Another Bruckner success

The IU School of Music is really shooting to impress the concert-goer by staging its second Bruckner symphony this season. Two Bruckner symphonies in one season make for quite an impressive undertaking worthy of professional orchestras. Those who were impressed by the performance in September ought to have been simply floored by Sunday night's performance.\nThere is only one word that can truly capture the scope of this symphony -- massive. Not only did the performance last a good 80 minutes, but the size of the orchestra and variety of instrumentation was much larger than normal, even for Bruckner. The Austrian-born Anton Bruckner (1824-1896) was heavily influenced by his career as a church organist as well as by Wagner's operas when he wrote his nine symphonies. The broadness and heaviness of this 1887 symphony owe much to both influences.\nLeading the concert orchestra was guest conductor Stanislaw Skrowaczewski, a very prestigious musical figure who has lead many of the world's premier orchestras during the past 35 years. Skrowaczewski was obviously familiar with the piece, for he conducted the 80-minute symphony purely from memory, a feat in and of itself. The interpretation he gave to the symphony was truly worthy of such a prestigious conductor.\nThose who attended should not have come ready to listen for a catchy tune -- there really was no distinguishable melody. The symphony is written in Wagnerian style with short motives constantly being harmonically developed. Skrowaczewski was able to capture these subtle changes perfectly with emphasis on the changes in expression as each motive went through a new modulation. The overall attention to mood and feeling made Skrowaczewski's interpretation stand out. By simply reading between the lines, he was able to transform the massive hulk of the Eighth into a living, organic and very expressive musical work.\nSkrowaczewski also knew which instruments to bring out at the correct time. Some very lyrical and very powerful passages that could have easily been hidden under the blanket of Bruckner's ubiquitous string tremolos were brought out into the open. The woodwinds' surprisingly lyrical passages were given some emphasis, but the true thunder of the symphony came from the brass. Skrowaczewski did not show the brass as only fire and brimstone, however. Some very lyrical passages in the horns and Wagner tubas were emphasized, drawing attention again to the lyrical qualities of the symphony.\nThough listening to such a massive symphony can be taxing for the casual listener, Sunday's concert was a masterful performance of a monumental work. The musicians of the concert orchestra deserve much praise in bringing Skrowaczewski's interpretation to life.