What has been often referred to as the “Bruckner Problem” is the multitude of versions and editions of his symphonies and the difficulty of finding out authentic ones, untampered with by third parties and corresponding as strictly as possible to his intentions.
This central problem, discussed many times by musicologists, is not the only one. For example, another is how to determine tempos in the symphonies, as discussed, e.g. by William Carragan.
One more problem, probably the most difficult, is how to complete or reconstruct parts of symphonies which are missing. The early Symphony in B flat is a mere snub, which is too small and a possible reconstruction would amount to a composition of a new piece. Nowadays, however, even such fragments are occasionally performed. e.g. here.
A different story is the finale of Symphony no. 9, for which there is a lot of completed or partly completed material. There has been a dozen or so reconstructions so far and all of them leave something to be desired. And what is interesting is that most completions come in several versions. The best ones seem to me the last versions by the team of Samale–Mazzuca–Phillips–Cohrs, Gerd Shaller and Roberto Ferrazza.
Because these three sets of problems apply to the symphonies, which are unusually long and complex, you could think that Bruckner’s shorter works are free of such difficulties. I must disappoint you.
First, several versions. Take Iam lucis. There are three versions, and fortunately all of them come from the composer, and the differences among them boil down to different ensembles: mixed choir alone, mixed choir with organ, and male choir, the last is in a different key (G minor rather than E minor).
A different story is Am Grabe. Here the two versions are both for male choir but clearly different – they begin differently and the modulation in the section before the coda is completely changed in the second version. Finally, to make things worse, when the coda begins, two chords are slightly changed as well. Do the two versions have the same status? The First Gesamtausgabe (Collected Works) has only the first version and does not mention the second. Is the second version authentic? I believe so, it sounds like real Bruckner. Which version is better? The answer may be analoguous to how different versions of symphonies are treated now. Early or intermediate versions of the Third, Fourth or the Eight are regarded as equally legitimate and are likely to be encountered at a concert hall equally often. The same principle should be applied to such a rarely performed but valuable work as “Am Grabe”.
Second, tempos. Early pieces, such as Chorale, do not have any tempo indications. But in Am Grabe (both versions), the indications are troublesome. There is “Langsam” („Slowly”) at the beginning and “Largo” at the final section. Which is slower and by how much? It is like having two amounts in two different currencies without any exchange rate.
Third, reconstructions. A minor one in Iam lucis, no music provided for the word „Amen” at the end. A more serious one with Aequale II, where the part of bass trombone is missing. It has been reconstructed for the Gesamtausgabe by Hans Bauernfeind but since then other reconstructions have appeared, including mine, so the problem of versions emerges again. In contrast to others, I offered my reconstruction on a Creative Commons basis, so anyone is free to make use of it in any form, any way they like, for any purpose. A legitimate purpose would be to work out a plausible version which would be generally recognized.
So not just one but at least three serious Bruckner problems appear to affect even his earliest and shortest works, which makes them, in my opinion, even more fascinating.
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