Anton Bruckner's Symphony No. 6 in A major, WAB 106, was composed between 24 September 1879, and 3 September 1881 and dedicated to his landlord, Anton van Ölzelt-Newin. Only two movements from it were performed in public in the composer's lifetime. Though it possesses many characteristic features of a Bruckner symphony, it differs the most from the rest of his symphonic repertory. Redlich went so far as to cite the lack of hallmarks of Bruckner's symphonic compositional style in the Sixth Symphony for the somewhat bewildered reaction of supporters and critics alike.
According to Robert Simpson, though not commonly performed and often thought of as the ugly duckling of Bruckner's symphonic body of work, the symphony nonetheless makes an immediate impression of rich and individual expressiveness: "Its themes are exceptionally beautiful, its harmony has moments of both boldness and subtlety, its instrumentation is the most imaginative he had yet achieved, and it possesses a mastery of classical form that might even have impressed Brahms."
Historical context By the time Bruckner began composing his Symphony No. 6, only three of his symphonies had been performed. The recent premiere of his Third Symphony had been nothing short of disastrous, receiving an extremely negative, though not surprising review from Eduard Hanslick, given Hanslick's predilection for the works of Brahms. ...his artistic intentions are honest, however oddly he employs them. Instead of a critique, therefore, we would rather simply confess that we have not understood his gigantic symphony. Neither were his poetic intentions clear to us...nor could we grasp the purely musical coherence. The composer...was greeted with cheering and was consoled with lively applause at the close by a fraction of the audience that stayed to the end...the Finale, which exceeded all its predecessors in oddities, was only experienced to the last extreme by a little host of hardy adventurers. The composition of his Symphony No. 4 marked the beginning of what some refer to as the "Major Tetralogy", Bruckner's four symphonies composed in major keys. In fact, this tetralogy was part of an entire decade in Bruckner's compositional history devoted to large-scale works written in major keys, a fact of note considering that all of his previous symphonies and foremost choral works were composed in minor keys. The composition of his String Quintet and the Sixth Symphony marked the beginning of a new compositional period for Bruckner within the realm of the "Major Tetralogy". However, the Sixth Symphony has extensive ties to the Fourth and Fifth Symphonies and is considered to have been composed as a reflective, humanistic response to its two direct symphonic predecessors. It has even been dubbed the Philosophical symphony by critics for this reason.
Compositional hallmarks Bruckner's symphonies encompass many techniques but the one unwavering hallmark of his symphonic compositions is a singular formal pattern that underwent very little variation over the course of his symphonic repertory. In fact, their four extended movements are indebted to the structure and thematic treatment in the late works of Beethoven. The only large-scale diversion from this formal scheme in the Sixth Symphony is Bruckner's use of sonata form in the second movement instead of his usual large-scale ternary form.
Thematically speaking, there are two distinct varieties of themes in Bruckner's symphonies. First, there are themes that are clearly defined in shape and then there are the themes that operate more as motives with a shorter length and a more open-ended shape, as is typical of the Sixth Symphony. Another characteristic thematic feature of Bruckner's symphonies is the intimate relationship between the outer two movements, though there is typically more of an emphasis on thematic contrast within the first movement. Specifically, the amplification of the exposition of the first movement consists of two subsidiary themes as well as the primary theme, which are subsequently developed, a technique that is considered uniquely Brucknerian.
Other characteristics that are found in Bruckner's symphonies (especially the Sixth) include the extensive treatment of the dominant seventh chord as a German sixth chord in a new key, usage of cadences as a decisive factor in daring modulations, the treatment of organ points as pivotal to the harmony and structure, chains of harmonic sequences, and, most notably, extensive use of rhythmic motives, especially the characteristic Bruckner rhythm, a rhythm consisting of two fourths and three quarter notes, or vice versa. This rhythm dominated most of the Fourth Symphony and was practically nonexistent in the Fifth Symphony, but becomes nothing short of a driving force in the Sixth Symphony; the metric complexities generated by this unique rhythmic grouping are more pronounced in the first movement of the Sixth Symphony than in any of Bruckner's other compositions.
Orchestration The orchestration of the Sixth Symphony complies with Bruckner's customary, albeit peculiar, techniques. Just as in his other symphonic works, there are no marks of extreme virtuosity apparent in the score and the lines are straightforward. The Sixth Symphony is scored for two flutes, two oboes, two clarinets, two bassoons, four horns, three trumpets, three trombones, one bass tuba, timpani, and strings. Bruckner commonly alternates between solo and tutti sections, as well as layering instruments to provide texture and show different subject groups.
