Musically, stylistically, thematically. I can see some similarities between Mahler and Bruckner - they both wrote giant epic orchestral works, in the romantic idiom. Bartok is radically different from the other two. His music strays much further from conventional concepts of harmony and tonality and is usually somewhat nationalistic in its themes using folk music from his native Hungary without adhering to the harmonic structures, which are creations of his own. He experimented with concepts such as bitonality and 12 tone structures.
Bruckner was very much an architypical late romantic composer and fairly radical for his time, introducing into his works features such as dissonance, unconventional modulations and the like.
Mahler was really the final punctuation mark in Austro-German Romanticism who wrote extensive symphonies and further integrated voice into large ensemble works, a development that had begun with Beethoven's Ninth.
His work is more secular than Bruckners (who was a devoutly religious man), but no less spiritual. Most of his Symphonies contain elements of song (Lied) or possibly vice versa. Symphony No.1 is basically an instrumental version of Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen" (Songs of a Wayfarer).
Bruckners vocal works are primarily sacred works and of a less 'philosophical nature.'
You will good suscinct articles of all three composers on wikipedia.com |
