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I"<<p>Exactly two years ago, at this very time, I was racing against the night in a long, long journey that would change my life forever.
Two years ago, I embarked on a journey I had painstakingly planned, dreamt and hoped for - I began my 36 hour, 55,000 kilometers journey almost as far as I could go from home.</p>
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I"<p>Its always the same.
A quiet, mysterious opening, slowly picking up intensity and volume.
Growing louder and louder, increasing in complexity - new sounds slowly file in.
And somehow, it snuck up on you - youre bathed in symphonic might, overflowing with emotion.
Its the Bruckner symphony.</p>
<p>Ive come to hear the music of Anton Bruckner when following the path of Mahler, and the two do share many similarities - both hail from the proud German-Austrian traditions of Romantic music, and both brought the symphony to previously unforeseen scale. Their music, however, remains quite different.</p>
<p>Anton Bruckners symphonies are massive in scale, sound and length - Bruckner often repeats himself, and the tempo is quite slow. Somewhat unusually, they all share a very similar structure and even orchestration - Bruckner had a style and he stuck to it.</p>
<p>Earlier in my classical journey, I was drawn to fast, virtuousic music - and so did not dwell long on Bruckner. As I grew into more diverse style, Bruckner crept up on me.</p>
<p>If you can spare the attention span to listen to him, you will be richly rewarded.</p>
<p>Ive read online somewhere that <em>Bruckner is not to be understood - but to be experienced</em>.</p>
<p>His works are extremely rich in texture - the orchestra does not remain idle, and theres always something going on - the whispering of a wind instrument, low hums of strings, ringing brass. Theres always an atmosphere to decipher, continuously building up and growing bigger, bolder.</p>
<p>And when you reach the core of each phrase, you are surrounded with pure, clean emotion.</p>
<p>And while it may sound all very conservative, Bruckner has some surprisingly modern tricks up his sleeve. He is not afraid to suddenly ditch pleasant tonality, rise suddenly in volume and force, and change the mood at a whim. The third symphony is a good example of this - even relatively early, it sounds very different from a conservative Classical era symphony.</p>
<p>Bruckner was a devout Catholic and an organist, and even though music historians complain that “Bruckner the man has very little to do with Bruckner the composer”, I can hear these influences in his music. Theres always a divine aura to the symphonies, and if you close your eyes, at times you can almost imagine sitting afoot a massive organ, awed by its sound. At other times, it sounds like something of a movie soundtrack, whether released today or in the last decade. Finally, if youre not aware, youll be caught of guard with much more colorful modern maneuvers.</p>
<p>Antons music contrasts greatly with many of my favorites - Brahms being particularly different. Where Brahms uses the orchestra in moderation, and constructs powerful and sudden phrases with sudden might - Bruckner builds up the entire orchestra. It also greatly differs from the music of Mahler, who saw Bruckner as a contemporary (and said of him he is a “Half simpleton, half God”) - Mahlers vast symphonic scale is fickle and intense, while Bruckners is restrained and carefully presented. The music of both is amongst the mightiest Ive ever heard.</p>
<p>Nowadays, I really enjoy listening to Bruckner - its somewhat of a break from the rest of the music into the familiar structure of his symphonies - which never fail to awe me in their unique voice.</p>
<p>Just listen to the Adagio of the sixth and see if it does not touch something within your soul.</p>
<p>I heartily recommend giving the 3rd, 4th, 6th, and 7th symphonies an attentive listen.</p>
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