Wagner. Bruckner

Tannhäuser (1845) is the first of two operas by Richard Wagner about a competition between singers. The protagonist, a knight and minnesinger, has been to Venus’ grotto, unafraid to extol the goddess to all. Repentance has brought him to a state of asceticism and to Rome, though only a miracle can bring Tannhäuser forgiveness. Wagner gave the opera an extensive overture in which we can see two sides of the protagonist’s soul. The overture opens with a theme of the chorus of pilgrims that is performed twice, interspersed with the theme of Tannhäuser’s repentance. In the middle section of the overture, the music of the bacchanalia in Venus’ grotto is twice interspersed with the theme of the knight’s hymn to the goddess which is sung at the competition at Wartburg. The theme of the chorus of pilgrims then triumphantly returns, symbolising the gift of forgiveness.

Richard Wagner referred to Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony as the prototype of his Faust Overture (1839–1840), though the impulse to begin work on the overture came when he discovered Berlioz’ Roméo et Juliette. Wagner planned to compose a grand dramatic symphony based on Goethe’s tragedy, though ultimately he limited himself to just one movement (the Faust Symphony as Franz Liszt later wrote). In this early work inspiration flows throughout, musical ideas follow one after another, later to be developed in Der Fliegende Holländer and Tristan und Isolde among other operas, while the main theme of Wagner’s overture served as the basis for the grandiose Adagio in Bruckner’s Ninth Symphony. Echoes of Faust can be heard in the programme of this concert.

The opera Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg appeared when Wagner was already an acclaimed maestro and it is dedicated to the traditions and glory of sacral German art. In the finale of Act I the master singer Veit Pogner declares that in the name of service to art he will surrender his only daughter’s hand in marriage to whichever man beats him in the competition the following day.
In his first aria in Act I of Der Fliegende Holländer, however, the protagonist sings only of his own self, telling of the curse placed on him and his endless mishaps as he awaits the Day of Judgement. The culminating theme is borrowed from Meyerbeer’s opera Robert le diable, which is in harmony with the demonic appearance of the Dutchman.
Wotan’s farewell to Brünnhilde and the curse of fire conclude Die Walküre, and in terms of scale this solo finale surpasses the finales of many operas featuring vast choruses. Wotan sends his daughter into a magic sleep and raises a ring of fire around her through which only a fearless hero may pass (an orchestral leitmotif hints that this will be Siegfried). For the last time Wotan appears in all his divine magnificence. In the next part of Der Ring des Nibelungen he appears onstage as the Wanderer, merely observing events. It is the younger characters – his children and grandchildren – who will be active.

When Anton Bruckner resolved to dedicate a symphony to Wagner, he asked the maestro to choose from the Second and the Third. Wagner opted for the third and particularly praised the music for the trumpet with which the symphony begins and ends. As “Wagnerian” music, the Third Symphony initially was subjected to all manner of attacks by opponents of “the art of the future,” though later, as the cult of Wagner began to rise, it enjoyed well-deserved success. Bruckner reworked it several times, including numerous cuts. As a result, the form gradually became clearer, though many vivid passages also disappeared. That is why today all of the composer’s own versions of the work have their admirers.
In his Third Symphony the composer deliberately quoted fragments of music written by his idol, namely the introduction from Tristan und Isolde and the finale from Die Walküre. There are even greater connections with Der Fliegende Holländer. The two composers are united, however, not only by purely musical similarities. Even more important are their devotion to heroic imperative, the triumphant tone and their relationship to art as something sacred. No compromises for the sake of success, and no concessions to popular influences – only noble service to the art of which master singer Pogner sang.
Anna Bulycheva