Bruckner: Symphonies 1 – 3

Staatskapelle Berlin
One feature of Bruckner’s symphonies that has been consistently held in my interest is that they sound as if they were conceived over the course of many centuries. The harmonic work is from the 19th century; the form is a Baroque form, 17th century. But there’s something medieval in the atmosphere, in the psychology of the music. And one often talks about the architecture of the music; but with Bruckner, sometimes I have the feeling that it goes deeper and deeper, more like an archaeological expedition rather than an architectural building.