What is the key of Bruckner's seventh symphony?

The composition of his Fourth Symphony marked the beginning of what some refer to as the "Major Tetralogy", Bruckner's four symphonies composed in Major keys. In fact, this tetralogy was part of an entire decade in Bruckner's compositional history devoted to large-scale works written in major keys, a fact of note considering that all of his previous symphonies and foremost choral works were composed in minor keys. The composition of his String Quintet and the Sixth Symphony marked the beginning of a new compositional period for Bruckner within the realm of the "Major Tetralogy". However, the Sixth Symphony has extensive ties to the Fourth and Fifth Symphonies and is considered to have been composed as a reflective, humanistic response to its two direct symphonic predecessors. It has even been dubbed the "Philosophical" symphony by critics for this reason.

Symphony No. 6 (Bruckner)

Symphony No. 6 in A major (WAB 106) by Austrian composer Anton Bruckner (1824–1896) is a work in four movements composed between September 24, 1879 and September 3, 1881 and dedicated to his landlord, Dr. Anton van Ölzelt-Newin. Though it possesses many characteristic features of a Bruckner symphony, it differs the most from the rest of his symphonic repertory. Redlich went so far as to cite the lack of hallmarks of Bruckner's symphonic compositional style in the Sixth Symphony for the somewhat bewildered reaction of supporters and critics alike.

According to Robert Simpson, though not commonly performed and often thought of as the ugly duckling of Bruckner's symphonic body of work, the Sixth Symphony nonetheless makes an immediate impression of rich and individual expressiveness: "Its themes are exceptionally beautiful, its harmony has moments of both boldness and subtlety, its instrumentation is the most imaginative he [Bruckner] had yet achieved, and it possesses a mastery of classical form that might even have impressed Brahms."

By the time Bruckner began composing his Symphony No. 6, only three of his symphonies had been performed. The recent premiere of his Third Symphony had been nothing short of disastrous, receiving an extremely negative, though not surprising review from Eduard Hanslick, given Hanslick's predilection for the works of Brahms.

...his artistic intentions are honest, however oddly he employs them. Instead of a critique, therefore, we would rather simply confess that we have not understood his gigantic symphony. Neither were his poetic intentions clear to us...nor could we grasp the purely musical coherence. The composer...was greeted with cheering and was consoled with lively applause at the close by a fraction of the audience that stayed to the end...the Finale, which exceeded all its predecessors in oddities, was only experienced to the last extreme by a little host of hardy adventurers.

Bruckner's symphonies encompass many techniques but the one unwavering hallmark of his symphonic compositions is a singular formal pattern that underwent very little variation over the course of his symphonic repertory. In fact, their four extended movements are indebted to the structure and thematic treatment in the late works of Beethoven. The only large-scale diversion from this formal scheme in the Sixth Symphony is Bruckner's use of sonata form in the second movement instead of his usual large-scale ternary form.

Thematically speaking, there are two distinct varieties of themes in Bruckner's symphonies. First, there are themes that are clearly defined in shape and then there are the themes that operate more as motives with a shorter length and a more open-ended shape, as is typical of the Sixth Symphony. Another characteristic thematic feature of Bruckner's symphonies is the intimate relationship between the outer two movements, though there is typically more of an emphasis on thematic contrast within the first movement. Specifically, the amplification of the exposition of the first movement consists of two subsidiary themes as well as the primary theme, which are subsequently developed, a technique that is considered uniquely Brucknerian.

Other characteristics that are found in Bruckner's symphonies (especially the Sixth) include the extensive treatment of the dominant seventh chord as a German sixth chord in a new key, usage of cadences as a decisive factor in daring modulations, the treatment of organ points as pivotal to the harmony and structure, chains of harmonic sequences, and, most notably, extensive use of rhythmic motives, especially the characteristic Bruckner rhythm, a rhythm consisting of two fourths and three quarter notes, or vice versa. This rhythm dominated most of the Fourth Symphony and was practically nonexistent in the Fifth Symphony, but becomes nothing short of a driving force in the Sixth Symphony; the metric complexities generated by this unique rhythmic grouping are more pronounced in the first movement of the Sixth Symphony than in any of Bruckner's other compositions.

The orchestration of the Sixth Symphony complies with Bruckner's customary, albeit peculiar, techniques. Just as in his other symphonic works, there are no marks of extreme virtuosity apparent in the score and the lines are straightforward. The Sixth Symphony is scored for 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 4 horns, 3 trumpets, 3 trombones, bass tuba, timpani, and string section. Bruckner commonly alternates between solo and tutti sections, as well as layering instruments to provide texture and show different subject groups.

The symphony has four movements:Bruckner labels this movement "Majestoso", not the conventional "Maestoso", probably from his Latin (from "Maiestas" - sovereign power). The movement, in obvious sonata form, opens with the characteristic 'Bruckner rhythm' played in the violins, though Bruckner is careful to maintain the enigmatic atmosphere by indicating a bowing that keeps the bow on the string and therefore prohibits the rhythmic figure from becoming too lively. One then hears the quietly intense main theme, a paraphrase of the main theme of Bruckner's own Symphony No. 4, stated in the low strings and juxtaposed against the pulsating rhythm in the violins:

\new Staff \relative cis" { \set Staff.midiInstrument = #"piano" \key a \major \clef treble \time 2/2 \set Score.tempoHideNote = ##t \tempo "Majestoso" 2 = 54
\new Staff \relative e, { \set Staff.midiInstrument = #"piano" \key a \major \clef bass \time 2/2
R1 | % 2The key is A major when the first theme enters; however, the mystery is heightened by notes outside the realm of A major tonality that appear in the melodic line, namely the pitches G, B♭ and F, Neapolitan inflections that will have large-scale tonal effects that come to fruition later in the symphony. The counterstatement of the theme appears (bar 25) in "fortissimo", a long-established classical technique that Bruckner had yet to utilize at the beginning of a symphony.

