About the Event

MusicaNova Orchestra presents the world premiere of an Anton Bruckner symphony. An insatiable tinkerer, Bruckner wrote his Fourth Symphony in 1874, only to have the Vienna Philharmonic reject it as unplayable. He revised it in 1878, then he called off the concert one week before the work was to be premiered. The revisions that followed are well known. But the 1878 version was lost to the musical trash heap—until renowned Bruckner scholar Dr. Benjamin Korstvedt dug into the archives to recreate it.  

This “lost” version includes a lengthy passage that has never been publicly performed, as well as a mix of ideas from the earlier and later versions. This fascinating edition illustrates the genius of the composer and the evolution of his masterpiece. And at last, the world will hear it for the first time … in Scottsdale. Korsvedt will attend the premiere as MusicaNova Orchestra performs the 1878 version of Bruckner’s Fourth Symphony.  

MusicaNova Orchestra, since its founding in 2003, has played new music, unfairly neglected works, and familiar pieces in unexpected ways. MusicaNova brings you the greatest music you haven’t heard—yet.

Program

Warren Cohen, conductor

Anton Bruckner (1824–1896): Symphony no. 4 (1878 version)

I. Bewegt, nicht zu schnell

II. Andante, quasi Allegretto

III. Scherzo: Bewegt; Trio: Nicht zu schnell

IV. Finale: Allegro moderato

– There will be no intermission –

Benjamin Korstvedt

Dr. Benjamin M. Korstvedt is an active researcher and scholar, a committed and enthusiastic teacher, a frequent speaker at national and international conferences, and a productive author and editor.

Korstvedt is a leading scholar of the Austrian symphonist Anton Bruckner. He serves as president of the Bruckner Society of America and is on the editorial board of the New Anton Bruckner Complete Edition. His work has explored the complex text-critical issues surrounding Bruckner’s works, the reception of his music by critics and scholars in the Third Reich, the place of Bruckner’s music in the culture of finde-siècle Vienna, and the form and meaning of Bruckner’s symphonies.

He has published numerous articles on these topics as well as a monograph on Bruckner’s Eighth Symphony that considers the history, musical design, aesthetic meaning, and performance of that great work.

His current book project is Bruckner’s Fourth: The Critical Biography of a Symphony, which explores the long history of the Fourth Symphony, starting with its extraordinarily complex compositional history and continuing through its reception by later generations as they performed and interpreted the symphony in their own ways.

He graduated summa cum laude from Clark University in 1987 with a bachelor of art in music and received his Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania in 1995. He joined the Clark faculty in 2002, where he is professor of music and serves as chair of the Department of Visual and Performing Arts. He previously held faculty positions at the University of St. Thomas, Ball State University, and the University of Iowa.