Gunnar Bucht: Symphony No. 8 
From the collection of Karl MillerSymphony No. 8 ((1983)Stockholm Philharmonic/Yuri Aronovitch
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Radio Broadcast.
Material from gunnarbucht.com: Machine translation of Bucht's Commentary on Symphony 8: Symphony No. 8 (1983)
World premiere: 13/9, 1984, the Stockholm Concert Hall. Starring: StockholmPhilharmonic under the direction of Yuri Ahronovitch. Concert replay 15/9 1984.
More talent: 11/11/1987, the Stockholm Concert Hall. Participants:Stockholm Philharmonic conducted by Alexander Gibson. 17/11/1988
Malmö Concert Hall. Starring: Malmö Symphony Orchestra under the direction ofBrian Priestman. 2/4 in 1993, the Royal College of music in Stockholm.
Participants:
Music School Orchestra, conducted by Michel Tabachnik as a tribute
at my resignation as President. Concert Replay 3/4 1993 in the artist, the Music Academy in Gothenburg, Sweden.
Durata: 27 min
Comment: the work has four movements, of which the first two are played attacca.Satsföljden slow-Tempo is very fast-moderate — slow and
Symphony opening sets the tone for the future: the oboe stämmton spawn
on other instruments which collects in the brightest major. The entire first movement characterised by the interplay between different durtonaliteter like towards the end from sliding into each other.
In the second movement is clouded this game without having to completely disappear in the third movement
oförmedlar set against each other in layer composition, however, in a different way than in
Sinfonia concertante (see above). The fourth and final movement is dominated by two ideas:
a "creeping" movements in solo strings, one with a big "ihopsjunkande"
glissando in the entire string orchestra. These ideas at the same time, two very different flashes
minor tonality and eventually assume each other's moves, s.a.s. swapped. Symphony
ends with a recollection from the beginning of time.
Reception: the Symphony was received with great warmth and they talked about a new, more
lyrical tone in my music. Later, however, the critical views expressed in the
It pointed out that, in the process, indicating fugitive something you considered conflict
against the Symphonic idea. Myself, I work for one of my principal and
This is for several reasons: that indicating is, in my opinion, a force which
Symphonic thinking can be so much. Again, the actual musical language appeals to me
very not least because it shows the opportunities in totalkromatiken
What is my starting point. Finally: last movement I
dare the word – is a masterstroke in his basic pulse of the piece with
increasingly extended drama. In addition, occurred at the first performance it rare to
I'm at a moment was totally surprised by what I heard: "I really
heard and written this? "I asked myself. It was as though a gap in life
opened up and showed the possibility of another world. Such an experience is difficult
to restrain and manage but also hard to forget.
BioGunnar Bucht was born in Stocksund (near Stockholm) in 1927. He studied musicology at Uppsala University (Licenciate of Philosophy, 1953) and composition with Karl-Birger Blomdahl between 1947 and 1951. Subsequent teachers included Carl Orff, Goffredo Petrassi and (perhaps the most important of all) Max Deutsch. Bucht made his début as a pianist in 1949 but later came to specialise exclusively in composition.
From 1963 he taught musicology, among other things, at Stockholm University. Professor of composition at the Royal College of Music in Stockholm from 1975 to 1985 and Director at the same institution from 1987 to 1993. Numerous administrative appointments: chairman of the concert organization Fylkingen 1956-59, active in the Swedish section and the International Presidium of the ISCM 1960-1972, chairman of the Society of Swedish Composers 1963-69, Swedish cultural attaché in Bonn 1970-73.
Elected a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Music in 1964. The royal medal "Litteris et Artibus" 1987. At present living and working as composer and author on the island of Gotland and in Stockholm.
Bucht on Bucht: Paraphrasing the French 18th-century philosopher, my own artistic motto could be read as 'Tradition, what do you want from me? Live up to me - if you can!' This means: my relationship to tradition is dialogical; tradition is seen as challenge, not as a pillow. This outlook is reflected in my double activities as a composer and musicologist. The historical and analytical perspectives are always present in my creative work. At the same time, when teaching music history and analysis the artistic dimension is always there, I hope. I teach not only facts but also experiences.
The tension between emotionality and intellectuality is reflected in the often dramatic character of my music. Theres is an affinity with Berlioz' "l'imprévu", the unexpected, as a formal principle. In my music, the architecture is nearly bursting from within and at the same time is being kept on a tight rein. Maliciously, my music could be characterized as a composition of intensely dramatic and poetic moments on one side and road-consuming sections on the other.
Orchestral works dominates my output, much of it of long duration. It satisfies my need for emotional expansion and narration. Since the 1970s, the titles reveal a lot about the contents. Reading them you could reformulate my artistic belief as follows: I believe in an absolute music permeated with extramusical ideas of the world, with echoes of history, with inner pictures and visions, with wordless drama.
GUNNAR BUCHT