The second theme group is more complex than the primary theme. The first theme of this group is a confident melody in the violins in which Bruckner employs mixed rhythms:

\new Staff \relative e { \set Staff.midiInstrument = #"piano" \key e \minor \clef bass \time 2/2
\times 2/3 {

The second theme in this group, an expressive, lyrical motif (bar 69) is first heard in D major, closely followed by a statement in F major and a richly orchestrated statement in E major, the dominant of the movement's original A major. The third theme group, beginning with a militaristic statement of the Bruckner rhythm, now appears, followed by modulations ending in the dominant (E major) and segueing into the development section:

\new Staff \relative c { \set Staff.midiInstrument = #"piano" \key c \major \clef bass \time 2/2

The development is shorter and less complex than one usually finds in Bruckner's symphonic first movements; however, it plays a substantial role in the overall harmonic structure of the movement. From the outset (bar 159), the violins play an inversion of the main theme, though the Bruckner rhythm that accompanied it in the exposition is absent. Instead, the development is propelled throughout by the triplet motif that first appeared in the third subject of the exposition. Harmonically, the development encompasses a myriad of modulations, abruptly traversing between E-flat major and A major, seemingly signaling the beginning of the recapitulation.

The beginning of the recapitulation is, in fact, a climax, serving as both the end of the development and the beginning of the recapitulation, marking the first time in symphonic literature that this has occurred. If not for this climactic moment, one could have trouble identifying the exact moment of recapitulation as the return of the tonic and the return of the primary theme do not coincide (in fact, there are 15 bars in between the two events). In true Bruckner form, it encompasses a complete restatement of the theme groups from the exposition and is otherwise uneventful, setting the stage for the coda which Donald Tovey described as one of Bruckner's greatest passages. In the Coda, Bruckner passes through the entire spectrum of tonality, leaving no key unsuggested; however, he establishes no tonal center except for A major. The opening phrase of the first theme appears throughout, joined (bar 345) by the rhythmic motive from the beginning. An exultant final statement of that theme and the completion of a massive plagal cadence signal the end of the first movement.

The second movement is in obvious sonata form, the only example of a sonata structure "Adagio" in Bruckner's symphonies, apart from that of the "nullified" Symphony in D minor and the early draft of the Adagio of the First Symphony, dating from 1865. Simpson went so far as to describe the movement as the most perfectly realized slow sonata design since the "Adagio" of Beethoven's "Hammerklavier" sonata The movement opens with a theme in the strings, a yearning love song that is joined (bar 5) by a mournful lament on the oboe:

\new Staff \relative ges" { \set Staff.midiInstrument = #"piano" \key f \major \clef treble \time 4/4 \set Score.tempoHideNote = ##t \tempo "Sehr feierlich" 4 = 45

Simpson points out that the frequent Neapolitan inflections of the first movement are expanded here, beginning with the B♭ and F in the primary melodic line that make it natural that the movement should be in F major, though the opening initially ambiguously suggests B-flat minor. After a brief transitional passage, there is a modulation to E major that marks the introduction of the second theme, a soaring, untroubled love song (bar 25):The third theme (bar 53) is characteristic of a funeral march, combining C minor and A-flat major and providing a somber contrast to the preceding love song:

\new Staff \relative c { \set Staff.midiInstrument = #"string ensemble 1" \key aes \major \clef bass \time 4/4

The dotted rhythm in its first bar calls to mind the oboe lament from the beginning of the movement. Doernberg described this sad turn to A♭ major as the kind of music Gustav Mahler always wished to achieve, citing Bruckner as anticipatory to Mahler in this respect.

There is a brief developmental section (bar 69) that includes modulation on the primary theme as well as inversions of the oboe lament. There is a recapitulation of all three themes (bar 93) though the orchestration is different, with the former violin theme (primary theme) now appearing in the horn and subsequently in the woodwinds. The second theme is recapitulated in its entirety in the tonic followed by a very short reappearance of the third theme.

Finally, a transition over a dominant pedal (a Bruckner hallmark) leads to the Coda that Simpson referred to as the fine-drawn consolatory coda that is one of Bruckner's best. At bar 157 one hears the last statement of the primary theme with the movement ending in its tonic, F major, in a state of "perfect serenity."

The A minor third movement is unlike any other composed by Bruckner; it is slower than usual and the tense character often associated with his Scherzi is often shadowed and muted, although there are movements of brilliance. However, the most prominent feature is the lack of a striking Scherzo theme; instead one finds three contrasting rhythmical motives juxtaposed from the very beginning and united throughout the majority of the movement. Its steady 3/4 time is pervaded, once again, by triplets throughout, often giving the impression of 9/8 and creating a broader sense of movement that is extremely deliberate, especially for a scherzo movement:

\new Staff \relative e { \set Staff.midiInstrument = #"piano" \key a \minor \clef treble \time 3/4
\new Staff \relative e, { \set Staff.midiInstrument = #"piano" \key a \minor \clef bass \time 3/4

There is a certain degree of harmonic ambiguity throughout, but nothing that compares to the opening of the first movement. One of the most fascinating features of the harmonic structure is Bruckner's avoidance of a root position tonic chord for much of the movement. The first twenty bars of the movement once again rest on a dominant pedal and when the bass finally moves to the tonic pitch (A), it is not a root position tonic chord; instead, it acts as the bottom of a first inversion chord of F major (bar 21).

In the development, one sees the addition of a new motif and harmonically, the section centers around D-flat major, G-flat major, and B♭ minor, all closely related keys but ones that are isolated from the tonic (A minor). The dominant of A minor is reached (bar 75) and here, the recapitulation begins, once again over a dominant pedal. It is important to note that there has still not been a root chord of A minor. This elusive A minor root chord finally appears at the end of the recapitulation leading into the C major Trio section.

