Anton Bruckner composed about fifty small piano works, the earliest in 1850, the last in 1868.
Works for piano for two hands Seven works are edited in Band XII/2 of the Bruckner's .Frühe Orchesterwerke und Instrumentalstücke These works were mainly composed for his piano pupils during his stay in St. Florian (1845–1855) and in Linz (1855–1868).C. van Zwol, pp. 676–678 Four Lancier-Quadrille, WAB 120, in C major, compiled in from melodies from Albert Lortzing's Der Wildschütz and Zar und Zimmermann, and Gaetano Donizetti's La fille du régiment,U. Harten, p. 246 as exercise for his piano pupil Aloisia Bogner:The 16-year old Aloisia Bogner, alias Louise or Luise Bogner, was the older daughter of Michaël Bogner, by whom Bruckner had his living accommodation. Bruckner composed for her also the lieder Der Mondabend and Frühlingslied. , Band XII/2, No. 1C. van Zwol, p. 676C. Howie, Chapter II, p. 30 (From Steiermark), WAB 122, a 32-bar long piece in G major, composed also in for Aloisia Bogner: , Band XII/2, No. 2 It is a kind of stylised Ländler in A-B-C-A form. , WAB 119, an 18-bar long "piece for piano" in E major, composed in for teaching purpose: , Band XII/2, No. 3C. Howie, Chapter III, p. 118U. Harten, p. 234 , WAB 243,Sonate für Klavier in g‑Moll (WAB add 243) a 194-bar long first "movement of a sonata" in G minor, found on pp. 157–164 of the : , Band XII/2, No. 7 (Addendum). The partially missing score for the left hand has been completed by Walburga Litschauer.C. van Zwol, p. 677C. Howie, Chapter III, p. 119 (Quiet meditation on an autumn evening), WAB 123, a 58-bar long piece in F minor. A paraphrase of Mendelssohn's Lied ohne Worte opus 30, No. 6, which Bruckner composed on 10 October 1863 for Emma Thanner: , Band XII/2, No. 4C. Van Zwol, pp. 676–677 Fantasie, WAB 118, a 119-bar long, two-part "fantasia" in G major composed on 10 September 1868 for Alexandrine Soika: , Band XII/2, No. 5 (Remembrance), WAB 117, a 52-bar long piece in A major composed in : , Band XII/2, No. 6C. Howie, Chapter III: p. 120
Piano works composed during Kitzler's tuition About fifty other piano works, which Bruckner composed in 1862 during Kitzler's tuition,C. van Zwol, p. 678 are found in the Kitzler-Studienbuch:U. Harten, p. 150Kitzler Study Book – Facsimile A not exhaustive list:
Works for piano for four hands Drei kleine Stücke, WAB 124, three easy pieces (G major, G major and F major), composed in 1853, 1854 and 1855 for the children of Josef Marböck, to be played on their father's birthday: , Band XII/3, No. 1 Quadrille, WAB 121, composed in for Marie Ruckensteiner , Band XII/3, No. 2.C. Van Zwol, pp. 677–678 It consists of six parts: Pantalon (A major), Été (D major), Poule (A major), Trénis (F major), Pastourelle (D minor) and Finale (E major). An Straussian orchestration of the piece by Wolfgang Dörner (*1959) was premiered by Christian Thielemann during the 2024 New Year's Concert.New Year's Concert, Musikverein, Vienna (1 January 2024)A Bruckner video watched by over one million Austrians
Selected discography There are about 10 recordings of Erinnerung, WAB 117. The other piano compositions are much less recorded.
Seven recordings are dedicated to Bruckner's piano works: Wolfgang Brunner and Michael Schopper, Anton Bruckner – Piano works – CD: CPO 999 256–2, 1996 (all the piano works issued in Band XII/2 and Band XII/3) Fumiko Shiraga, Anton Bruckner – Piano works – CD: Bis-CD-1297, 2001 (the works issued in Band XII/2) Ana-Marija Markovina and Rudolf Meister, Anton Bruckner (1824 - 1896), Piano Works – Hänssler Classic, HC17054, 2018 (all the piano works issued in Band XII/2 and Band XII/3, as well as 13 piano works from the Kitzler Study Book) Francesco Pasqualotto, Bruckner Complete Piano Music – CD Brilliant Classics 95619, 2019 (the works issued in Band XII/2, and 21 piano works from the Kitzler Study Book) Todor Petrov, Bruckner - L'œuvre pour piano seul - CD Forgotten Records FR 1998/9, 2021 (the works issued in Band XII/2, and 39 piano works from the Kitzler Study Book) Christoph Eggner, Anton Bruckner - Klavierstücke aus dem Kitzler-Studienbuch - CD Gramola 99282, 2023 (24 piano works from the Kitzler Study Book on a restored Bösendorfer fortepiano which has belonged to Bruckner) Mari Kodama Bruckner Piano Works – SACD PENTATONE PTC 5187 224, 2024 (the works issued in Band XII/2, and 10 piano works from the Kitzler Study Book)
References
Sources August Göllerich, Anton Bruckner. Ein Lebens- und Schaffens-Bild, – posthumous edited by Max Auer by G. Bosse, Regensburg, 1932 Anton Bruckner – Sämtliche Werke, Band XII/2: Works for solo piano (1850–1869), Musikwissenschaftlicher Verlag der Internationalen Bruckner-Gesellschaft, Walburga Litschauer (Editor), Vienna, 1989 (Available on IMSLP: Neue Gesamtausgabe: XII/2. Werke für Klavier zu zwei Händen) Anton Bruckner – Sämtliche Werke, Band XII/3: Piano works for four hands (1853–1855), Musikwissenschaftlicher Verlag der Internationalen Bruckner-Gesellschaft, Walburga Litschauer (Editor), Vienna, 1989 Anton Bruckner – Sämtliche Werke, Band XXV: Das Kitzler Studienbuch (1861–1863), facsimile, Musikwissenschaftlicher Verlag der Internationalen Bruckner-Gesellschaft, Paul Hawkshaw and Erich Wolfgang Partsch (Editors), Vienna, 2015 Uwe Harten, Anton Bruckner. Ein Handbuch. , Salzburg, 1996. . Cornelis van Zwol, Anton Bruckner 1824–1896 – Leven en werken, uitg. Thoth, Bussum, Netherlands, 2012. Crawford Howie, Anton Bruckner – A documentary biography, online revised edition
External links
Scores of piano works on John Berky's website Werke für Klavier Critical discography by Hans Roelofs Live performances of some Bruckner's piano works can be heard on YouTube: Anton Bruckner – Sämtliche Werke, Band XII/2 by Vadim Chaimovich The four Lancier Quadrille by Andrzej Jendryczko Steiermärker & Klavierstück Es-Dur by Markus Staab Stille Betrachtung an einem Herbstabend, Steiermärker & Klavierstück Es-Dur by Clark Bryan Stille Betrachtung an einem Herbstabend by "M1kek0" (2010) Erinnerung and Fantasie in G major by Gottfried Hemetsberger The Drei kleine Stücke WAB 124, by Raúl de la Mora & Héctor Ocampo (2011) The Sonatensatz, WAB 243 by Kaori Saeki - Bösendorfer Salon Wien (26 April 2024)