200 years of Bruckner, 35 years of Ebracher Musiksommer: Maestro Gerd Schaller interviewed by Ken Ward
Ken Ward: So, Mr Schaller, we had a year to celebrate Bruckner’s 200th birthday. What did you think of how it was celebrated?
Gerd Schaller: A birthday is always a good opportunity to engage intensively with a composer’s personality again. At the same time, it also provides an opportunity to think about what the image or perception of this personality is today and in general. Of course, the birthday of such an important composer as Anton Bruckner must be celebrated appropriately. And this also happened in numerous concerts, lectures, exhibitions, etc. I would like to emphasise that Anton Bruckner was discussed very intensively in the anniversary year, especially in Austria. This starts with curiosities such as the ‘Schorgel’, a mixture of organ and swing, through to the first-class Bruckner exhibition in the state hall of the Austrian National Library in Vienna.
The birthday also played a role in the press. In my opinion, unfortunately, the usual clichés were conveyed again and again. Too often, only the oddball Bruckner, who supposedly oscillates between genius and idiot, was put in the foreground. A cliché that arose during Bruckner’s lifetime and persists to this day. However, this is an injustice to Bruckner. His apparent insecurity was also discussed again and again. However, far too little attention has been paid to whether there were reasons for this and whether Bruckner ultimately displayed certain behaviours in his striving to create the perfect symphony that actually served to achieve this goal. All too often the usual drawers were opened. In this respect, I would have liked to have been able to learn more about his true nature and seen further into his personality.
KW: Have you been surprised by anything in Bruckner’s 200th anniversary year? And have you learned anything new about Bruckner?
GS: Bruckner’s music is so complex that there is always something new, often surprising, to discover – and this completely independent of an anniversary. Each of his symphonies is a unique cosmos. And just as you can always find new stars and perhaps even galaxies in a cosmos, you can also advance into previously unknown areas in Bruckner’s music. That’s the fascinating thing about great music, which touches your innermost being and penetrates deep into your heart. In this respect, I learn something new every time I study Bruckner’s works. But I have to say: the more I work with Bruckner, somehow I realise the less I know him as a person. What can we really know of a person who was born two hundred years ago?
KW: Bruckner’s symphonic output didn’t start in earnest until he was in his 40s, and the best known images of Bruckner show him in later life. Perhaps because of this we tend to think of him as an elderly composer. Do you think we are sometimes in danger of missing the youthful qualities in Bruckner’s music?
GS: That is correct. Bruckner only started composing very late, at an age when other composers, such as Mozart and Schubert, had composed a gigantic amount of works. Today, when we think of Bruckner, we primarily see the old man whose life was marked by illness and decline. Mostly the late symphonies are played, i.e. his late work. In addition, Bruckner composed very slowly, which in turn has to do with his perfectionism. So only the serene composer is seen, whose work is apparently no longer of this world, but the great impetus and youthful freshness are often ignored. Bruckner saw himself as the legitimate successor to Beethoven. And the same strength and determination can also be found in his music, which can be heartfelt, thoughtful and transcendent, but also youthfully fresh and gripping. Isn’t it exciting to discover these different aspects again and again?!
KW: Your Bruckner performances and recordings over the years have been a great success and received very positive reviews. I have noticed in your more recent performances that you are tending to faster tempos and more lively interpretations.
GS: The older I get, the more I question the so-called traditions. Traditions are very important and can sometimes provide insight into a performance practice that perhaps goes back to the premiere. But they can also be the result of a conductor’s own view of the past, which does not necessarily correspond to the composer’s will and can therefore be arbitrary. However, I reject the abandonment of any tradition as well as the unreflective adoption of pseudo-traditions. If in doubt, it helps to look at the score. And that’s what makes a musician’s life: that you’re always dealing with the works, finding out new aspects and questioning a lot of things. What does the score say above all: what doesn’t it say? Do I have to slow down before every climax and create an artificial traffic jam because it’s a tradition without there being any indication of this from the composer? Or does the internal context and dramaturgy of a passage almost necessarily imply a change in tempo?
Performances of Bruckner’s music often suffer (and I really mean that!) from always emphasising only one aspect, namely the sacred and sublime, the slow and solemn, the monumental and drawn-out. As a result, the phrases are no longer comprehensible, and the internal connection is lost. When it comes to the choice of tempo, which is necessary for me, what is particularly important to me is this great sense of cohesion. Of course, no details should be lost. The overall plan must be right. In my opinion, the pace is not to be manufactured; it must not be imposed. Rather, the tempo is the result of the dramaturgy of the work. His music is so versatile and has so many points of view. The wonderfully swinging lines, the polyphonic intertwining of voices, the strong contrasts and generally the intimacy that characterises his music – all of this has a right to be heard.
