In September 1873, Bruckner paid a visit to his idol Wagner in Bayreuth. During the audience, Bruckner humbly asked which symphony was worthy enough to be dedicated to the "Master of all masters." Wagner's preference for the Third Symphony is partly due to the countless quotations from Tannhäuser, Die Walküre, Die Meistersinger and Tristan und Isolde. For the second version, which would flop
… mercilessly in 1877, Bruckner would already remove quotations. Although Bruckner's Third Symphony was his best performance to date, the work would continue to be under construction. Actually there is not even 'a' Third Symphony: in musicology numerous versions and intermediate versions are distinguished, none of which is authorized by the composer. That is not bad, by the way, because the music is so monumental and powerful that multiple versions are quite conceivable. In any case, the music sounds very convincing in this beautiful performance of the Brucknerorchester Linz conducted by Denniss Russel Davies of the 1889 version. (HJ)more