The slow Trio is in the style of a Ländler, an Austrian folk dance and, according to Williamson, confirms that in Bruckner's works, it [the Trio] is a place for construction in tone color as in the moment when horn and pizzicato strings compete on the same rhythmic figure:

\new Staff \relative as { \set Staff.midiInstrument = #"pizzicato strings" \key c \major \clef treble \time 2/4 \set Score.tempoHideNote = ##t \tempo "Langsam" 4 = 52
\new Staff \relative c { \set Staff.midiInstrument = #"pizzicato strings" \key c \major \clef bass \time 2/4
c8 ^"pizz." -. r8 r4 | % 2

In fact, this dialogue between pizzicato strings, horn and woodwinds is central to the texture of the whole Trio section. Although the key is C major, there are moments of harmonic ambiguity, as in the preceding movements. At one point (bar 5), the strings point towards D♭ major while the woodwinds attempt to assert A♭ major by quoting the inversion of the main theme of the Fifth Symphony that is in A♭ major. The Scherzo returns in its entirety at the end of the Trio, adhering to a typical large-scale ternary structure.

Watson characterized the Finale as a steady, organic assertion of A major against its Neapolitan relatives. However, this sonata form movement begins with a theme in Phyrgian A minor that once again stresses Neapolitan relationships with the obvious presence of the flat sixth (the pitch being F natural):

\new Staff \relative f' { \set Staff.midiInstrument = #"paino" \key a \minor \clef treble \time 2/2 \set Score.tempoHideNote = ##t \tempo "Bewegt, doch nicht zu schnell" 4 = 120
\new Staff \relative e { \set Staff.midiInstrument = #"piano" \key a \minor \clef alto \time 2/2
\new Staff \relative d { \set Staff.midiInstrument = #"piano" \key a \minor \clef bass \time 2/2

The horns and trumpets interrupt with statements in A major (bar 22) but the theme is undeterred; four bars later they once again interrupt the theme and this time succeed in establishing A major (bar 29). A second theme in C major eventually appears:

c4 r4 a4 r4 | % 2

This is followed by a third theme (bar 125) that is derived from the oboe lament of the second movement:

\new Staff \relative b' { \set Staff.midiInstrument = #"paino" \key e \major \clef treble \time 2/2 \set Score.tempoHideNote = ##t \tempo 4 = 120
\new Staff \relative b { \set Staff.midiInstrument = #"piano" \key e \major \clef treble \time 2/2

During the development section the music continues to modulate through a variety of major keys, including F major, E♭ major and E major until finally returning to the tonic A major (bar 245), regarded as the start of the recapitulation.

The Coda once again encompasses a broad range of keys and juxtaposes the primary theme with the main theme from the first movement. A final massive statement of A major asserts itself (bar 397) seemingly out of nowhere, embodying Bruckner's amazing ability to establish the tonic without a doubt and without the kind of preparation one would normally expect. This movement does not, nor was it intended to have the vast impact of the Finale of Bruckner's Symphony No. 5, but it is infinitely more refined than the Finale of his Fourth Symphony. According to Watson, the victorious conclusion of Bruckner's quest for a new and ideal finale form will be celebrated in his Eighth Symphony, but the Sixth Symphony's development is an eminent and profoundly satisfying landmark on that triumphant march.

This is the only Bruckner symphony exempt from any revisions by the composer. (The Fifth, Sixth and Seventh represent Bruckner's period of confidence as a composer and, along with the unfinished Ninth, are as a group the symphonies he did not extensively revise.) The Sixth was first published in 1899, a task overseen by former Bruckner pupil Cyrill Hynais. This edition did encompass a few minute changes from Bruckner's original: the repetition of the second half of the Trio in the third movement. The next edition appeared only in 1935, from Robert Haas under "Internationale Bruckner-Gesellschaft" auspices. In 1952 Leopold Nowak, who took over Haas's job, published an edition that was a replicate of Bruckner's 1881 original score. In 1986 the "IBG" issued an “audit” of the efforts of Hynais, Haas and Nowak, and in 1997 it republished the Nowak.

The version of the Sixth performed under the direction of Mahler for the 1899 premiere was never published; Mahler had made substantial changes to the whole score before that performance, of course unsanctioned by the deceased Bruckner. There exists also an inauthentic edition by Schalk.

Criticism of Bruckner's Symphony No. 6 is similar to the critical response that his preceding symphonies had received. Whereas Bruckner considered his Sixth Symphony to be his "boldest symphony," it was not generally held in high regard. In terms of interpretation, the Sixth Symphony has also been the unluckiest, with the vast majority of conductors ignoring Bruckner's specific tempo markings and throwing off the carefully planned balance of the movements. One 2004 reviewer for "The Musical Times" referred to the inner movements of this symphony as "flawed but attractive enough" and dubbed the outer movements "burdensome."

Hanslick, as usual, was without a doubt the harshest critic of them all. He was once quoted as saying, "whom I wish to destroy shall be destroyed," and Bruckner seems to have been a prime target. After hearing the 1883 performance of the middle movements of the Sixth Symphony, Hanslick wrote:
It has become ever harder for me personally to achieve a proper relationship with these peculiar compositions in which clever, original, and even inspired moments alternate frequently without recognizable connection with barely understandable platitudes, empty and dull patches, stretched out over such unsparing length as to threaten to run players as well as listeners out of breath.

Here, Hanslick touched on the most common complaint about Bruckner's symphonic writing: the seemingly endless journey to a conclusion of musical thought. Dyneley Hussey critiqued the Sixth Symphony in a 1957 review for "The Musical Times" and reached the same conclusions half a century later, writing:
His [Bruckner's] most tiresome habit is his way of pulling up dead at frequent intervals, and then starting the argument all over again...One has the impression...that we are traversing a town with innumerable traffic lights, all of which turn red as we approach them.
Harsh critical reception of the Sixth Symphony, as well as his entire body of work, can also be attributed to critical reception of Bruckner as a person. He was a devout Catholic whose religious fervor often had a negative effect on those he encountered. One of his pupils, Franz Schalk, commented that it was the age of moral and spiritual liberalism...but also in which he [Bruckner] intruded...with his medieval, monasterial concept of humankind and life.

