Power and brilliance: Concertgebouw & Mäkelä / Katowice Culture Nature Festival - NOSPR

Anton Bruckner’s Fifth  (1876) was allegedly the first instrumental symphony of such a gigantic scale. It would not be more than once that Bruckner himself would erect an equally monumental edifice again. The only precedent one might perceive is  Beethoven’s Ninth (vocal-instrumental), the echoes of which can be heard in the first bars of the Fifth’s finale, also resounding with reminiscences of themes from preceding movements. This resembles a look backwards (one might want to say – downwards): a quick breath, gathering one’s strength before commencing an attack at the towering peak which crowns the work.

After the Third Symphony (1873), imbued with the spirit of Nature, and the Fourth (1874) – the “Romantic” one – the Fifth comes from a different world, one that seems premodern. It would be in vain to seek the proto-fog from which themes emerge, so typical for Bruckner elsewhere. There is also none of the painterly effects which had filled the Fourth to be found here. What we are presented with is a raw cast-iron structure. The archaic polyphony brings to mind the old church style, based on the idea of formal proportions understood as a resounding analogy with the cosmic harmony of the spheres. The chorale is a part of an unambiguously sacred character, with its position in the finale, rising above the other elements of the symphony, not quite unlike a monument situated upon a tall plinth… It comes as no surprise to learn that tradition gave this symphony such sobriquets as “Catholic”, “Choral” and „Church of Faith”.

Marcin Trzęsiok

Concert duration: approximately 80 minutes

Tickets:

We encourage to purchase festival carnet with a discount (20% for at least three concerts and 25% for at least five concerts).

Check out the side events of the Katowice Culture Nature Festival!