This book is divided into three sections: a biography, a psychological profile, and a discussion of his music. The discussion of stylistic borrowings is located in the second section along with discussions of how he relates to church music, how he relates to other people and their opinions and music, and how he relates to his own music. Specific borrowings are considered in the last section, where Decsey discusses each of Bruckner's major works with an eye to the sociological implications associated with each. Biographical reasons for compositional style are proposed and substantiated with sketches, writings, or conjecture. Decsey attempts to lay to rest critics of Bruckner, especially those who decry "formlessness," and "massiveness" in his music.

Index Classifications: 1800s

Contributed by: Bradley Jon Tucker