Regardless of the criticisms, both musical and personal, there were some who attempted to find the beauty in Bruckner's Sixth Symphony. Donald Tovey wrote, ".. if one clears their mind, not only of prejudice but of wrong points of view, and treats Bruckner's Sixth Symphony as a kind of music we have never heard before, there is no doubt that its high quality will strike us at every moment". Still others marvel over the rarity of performances of the Sixth Symphony, citing its bright character and key and its plethora of tender, memorable themes as grounds for more widespread acceptance.

Carl Hruby wrote that Bruckner once said that if he were to speak to Beethoven about bad critiques Beethoven would say, "My dear Bruckner, don't bother yourself about it. It was no better for me, and the same gentlemen who use me as a stick to beat you with still don't understand my last quartets, however much they may pretend to." In saying this, Bruckner both acknowledged his bad critiques and maintained hope that his own compositions might one day garner the same type of positive reaction that Beethoven's music received from his contemporaries.

The first performance of Bruckner's Symphony No. 6 was by the Vienna Philharmonic conducted by Wilhelm Jahn on February 11, 1883, making it the only performance of the piece that Bruckner heard in his lifetime. However, only the two middle movements were performed. The first complete performance of the Sixth Symphony occurred in 1899 conducted by Gustav Mahler who made substantial changes to the score. The first full performance of the original score took place in Stuttgart in 1901, conducted by Karl Pohlig. Since that first full performance, the Sixth Symphony has become part of the symphonic repertory, but is the least performed of Bruckner's symphonies, never overcoming its original status as a symphonic "step-child."

The oldest surviving recorded performance is of Wilhelm Furtwängler conducting the Berlin Philharmonic in 1943; however, the first movement is missing. The oldest surviving "complete" recorded performance is of Georg Ludwig Jochum with the Bruckner Orchestra Linz from 1944. The first commercial recording is from 1950 and features Henry Swoboda and the Vienna Symphony Orchestra.

Anton Bruckner's Symphony No. 7 in E major (WAB 107) is one of his best-known symphonies. It was written between 1881 and 1883 and was revised in 1885. It is dedicated to Ludwig II of Bavaria. The premiere, given under Arthur Nikisch and the Gewandhaus Orchestra in the opera house at Leipzig on 30 December 1884, brought Bruckner the greatest success he had known in his life. The symphony is sometimes referred to as the "Lyric", though the appellation is not the composer's own, and is seldom used.

Symphony No. 7 (Bruckner)

The symphony has four movements:The first movement starts with tremolo strings and the cellos presenting "a complete, divinely given melodic whole:"

\new Staff \relative e { \set Staff.midiInstrument = #"piano" \key e \major \clef bass \time 2/2

"Bruckner declared he heard it in a dream, played on a viola, and wrote it down on awakening, but the tune incorporates a quotation from the Credo of his D minor Mass (1864) which he was currently revising. The main theme is restated before the second theme group appears, with the oboes and clarinets carrying the first theme:

\new Staff \relative b { \set Staff.midiInstrument = #"piano" \key b \minor \clef treble \time 2/2

The third theme group is based on octaves, as is typical in Bruckner:

\new Staff \relative b' { \set Score.tempoHideNote = ##t \tempo "Ruhig" 2 = 48 \set Staff.midiInstrument = #"piano" \key b \minor \clef treble \time 2/2
\new Staff \relative b, { \set Staff.midiInstrument = #"piano" \key b \minor \clef bass \time 2/2

The development features many of the themes in inversion. Near the end of the movement, there is a long pedal point on E, sustained by the double basses and timpani.

This movement was composed between January and April 1883. Bruckner began writing it in anticipation of Wagner's death and funeral, as he was in poor health. The movement features four Wagner tubas, which was their first appearance in a symphony:A contrabass tuba is also present. The second part of the movement, beginning in F-sharp major, has a tune that Bruckner specialist Georg Tintner described as such: "If I could describe what makes Bruckner Bruckner to me, it is that tune. It is something which transcends ordinary sorts of feelings. You can't even say 'Is it jolly?' 'Is it sad?' 'Is it that?' 'Is it that?'. You can't say that with a late Beethoven tune either. It is above these things:"

\new Staff \relative cis' { \set Staff.midiInstrument = #"piano" \key fis \major \clef treble \time 3/4 \set Score.tempoHideNote = ##t \tempo "Moderato" 4 = 54
\new Staff \relative fis, { \set Staff.midiInstrument = #"piano" \key fis \major \clef bass \time 3/4

Legend has it that Bruckner wrote the cymbal clash at the climax of this movement upon hearing the news that Wagner had died. By way of contrast, Williman Mann states that "at the climax of the slow movement Nikisch persuaded Bruckner to add a cymbal clash supported by a triangle; later this addition to the manuscript was marked 'invalid' - but not in the composer's hand, so who was the purist?"

The scherzo is in A minor and opens with a rhythmic string figure and a melody with a leap of an octave played by a solo trumpet:

\new Staff \relative e' { \set Staff.midiInstrument = #"piano" \key a \minor \clef treble \time 3/4 \set Score.tempoHideNote = ##t \tempo "Sehr schnell" 4 = 240
\new Staff \relative a, { \set Staff.midiInstrument = #"piano" \key a \minor \clef bass \time 3/4

The Trio is in F major and is in a slower tempo:

\new Staff \relative c { \set Staff.midiInstrument = #"piano" \key f \major \clef bass \time 3/4Unlike the Fifth and Eighth symphonies, where the Finale sums up and the entire symphony, this Finale is not as expansive as the other movements. Georg Tintner compared this Finale to the finale of a Haydn symphony. Like the first movement, the fourth movement opens with tremolo strings:

\new Staff \relative e" { \set Staff.midiInstrument = #"piano" \key e \major \clef treble \time 2/2 \set Score.tempoHideNote = ##t \tempo "Bewegt, doch nicht zu schnell" 2 = 60
\new Staff \relative e' { \set Staff.midiInstrument = #"piano" \key e \major \clef treble \time 2/2

The second theme group is in the distant key of A-flat major:The third theme group is a characteristic "octave theme" given by the whole orchestra in A minor:

\new Staff \relative a { \set Staff.midiInstrument = #"piano" \key a \minor \clef treble \time 2/2 \set Score.tempoHideNote = ##t \tempo 2 = 50
\new Staff \relative a, { \key a \minor \clef bass \time 2/2

In the recapitulation, the subject groups are reversed in order - a form called "tragic sonata form" or "arch form".

