Semyon Bychkov with Bruckner
Semyon Bychkov with Bruckner
Bruckner's Symphony No. 8 is a full-length work - not only because of its duration of over 80 minutes, but also because of its content. Conductor Semyon Bychkov is convinced that everything in this work revolves around Bruckner's relationship with God, and thus around a "complex and conflict-laden matter". Bruckner himself described his last completed symphony as a mystery, but at the same time explained various passages with quite concrete content: The Scherzo contains a portrait of his friend Carl Almeroth, the Adagio is about a girl whom he had "looked deep into the eyes", and the finale is haunted by the "German Michel". For Semyon Bychkov, religious doubt remains at the end: "No one will ever be able to convince me that doubt does not exist."