Forms, themes, and analysis The symphony has four movements:
I. Majestoso Bruckner labels this movement "Majestoso", not the conventional "Maestoso", probably from his Latin (from "Maiestas" – sovereign power). The movement, in obvious sonata form, opens with the characteristic 'Bruckner rhythm' played in the violins, though Bruckner is careful to maintain the enigmatic atmosphere by indicating a bowing that keeps the bow on the string and therefore prohibits the rhythmic figure from becoming too lively. One then hears the quietly intense main theme, a paraphrase of the main theme of Bruckner's own Symphony No. 4, stated in the low strings and juxtaposed against the pulsating rhythm in the violins:
The key is A major when the first theme enters; however, the mystery is heightened by notes outside the realm of A major tonality that appear in the melodic line, namely the pitches G, B and F, Neapolitan inflections that will have large-scale tonal effects that come to fruition later in the symphony. The counterstatement of the theme appears (bar 25) in fortissimo, a long-established classical technique that Bruckner had yet to use at the beginning of a symphony.
The second theme group is more complex than the primary theme. The first theme of this group is a confident melody in the violins in which Bruckner employs mixed rhythms:
The second theme in this group, an expressive, lyrical motif (bar 69) is first heard in D major, closely followed by a statement in F major and a richly orchestrated statement in E major, the dominant of the movement's original A major. The third theme group, beginning with a militaristic statement of the Bruckner rhythm, now appears, followed by modulations ending in the dominant (E major) and segueing into the development section:
The development is shorter and less complex than one usually finds in Bruckner's symphonic first movements; however, it plays a substantial role in the overall harmonic structure of the movement. From the outset (bar 159), the violins play an inversion of the main theme, though the Bruckner rhythm that accompanied it in the exposition is absent. Instead, the development is propelled throughout by the triplet motif that first appeared in the third subject of the exposition. Harmonically, the development encompasses a myriad of modulations, abruptly traversing between E and A major, seemingly signaling the beginning of the recapitulation.
The beginning of the recapitulation is, in fact, a climax, serving as both the end of the development and the beginning of the recapitulation, marking the first time in symphonic literature that this has occurred. If not for this climactic moment, one could have trouble identifying the exact moment of recapitulation as the return of the tonic and the return of the primary theme do not coincide (in fact, there are 15 bars in between the two events). In true Bruckner form, it encompasses a complete restatement of the theme groups from the exposition and is otherwise uneventful, setting the stage for the coda which Donald Tovey described as one of Bruckner's greatest passages. In the Coda (beginning bar 309), Bruckner passes through the entire spectrum of tonality, leaving no key unsuggested; however, he establishes no tonal center except for A major. The opening phrase of the first theme appears throughout, joined (bar 345) by the rhythmic motive from the beginning. An exultant final statement of that theme and the completion of a massive plagal cadence signal the end of the first movement.
II. Adagio: Sehr feierlich (Very solemnly) The second movement is in obvious sonata form, the only example of a sonata structure Adagio in Bruckner's symphonies, apart from that of the "nullified" Symphony in D minor and the early draft of the Adagio of the First Symphony, dating from 1865. Simpson went so far as to describe the movement as the most perfectly realized slow sonata design since the Adagio of Beethoven's Hammerklavier sonata The movement opens with a theme in the strings, a yearning love song that is joined (bar 5) by a mournful lament on the oboe:
Simpson points out that the frequent Neapolitan inflections of the first movement are expanded here, beginning with the B and F in the primary melodic line that make it natural that the movement should be in F major, though the opening initially ambiguously suggests B minor. After a brief transitional passage, there is a modulation to E major that marks the introduction of the second theme, a soaring, untroubled love song (bar 25):
The third theme (bar 53) is characteristic of a funeral march, combining C minor and A major and providing a somber contrast to the preceding love song:
The dotted rhythm in its first bar calls to mind the oboe lament from the beginning of the movement. Doernberg described this sad turn to A major as the kind of music Gustav Mahler always wished to achieve, citing Bruckner as anticipatory to Mahler in this respect.
There is a brief developmental section (bar 69) that includes modulation on the primary theme as well as inversions of the oboe lament. There is a recapitulation of all three themes (bar 93) though the orchestration is different, with the former violin theme (primary theme) now appearing in the horn and subsequently in the woodwinds. The second theme is recapitulated in its entirety in the tonic followed by a very short reappearance of the third theme.
Finally, a transition over a dominant pedal (a Bruckner hallmark) leads to the Coda that Simpson referred to as the fine-drawn consolatory coda that is one of Bruckner's best. At bar 157 one hears the last statement of the primary theme with the movement ending in its tonic, F major, in a state of "perfect serenity."
III. Scherzo: Nicht schnell (Not fast) — Trio: Langsam (Slowly)