Anton Bruckner composed about fifty small piano works, the earliest in 1850, the last in 1868.
Works for piano for two hands
Seven works are edited in Band XII/2 of the Bruckner's Gesamtausgabe.[1]
These works were mainly composed for his piano pupils during his stay in St. Florian (1845–1855) and in Linz (1855–1868).[2]
- Four Lancier-Quadrille, WAB 120, in C major, compiled in c. 1850 from melodies from Albert Lortzing's Der Wildschütz and Zar und Zimmermann, and Gaetano Donizetti's La fille du régiment,[3] as exercise for his piano pupil Aloisia Bogner:[4] Gesamtausgabe, Band XII/2, No. 1[5][6]
- Steiermärker (From Steiermark), WAB 122, a 32-bar long piece in G major, composed also in c. 1850 for Aloisia Bogner:[4] Gesamtausgabe, Band XII/2, No. 2[5] It is a kind of stylised Ländler in A-B-C-A form.[6]
- Klavierstück, WAB 119, an 18-bar long "piece for piano" in E-flat major, composed in c. 1856 for teaching purpose: Gesamtausgabe, Band XII/2, No. 3[5][7][8]
- Sonatensatz, WAB 243, a 194-bar long first "movement of a sonata" in G minor, found on pp. 157–164 of the Kitzler-Studienbuch: Gesamtausgabe, Band XII/2, No. 7 (Addendum). The partially missing score for the left hand has been completed by Walburga Litschauer.[9][10]
- Stille Betrachtung an einem Herbstabend (Quiet meditation on an autumn evening), WAB 123, a 58-bar long piece in F-sharp minor. A paraphrase of Mendelssohn's Lied ohne Worte opus 30, No. 6, which Bruckner composed on 10 October 1863 for Emma Thanner: Gesamtausgabe, Band XII/2, No. 4[7][11]
- Fantasie, WAB 118, a 119-bar long, two-part "fantasia" in G major composed on 10 September 1868 for Alexandrine Soika: Gesamtausgabe, Band XII/2, No. 5[7][9]
- Erinnerung (Remembrance), WAB 117, a 52-bar long piece in A-flat major composed in c. 1868: Gesamtausgabe, Band XII/2, No. 6[9][12]
Piano works composed during Kitzler's tuition
About fifty other piano works, which Bruckner composed in 1862 during Kitzler's tuition,[13] are found in the Kitzler-Studienbuch:[14][15] A not exhaustive list:
- Walzer in E-flat major, WAB 224/1 (p. 25)[16]
- Walzer in C major, WAB 224/2 (p. 26)[17]
- Four Polkas in C major, WAB 221 (pp. 27-28)
- Galopp in C major, WAB 239 (p. 29)[18]
- Mazurca in A minor, WAB 218 (p. 29)[19]
- Menuett in C major, WAB 219 (p. 30)[20]
- Unnamed exercise in C major (p. 30)
- Two musical periods in C major (p. 31)
- Menuett and Trio in G major, WAB 220 (p. 35)[21]
- Marsch in C major, WAB 217/1 (p. 36)[22]
- Marsch in D minor, WAB 217/2 (p. 37)[22]
- Duo in A minor, WAB 213 (p. 39)[23]
- Marsch in F major, WAB 217/3 (p. 41)[22]
- Andante für Klavier in E-flat major, WAB 211/1 (p. 49)[24]
- Andante für Klavier D minor, WAB 211/2 (pp. 50-51)[25]
- Etüde in G major, WAB 214 (pp. 77–78)[26]
- Chromatische Etüde in F major, WAB 212 (pp. 79-80)[27]
- Five Variationen über ein Thema, WAB 223
- Theme and variations in G major: p. 81
- Theme and variations in A major: pp. 82–83
- Theme and variations in A major: p. 84; also p. 86
- Theme and variations in G major: pp. 84–85
- Theme and variations in G major: pp. 87–90[28]
- Theme in F major (p. 90)
- Seven rondos, WAB 222[29]
- Rondo in G major (pp. 105-108)
- Rondo in C minor (pp. 109-111)
- Rondo in D minor (pp. 112-115)
- Rondo in F major (pp. 116-121)
- Rondo in G major (pp. 122-125)
- Rondo in E minor (pp. 126-129)
- Rondo in E-flat major (pp. 130-134)
- Five Sonatenentwürfe, WAB 242 (pp. 140–156)[30]
- Four Fantasien[31]
- Fantasie in D minor: pp. 213–214
- Fantasie in C minor: pp. 215–216
- Fantasie in E-flat major: pp. 216–217
- Fantasie in F major: pp. 217–218
- Five Klavierstücke, WAB 216 (pp. 225-227)[32]
Selected discography
There are about 10 recordings of Erinnerung, WAB 117. The other piano compositions are much less recorded.
Six recordings are dedicated to Bruckner's piano works:
- Wolfgang Brunner and Michael Schopper, Anton Bruckner – Piano works – CD: CPO 999 256–2, 1996 (all the piano works issued in Band XII/2 and Band XII/3)
- Fumiko Shiraga, Anton Bruckner – Piano works – CD: Bis-CD-1297, 2001 (the works issued in Band XII/2)
- Ana-Marija Markovina and Rudolf Meister, Anton Bruckner (1824 - 1896), Piano Works – Hänssler Classic, HC17054, 2018 (all the piano works issued in Band XII/2 and Band XII/3, as well as 13 piano works from the Kitzler Study Book)
- Francesco Pasqualotto, Bruckner Complete Piano Music – CD Brilliant Classics 95619, 2019 (the works issued in Band XII/2, and 21 piano works from the Kitzler Study Book)
- Todor Petrov, Bruckner - L'œuvre pour piano seul - CD Forgotten Records FR 1998/9, 2021 (the works issued in Band XII/2, and 39 piano works from the Kitzler Study Book)
- Christoph Eggner, Anton Bruckner - Klavierstücke aus dem Kitzler-Studienbuch - CD Gramola 99282, 2023 (24 piano works from the Kitzler Study Book on a restored Bösendorfer fortepiano which has belonged to Bruckner.)