This was the version performed at the work's premiere. It survives only in one autograph copy which includes later changes by Bruckner and others, so the exact contents of this version are lost and it is unpublished.

Some changes were made after the 1884 premiere but before the first publication by Gutmann in 1885. It is widely accepted that Nikisch, Franz Schalk and Ferdinand Löwe had significant influence over this edition, but there is some debate over the extent to which these changes were authorized by Bruckner. These changes mostly affect tempo and orchestration.

Robert Haas attempted to remove the influence of Nikisch, Schalk and Löwe in order to retrieve Bruckner's original conception of the symphony. Haas used some material from the 1883 autograph but because this autograph also includes later changes much of his work was the product of conjecture. The most prominent feature of Haas's edition is the absence of cymbals, triangle and timpani in the slow movement: Haas asserted that Bruckner decided to omit the percussion, a claim scholar Benjamin Korstvedt deems "implausible".

Leopold Nowak kept most of the changes in the 1885 Gutmann edition, including the percussion. He reprinted the tempo modifications from Gutmann but placed them in brackets. Some performances of this edition omit the cymbal crash at the climax of the slow movement; however, it is included in the printed score.

An arrangement of this symphony for chamber ensemble (consisting of 2 violins, viola, cello, bass, clarinet, horn, piano 4-hands, and harmonium) was prepared in 1921 by students and associates of Arnold Schoenberg, for the Viennese "Society for Private Musical Performances": Hanns Eisler (1st and 3rd movements), Erwin Stein (2nd mvt.), and Karl Rankl (3rd mvt). The Society folded before the arrangement could be performed, and it was not premiered until more than 60 years later.

The symphony requires the following orchestra:

Used in the 2nd and 4th movements only.

Except for the third movement where the use of timpani figures prominently, usage of percussion in the symphony is extremely limited. A timpani roll enters at the coda of the first movement. In some performance editions, the timpani re-enters along with cymbals and triangle together in the climax of the second movement (the only movement employing cymbals and triangle). Many conductors perform the second movement without percussion (as in the Haas edition), however; the decision is generally settled by the performers' preferences. In the last movement, the timpani rolls in brief climaxes before crescendoing with orchestral tutti in the final bars.

According to Frederic Spotts' "Hitler and the Power of Aesthetics", Adolf Hitler compared this symphony favorably with Beethoven's Ninth Symphony. When he consecrated a bust of Bruckner at Regensburg's Walhalla temple in 1937, this symphony's Adagio was played as Hitler stood in quiet admiration. A recording of the Adagio was played before the official radio announcement of the German defeat at Stalingrad on 31 January 1943 and before Reich President Karl Dönitz announced Hitler's death on Radio Berlin on 1 May 1945; a recording by Furtwängler was used.

The first commercial recording was made by Oskar Fried with the Berlin State Opera Orchestra in 1924 for Polydor. Along with Symphony No. 4, the Seventh is the most popular Bruckner symphony both in the concert hall and on record.

Herbert von Karajan's last recording with the Vienna Philharmonic, 23 April 1989, three months before his death, on the Deutsche Grammophon label, of the Haas edition of the 1885 score, has been singled out by Norman Lebrecht as #80 in his list of the 100 best recordings, and described as "more human and vulnerable" than his earlier Berlin recording. In reviewing the 1999 recording by Kurt Sanderling, the critic David Hurwitz listed as reference (benchmark) recordings of Bruckner's Seventh those by Eugen Jochum in 1976, Bernard Haitink in 1978, Karajan in 1989, and Günter Wand in 1999. Stephen Johnson prefers Karl Böhm's recording with the Vienna Philharmonic, saying that Böhm balances "clear-sighted formal understanding with a more fluid, supple approach to phrasing." The vast majority of modern recordings use vibrato for the strings, with Roger Norrington's recording with the Radio-Sinfonieorchester Stuttgart des SWR being a notable exception.

On BBC Radio 3 in December 2014, Prof. John Deathridge selected Bernard Haitink's Concertgebouw recording from 1966 as the 'First Choice' in the 'Building a Library' series. (Wilhelm Furtwangler's 1949 recording with the Berlin Philharmonic was chosen as the top 'Historic' recommendation.)

The chamber arrangement has been recorded, by among others, the Thomas Christian Ensemble, proving to one reviewer "beyond doubt that it simply takes more than 10 musicians, no matter how good they are, to play a Bruckner symphony."


How long was The Secret of Monkey Island in production?

"The Secret of Monkey Island" ultimately cost $200,000 to produce, and was developed over nine months.

The Secret of Monkey Island

The Secret of Monkey Island (alternatively known as Monkey Island I) is a point-and-click graphic adventure game developed and published by Lucasfilm Games. It takes place in a fantastic version of the Caribbean during the age of piracy. The player assumes the role of Guybrush Threepwood, a young man who dreams of becoming a pirate and explores fictional islands while solving puzzles.

The game was conceived in 1988 by Lucasfilm employee Ron Gilbert, who designed it with Tim Schafer and Dave Grossman. Gilbert's frustrations with contemporary adventure titles led him to make the player character's death almost impossible, which meant that gameplay focused the game on exploration. The atmosphere was based on that of the Pirates of the Caribbean theme park ride. "The Secret of Monkey Island" was the fifth game built with the SCUMM engine, which was heavily modified to include a more user-friendly interface.

