1995 Articles

Perspectives on Bruckner

Gilliam, Bryan

For decades Anton Bruckner has remained outside the mainstream of American musicological discourse, despite his importance to the late-nineteenth- century symphonic repertoire. But in the rapidly changing era of contemporary musicology, where the modernist curled lip seems to have relaxed a bit, it is perhaps not surprising that even Bruckner should have his moment. That moment was a four-day international symposium in February 1994. Certainly, without confronting its past, Bruckner research cannot make significant strides forward, and during this conference there were some important strides indeed. American Bruckner scholarship is admittedly in an early phase, and in years to come this conference will no doubt be seen as an important turning point. One hopes that it will inspire further studies that explore Bruckner and his music beyond the narrow lens of editorial problems and localized analytical issues, as important as those may be.