KW: There have also been orchestral performances using instruments of Bruckner’s time. Do you think there’s a different Bruckner to be discovered from this way of approaching the music?
GS: In my opinion, more important than the choice of instruments is the realisation of what is in the music. The spirit of the music is crucial. The barren notes come to life. There is no right or wrong here. Fortunately, the time for ideological conflict between supporters of historical instruments and those who prefer modern instruments is over. In my opinion, it’s a pointless argument anyway, because if I can’t bring the spirit of the music to life, it doesn’t matter what instruments I use.
KW: Your recorded performances have all originated from your wonderful music festival, the Ebrach Summer of Music (der Ebracher Musiksommer). That festival is now celebrating its 35th anniversary. Congratulations! What will you be conducting to celebrate this event?
GS: Of course, Bruckner also plays a major role in the 35th anniversary year of the Ebrach Summer of Music. On March 16th at 5 pm in the Regent Hall in Bad Kissingen, the Philharmonie Festiva will perform the Third Symphony in the exciting first version from 1873. The Eighth Symphony will follow on July 20th at 5pm in the Ebrach Abbey also in its first version of 1887. It is these first versions that are still like a book of the seven seals for Bruckner’s followers, containing wonderful tonal treasures. Here you meet the bold Bruckner, who still has no regard for the playing possibilities of the orchestras of the time. These first versions often sound very experimental and innovative. When I founded the Ebrach Summer of Music as a student 35 years ago (you can see how time flies!), the first work I performed was Joseph Haydn’s The Creation. So, it is only logical that this oratorio will be heard again in 2025. On September 7th I will perform this wonderful work with the Philharmonic Festiva, the Philharmonic Choir Munich and an excellent international ensemble of soloists, the theme of which is more relevant than ever in our time.
KW: And do you have more Ebrach Bruckner performances planned?
GS: In 2025, all of Bruckner’s symphonies will have been recorded in all versions, including the intermediate versions of the Third from 1874 and the Eighth from 1888, recorded for the first time. When it comes to the editions of these interim variants, I still have fond memories of working with William Carragan, who created these editions. In 2025, my project BRUCKNER2024, which I launched in 2011 with the Bavarian Radio, the CD label Profil Edition Günter Hänssler and the Ebrach Summer of Music, will reach its conclusion. However, Bruckner will not be over for a long time, because this composer is very important to me and in a certain way, studying his work is something like my life’s work. Preparations are already underway for 2026. And one thing I can already say: there will of course be Bruckner at the Ebrach Summer of Music. Bruckner’s choral symphonic works are unique and fascinating. I have already recorded the F minor Mass and the 146th Psalm and plan to continue with other choral symphonic works. And in the symphonic field too, it is important to keep discovering new aspects. So there will be a BRUCKNER2024plus!
KW: You have recorded performances of the Fifth and Ninth arranged as organ symphonies. I see that now you have recorded a performance of the Eighth arranged for organ on a Cavaillé-Coll organ in Rouen. What is it that draws you to make these organ versions of the Bruckner symphonies?
GS: I have already recorded the Ninth Symphony and the Fifth Symphony in my own organ arrangements on the large main organ of the former Cistercian Abbey in Ebrach. Profil Edition Günter Hänssler will soon publish the Eighth Symphony, which I recorded in the former Benedictine Abbey of Saint-Ouen in Rouen on the Cavaillé-Coll organ there, an instrument that was built in 1890 by the most famous French organ builder of the Romantic period and is one of the greatest organs in the world. In my opinion, Bruckner’s Eighth Symphony, which premiered in the same year as the organ in Saint-Ouen, fits perfectly on this instrument, which is still in its original condition. Especially when transcribing the Eighth, I must admit that the unique sound of the organ in Rouen in both pianissimo and fortissimo also had an influence on my transcription of the Eighth Symphony.
Although Bruckner enjoyed great success as an organ improviser, he did not leave behind any significant organ works himself. Above all, he was the creator of monumental symphonies and unique choral music. Of course, his symphonies were written for orchestra and not for the organ. And yet the organist can be felt in many symphonic passages. The organ was also Bruckner’s home and court instrument. So an organ arrangement really comes to mind. Of course, not all symphonies are equally suitable for this. In my opinion, the Fifth, Seventh, Eighth and Ninth are particularly transferable to the organ. Of course, it is neither possible nor necessary to transfer every secondary voice. Rather, it’s about filtering the essence from the work. However, another step must be taken: the respective transcription must be adapted to the organ instrument. This is where the actual processing takes place. The organ symphonies of Widor and Vierne were a model for me. Incidentally, the editor of a contemporary French newspaper wrote on Bruckner’s trip to Paris, where he played various instruments: ‘Anton Bruckner is enthusiastic about the instruments from the Cavaillé-Coll house.’ And that’s true for me too!
Ken Ward
For more about the Ebrach Summer of Music click here.