The Bruckner-Streit: The Original Texts with English Translations. Introduction and annotations by Benjamin Korstvedt. Translations by Sebastian Smallshaw, with Benjamin Korstvedt. (Bruckner Society of America, 2017)

This collection of translations makes a set of foundational texts from a crucial juncture in the history of Bruckner reception available in English for the first time. They stem from an argument that broke out in German and Austrian music circles in the mid-1930s about a new edition of Bruckner’s Fifth Symphony, but the implications of the issues at stake were much wider and came to involve fundamental claims about the authenticity of many of the published editions of Bruckner’s symphonies. This episode has fascinated me ever since I first came upon it while working on my Ph.D. dissertation in the 1990s. Not only did the circumstances surrounding this episode involve a great deal of intrigue, detective work, backroom politics, and high-stakes maneuvering, but it proved pivotal in Bruckner’s posthumous fate. The goal of this undertaking is to bring this episode into clearer view for English-speakers and thus reveal the origin of many common ideas—and myths—about Bruckner and help illuminate the fascinating process of opinion formation that shaped the “Bruckner problem.” Research into these matters has advanced greatly since the 1930s, and my introduction and extensive annotations aim at pointing out where and how statements and claims made at that time are now know to be inaccurate and misconceived.

Benjamin M. Korstvedt

George N. and Selma U. Jeppson Professor of Music

Department of Visual and Performing Arts

Clark University

bkorstvedt@clarku.edu

http://wordpress.clarku.edu/bkorstvedt/

These translations are the property of the Bruckner Society of America, Inc. and they are being made available at this time for the exclusive use by the Society's membership.

The password to open the document is

currentbsamember

NOTE: Before downloading this document and sending it right off to your printer, please be aware that this document is 107 pages long.