Bruckner's First.......not quite

Today I bought a used copy of Bruckner's Symphony no.1 conducted by Riccardo Chailly. What surprised me without hearing it, is the incredible length of the work. It is the "Vienna Version" of 1891. The work was composed in 1866 but the composer often listened to who he thought were well wishing critics. Many friends and followers would recommend "changes" to make his works sound "better". There are so many versions of half his symphonies it's a wonder we don't get lost trying to buy the CD recording that we are used to! There is the "original" version of his Fourth Symphony and almost none of the material is even slightly similar to what we usually hear in the concert halls! Then there is the Third....I won't even try to guess how many versions and editions there are for that work! The "Urfassung"(original) is quite magnificent and there is a splendid recording of it on the Naxos label conducted by Georg Tintner. It should be noted that Bruckner wrote two earlier un-numbered "student" symphonies(#0 and #00) so this is really his Third work in this genre.

The revised version of 1891 of the First is so different to what I am used to hearing. It's orchestration is heavier and new material makes it much longer. What I think is amazing is that in this version the writing and orchestration are both more akin to Mahler than anything I have ever heard before from this composer! Quite outstanding!!