The early releases of this game came with copy-protection. A cardboard wheel, named "Dial-a-Pirate", was provided, and the player had to match the pirate shown on-screen with that of the wheel.

Critics praised "The Secret of Monkey Island" for its humor, audiovisuals, and gameplay. The game spawned a number of sequels, collectively known as the "Monkey Island" series. Gilbert, Schafer and Grossman also led the development of the sequel "". LucasArts released a remake of the original in 2009, which was also well received by the gaming press.

"The Secret of Monkey Island" is a 2D adventure game played from a third-person perspective. Via a point-and-click interface, the player guides protagonist Guybrush Threepwood through the game's world and interacts with the environment by selecting from twelve verb commands (nine in newer versions) such as "talk to" for communicating with characters and "pick up" for collecting items between commands and the world's objects in order to successfully solve puzzles and thus progress in the game. While conversing with other characters, the player may choose between topics for discussion that are listed in a dialog tree; the game is one of the first to incorporate such a system. The in-game action is frequently interrupted by cutscenes. Like other LucasArts adventure games, "The Secret of Monkey Island" features a design philosophy that makes the player character's death nearly impossible (Guybrush does drown if he stays underwater for more than ten minutes).

A youth named Guybrush Threepwood arrives on the fictional Mêlée Island, with the desire to become a pirate. He seeks out the island's pirate leaders, who set him three trials that must be completed to become a pirate: winning a sword duel against Carla, the island's resident swordmaster, finding a buried treasure, and stealing a valuable idol from the governor's mansion. These quests take Guybrush throughout the island, where he hears of stories of the Ghost Pirate LeChuck, who apparently died in an expedition to the mysterious Monkey Island, an act that was meant to win the love of the governor Elaine Marley. Guybrush meets several characters of interest, including a local voodoo priestess, Stan the Used Boat Salesman, Carla the Sword Master, a prisoner named Otis, and Meathook, whose hands have been replaced by hooks.

Guybrush also encounters the governor and is instantly smitten, and she soon reciprocates. However, as he completes the tasks set for him, the island is raided by LeChuck and his undead crew, who abduct Elaine and then retreat to their secret hideout on Monkey Island. Guybrush takes it upon himself to rescue her, buying a ship and hiring Carla, Otis, and Meathook as crew before setting sail for the fabled island. When Guybrush reaches Monkey Island, he discovers a village of cannibals in a dispute with Herman Toothrot, a ragged castaway marooned there. He settles their quarrel, and then recovers a magical "voodoo root" from LeChuck's ship for the cannibals, who provide him with a seltzer bottle of "voodoo root elixir" that can destroy ghosts.

When Guybrush returns to LeChuck's ship with the elixir, he learns that LeChuck has returned to Mêlée Island to marry Elaine at the church. He promptly returns to Mêlée Island and gatecrashes the wedding, only to ruin Elaine's own plan for escape; in the process he loses the elixir. Now confronted with a furious LeChuck, Guybrush is savagely beaten by the ghost pirate in a fight ranging across the island. The fight eventually arrives at the island's ship emporium, where Guybrush finds a bottle of root beer. Substituting the beverage for the lost elixir, he sprays LeChuck, destroying the ghost pirate. With LeChuck defeated, Guybrush and Elaine enjoy a romantic moment, watching fireworks caused by LeChuck exploding.

Ron Gilbert conceived the idea of a pirate adventure game in 1988, after completing "Zak McKracken and the Alien Mindbenders". He first wrote story ideas about pirates while spending the weekend at a friend's house. Gilbert experimented with introductory paragraphs to find a satisfactory idea. His initial story featured unnamed villains that would eventually become LeChuck and Elaine; Guybrush was absent at this point. He pitched it to Lucasfilm Games's staff as a series of short stories. Gilbert's idea was warmly received, but production was postponed because Lucasfilm Games assigned its designers, including Gilbert, to "". Development of "The Last Crusade" was finished in 1989, which allowed Gilbert to begin production of "The Secret of Monkey Island", then known internally under the working title "Mutiny on Monkey Island".

Gilbert soon realised that it would be difficult to design the game by himself; he decided to join forces with Tim Schafer and Dave Grossman, both of whom he hired for Lucasfilm. The game's insult sword fighting mechanics were influenced by swashbuckling movies starring Errol Flynn, which Gilbert, Schafer and Grossman often watched for inspiration. They noticed that pirates in those films often taunted their opponents instead of attacking them, which gave the designers the idea to base the game's duels on insults rather than combat. Writer Orson Scott Card helped them write the insults during a visit to Lucasfilm's headquarters at Skywalker Ranch. Many of Gilbert's original gameplay ideas were abandoned during the production process, although he stated that "most of that stuff was left out for a reason".

The game's plot, as described by Dave Grossman: "It's a story about this young man who comes to an island in search of his life's dream. He's pursuing his career goals and he discovers love in the process and winds up thinking that was actually more important than what he was doing to begin with. You’re laughing, but there's actually something deeper going on as well." When work on the plot began, Gilbert discovered that Schafer's and Grossman's writing styles were too different to form a cohesive whole: Grossman's was "very kind of a dry, sarcastic humor" and Schafer's was "just a little more in your face". In reaction, Gilbert assigned them to different characters and story moments depending on what type of comedy was required. Grossman believed that this benefited the game's writing, as he and Schafer "were all funny in slightly different ways, and it worked well together". Schafer and Grossman wrote most of the dialogue while they were programming the game; as a result, much of it was improvised. Some of the dialogue was based on the designers' personal experiences, such as Guybrush's line "I had a feeling in hell there would be mushrooms", which came from Schafer's own hatred of fungi.

The game's world and characters were designed primarily by Gilbert. After having read Tim Powers' historical fantasy novel "On Stranger Tides", he decided to add paranormal themes to the game's plot. He also cited Powers' book as an influence on the characters, particularly those of Guybrush and LeChuck. Inspiration for the game's ambiance came from Gilbert's favorite childhood amusement park ride, Pirates of the Caribbean. Grossman said that Gilbert always wanted "to step off the ride" and "talk to the people who lived in that world". Near the final stages of the design work, Gilbert introduced several characters who were not directly related to the game's story. He considered this to be an important decision, as the player would need those seemingly minor characters in later parts of the game and would receive a chance to "really interact with them".

