ANTON BRUCKNER AND THE PROCESS OF MUSICAL CREATION

Abstract

T HE SCIENCE of musical xsthetics has hitherto devoted but little attention to the question of the origin of the musical artwork. One could almost say that the concern of this science is always with the finished work-that the investigation of the mysterious process of the creation of that work is avoided. It is no wonder, then, that the understanding of a musical art-work is much more difficult to obtain than that of a work of literature. The definitive edition of a poet's work generally contains in the last volumes an assembly of the fragments, drafts, and sketches, relating to the various completed works. But in the editions of the complete works of the great composers it is only rarely that one finds such glimpses into the workshop of the musician. And yet such additions to the collections of the finished works are altogether necessary to the understanding of the artist's personality. For this reason it is cause for congratulation that in the new edition of the Complete Works of Anton Bruckner ' the sketches and drafts of the symphonies have been included in great number, so that one can follow the development of the various musical ideas and the growth of the musical architecture.