Anton Bruckner (1824-96)
Adagio from the String Quintet in F major, WAB 112 (1878-79)
If you only know Bruckner as the composer of big symphonies, you’re not alone and any surprise you may feel at finding that he wrote chamber music is entirely understandable: the sheer scope of his symphonies, for instance, suggests a composer not naturally comfortable writing for more intimate forces. There are, however, a smattering of pieces for chamber groups, including a youthful string quartet and this mammoth String Quintet, which dates from the central part of Bruckner’s career.
The Quintet was composed on a commission from Josef Hellmesberger, Sr., then the director of the Vienna Conservatory and concertmaster of the Vienna Philharmonic. Hellmesberger took his time getting around to playing the piece – it wasn’t premiered in full until 1885 – but, once he did, it became, during Bruckner’s lifetime, one of its composers most frequently-performed scores.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, the four-movement Quintet has much in common with Bruckner’s symphonic catalogue. It features passages of vigorous counterpoint; rich, chromatic harmonies; a Wagnerian approach to its motivic materials; references to Austrian folk music (particularly the rustic ländler, a dance also much-loved by Mahler); and a treatment of the five instruments (a pair each of violins and violas, plus cello) as a scaled-down version of a full symphony orchestra.
That last quality is abundantly evident in the Quintet’s gorgeous third-movement Adagio. It’s scored in the somewhat surprising (and, for string players, rather unfriendly and unflattering) key of G-flat major. There are two principle themes at work in it, the first, a long-breathed violin melody that unfolds like a hymn above a fervent series of chord progressions.
After the opening melody is stated in full, an austere transitional section, marked by dotted rhythms, occurs. It eventually leads to the second theme, which is itself an inversion of the first theme’s motive – the downward melody is now flipped to move upwards – bracketed by pulsing eighth notes.
The music makes its way back to a restatement of the first theme before a highly-involved development section begins. It passes through several key areas before reaching a huge climax marked lang gezogen (literally, “long, drawn out”) and then, gradually, dissipating. After cycling through the two main themes again (this time in reverse order), the transitional section recurs, now leading to a serene coda back in G-flat.
© Jonathan Blumhofer
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