Gilbert, Schafer and Grossman's primary goal was to create a simpler and more accessible gameplay model than those presented in previous Lucasfilm titles. Gilbert had conceived the main designs and puzzles before production began, which resulted in the bulk of the designers' work to flesh out his ideas. He was frustrated by the adventure games that Sierra On-Line was releasing at the time, and later said that "you died any time you did anything wrong". Gilbert considered such gameplay as "a cheap way out for the designer". He had previously applied his design ideas to the 1987 graphic adventure title "Maniac Mansion", but committed a number of mistakes during development, such as dead-end situations that prevented the player from completing the game and poorly implemented triggers for cutscenes. Gilbert aimed to avoid such errors in "The Secret of Monkey Island". The team decided to make it impossible for the player character to die, with one notable exception, which focused gameplay primarily on world exploration. The Sierra game-over screen was parodied, when Guybrush falls off a cliff only to be bounced back up by a "rubber tree". Guybrush can also be killed by drowning, though it is an Easter Egg unlikely to be found without conscientious effort.

"The Secret of Monkey Island" was the fifth Lucasfilm Games project powered by the SCUMM engine, originally developed for "Maniac Mansion". The company had gradually modified the engine since its creation. For "Maniac Mansion", the developers hard coded verb commands in the SCUMM scripting language. These commands become more abstract in subsequent versions of the engine. The developers carried over the practice of referring to individual segments of the gameworld as "rooms", even though the areas in "Monkey Island" were outdoors. The game uses the same version of the engine used in "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade", with minor changes. A dialog tree was added, which facilitated conversation options and the sword-fighting puzzles. The developers removed the "What is" option (an input command that describes an on-screen object to the player) in favor of allowing the player to simply highlight the object with the mouse cursor. The game's improved interface became the standard for the company's later titles. The game also introduced logical verb shortcuts, which could be performed with the mouse; for example, clicking on a character defaults to the "talk" action, the most obvious action in the situation. SCUMM's visuals were updated for the game—the original EGA version had a 320x200 pixel resolution rendered in 16 colors. According to artist Steve Purcell, that became a major limitation for the art team; due to a low number of "ghastly" colors, they often chose bizarre tones for backgrounds. They chose black and white for Guybrush's outfit for the same reason. The VGA version of the game later corrected these issues by implementing 256 color support, which allowed for more advanced background and character art. The VGA (and other platform releases) removed the infamous "stump joke" from the game, which was a joke in the EGA version in which the player would examine a tree stump in the forest. Guybrush would exclaim that there is an opening to a system of catacombs and attempt to enter, but this would result in a message stating the player needed to insert disc 22, then 36, then 114 in order to continue. The joke resulted in numerous calls to the LucasArts hotline asking about missing discs. As a result, the joke was removed from later editions and is a mentioned as a conversation option for the LucasArts Hint Hotline in the sequel.

The game's "pirate reggae" music was composed by Lucasfilm Games' in-house musician Michael Land in MIDI format. It was his first project at the company. The game was originally released for floppy disk in 1990, but a CD-ROM version with a high-quality CD soundtrack followed in 1992. The music has remained popular, and has been remixed by the musicians of OverClocked ReMix and by the game's fans.

LucasArts released a remake with updated audiovisuals titled "The Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition" in July 2009 for iPhone, Microsoft Windows, and Xbox 360 exclusively via digital distribution. PlayStation 3, macOS and iPad versions followed early in 2010 for download on their respective services. LucasArts confirmed the game's development on June 1, 2009; rumors appeared several days earlier when the Xbox 360 version of the game received an USK rating. The game was first displayed to the public at the 2009 E3 in June. The remake features hand-drawn visuals with more detail, a remastered musical score, voice work for characters, and a hint system. The developers included the function to switch between 2009 and original audiovisuals at will. The voice actors included Dominic Armato as Guybrush Threepwood and Earl Boen as LeChuck; most had provided voice work in sequels to "The Secret of Monkey Island".

LucasArts's game producer Craig Derrick and his team conceived the idea of the remake in 2008. After researching the "Monkey Island" series' history, they decided to make "something fresh and new while staying true to the original", which resulted in the idea of "The Secret of Monkey Island" remake. The developers tried to leave much of the original design unchanged. Any changes were intended to achieve the level of immersion desired for the original. To that end, they added details like a pirate ship or pirates talking in the background of scenes. While the team considered the SCUMM interface revolutionary at the time, LucasArts community manager Brooks Brown noted that it is incompatible with an analog stick, which most consoles use. The designers made the cursor contextual to the game objects as the primary interface. Brown had considered updating the reference to advertise "" because "Loom" was not on the market at the time, but concluded that the game would not be the same if such changes were implemented. Prior to the "Special Edition" release, however, LucasArts announced that "Loom", along with other games from its back catalog, would be made available on Steam. Brown stated that the decision to distribute the game online was because "digital downloads have finally gotten going".
"The Secret of Monkey Island" received positive reviews from critics. According to Gilbert, it "sold well" but was "never a big hit". Grossman later summarized that the game's sales were "north of 100,000, far south of 1 million". According to "Next Generation", "The Secret of Monkey Island" was a "relatively minor hit" in the United States, but the game and its sequel became "blockbusters on the PC and the Amiga throughout Europe."

