethoven's "Pathétique Sonata." This rarity was only recently discovered, performed worldwide only twice so far, and opens this year's symphony concert.

In 1873, Bruckner gathered the courage to visit his idol Richard Wagner unannounced in Bayreuth to ask him to accept the dedication of one of his symphonies. Wagner chose the III. Symphony ("there, where the trumpet begins the theme!"), thus Bruckner named the work "Wagner Symphony." Naturally, this earned him the bitter opposition of the conservative Viennese audience and critics, prompting Bruckner to make numerous revisions. After the triumphant debut of Katharina Wincor at the Bruckner Days 2025, the Altomonte Orchestra and Maestra Katharina Wincor will perform the so-called "second version" from 1877, in which the work was premiered on Beethoven's 60th death anniversary, December 16, 1877, and has since secured a permanent place in today's concert repertoire.