Hartley, Patricia, and Kirk Lesser of "Dragon" praised the designers' attention to detail, and cited the game's humor as a high point. Although they believed that the game was too expensive, they summarized it as "a highly enjoyable graphic adventure replete with interesting puzzles, a fantastic Roland soundtrack, superb VGA graphics, smooth-scrolling animation, and some of the funniest lines ever seen on your computer screen." Duncan MacDonald of "Zero" praised the graphics and found the game "quite amusing". His favorite aspect was the fine-tuned difficulty level, which he believed was "just right". He ended his review, "At last an adventure game that's enjoyable rather than frustrating." Paul Glancey of "Computer and Video Games" consider the game superior to Lucasfilm's earlier adventure titles, and wrote that, "Usually the entertainment you get from an adventure is derived solely from solving puzzles, but the hilarious characters and situations, and the movie-like presentation... make playing this more like taking part in a comedy film, so it's much more enjoyable." He considered the puzzles to be "brilliantly conceived" and found the game's controls accessible. He summarized it as "utterly enthralling".

"ACE"s Steve Cooke also found the controls convenient, and he praised the game's atmosphere. He wrote that, "in graphics and sound terms... "Monkey Island", along with "King's Quest V", is currently at the head of the pack." However, he disliked the designers' running joke of placing "TM" after character and place names, which he thought detracted from the atmosphere. He singled out the game's writing, characters and plot structure as its best elements. "Amiga Power"s Mark Ramshaw wrote, "With "The Secret of Monkey Island", the mouse-controlled, graphic-adventure comes of age." He lauded its comedic elements, which he believed were the highlight of the game. The reviewer also praised the control scheme, noting that it allows the player to "more or less forget about the specifics of what [they are] physically doing... and lose [themselves] in the adventure instead." He noted that the game's plot and visual and aural presentation fit together to create a thick atmosphere, and finished, "Forget all those other milestone adventures ("Zork", "The Hobbit", "" "et al") — for sheer enjoyment and general all-round perfection, "The Secret of Monkey Island" creams 'em all in style." The game, along with its sequel, was ranked the 19th best game of all time by "Amiga Power".

Writing for "The One", Paul Presley stated that "Lucasfilm appears to have taken all of the elements that worked in its previous releases and, not only incorporated them into this tale of scurvy swashbuckling, but even improved on them in the process!" Like the other reviewers, he praised its controls. He also lauded its "hilarious storyline, strong characters and... intriguing setting", but complained about graphical slowdowns. Nick Clarkson of "Amiga Computing" cited the game's graphics as "flawless", noting that "the characters are superbly animated and the backdrops simply ooze atmosphere." He highly praised its sound effects and music, and believed that its controls "couldn't be simpler". The staff of "Amiga Action" wrote that the "attention to detail and the finely tuned gameplay cannot be faulted." They called the graphics "stunning throughout", and believed that, when they were combined with the "excellent Caribbean tunes", the result is a game filled with "character and atmosphere." They ended by stating that "there is absolutely no excuse for not owning this game." "Computer Gaming World" said that ""Monkey Island" offers up LucasArt's famous humor at its best... For an adventure you'll long remember, raise your cup of grog".

"The Secret of Monkey Island" has featured regularly in lists of "top" games, such as "Computer Gaming World's" Hall of Fame and IGN's Video Game Hall of Fame. In 1991, "PC Format" placed "The Secret of Monkey Island" on its list of the 50 best computer games of all time, calling it "genuinely funny". In 1996, "Computer Gaming World" ranked it as the 19th best game of all time, writing, "Who could ever forget the insult-driven duel system or the identity of the mysterious Swordmaster?". In 2004, readers of "Retro Gamer" voted it as the 33rd top retro game. IGN named "The Secret of Monkey Island" one of the ten best LucasArts adventure games in 2009, and ranked the Xbox Live Arcade version as the 20th best title of all time for that platform in 2010. In 2017, "The Secret of Monkey Island" ranked 78th in the "Scientifically Proven Best Video Games of All Time," a statistical meta-analysis compiled by Warp Zoned of 44 "top games" lists published between 1995 and 2016.

Like the original release, "The Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition" received positive reviews from critics. Sean Ely of "GamePro" praised its updated audio, and said that the new graphics "blow the old clunker visuals... out of the water". He cited its script, humor, plot, puzzles and balanced difficulty level as high points, and finished, ""The Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition" is impressive, hilarious and downright worth your money." Daemon Hatfield of IGN wrote, "Almost 20 years after its release, ["The Secret of Monkey Island"] remains a blast to play." He called the new graphics "slick, if a little generic", and noted that the "original graphics have a certain charm to them that the fancy pants new visuals just don't." However, he enjoyed the redone music, the new hint function, and the added sound effects and voice acting. He summarized it as "one of the best times you'll ever have pointing and clicking", and noted that "few games are this funny." Justin Calvert of GameSpot noted that "the Special Edition looks much better and is the only way to play if you want to hear... what characters are saying, whereas the original game's interface is less clunky." However, he wrote that "the voice work is such a great addition to the game that it's difficult to go back to the original edition." He praised its humor, writing, puzzles and characters, and he believed that it had aged well. Eurogamer's Dan Whitehead wrote, "Purists like me will almost certainly find something to grumble about over the span of the game, but the overall impact of the redesign is undeniably for the better." However, he preferred the original game's Guybrush design, and believed that the new control system was "rather less intuitive" than the old one. He finished by stating that "few games can stand the test of time with such confidence".

"The Secret of Monkey Island" spawned four sequels. The first, "", was released in 1991 and focuses on LeChuck's return. Six years later, LucasArts released "The Curse of Monkey Island", which features a new visual design. In 2000, the company released "Escape from Monkey Island", which uses the GrimE engine of "Grim Fandango" to produce 3D graphics. The next title, "Tales of Monkey Island" released in 2009, is a series of five episodic chapters.

Elements of the game have appeared elsewhere in popular culture. The original version was selected as one of five for the exhibition "The Art of Video Games" in the Smithsonian American Art Museum in 2011. A fictive drink recipe in the game for grog was mistakenly reported as real in 2009 by Argentinian news channel C5N, which urged adolescents against consuming the dangerous "Grog XD" drink. In "Tales of Monkey Island", Guybrush refers to this news story while pushing the Grog XD button on a Grog machine.