Maxim Shalygin’s new composition, Bleeding, is deeply influenced by Bruckner’s music, especially after Maxim Shalygin heard the powerful, elephant-like footsteps of Bruckner's sound in Ingmar Bergman’s film Sarabande. Initially, Maxim Shalygin had no connection with Bruckner's work, but after encountering the Scherzo from Bruckner’s Ninth Symphony in the film, his perspective changed. This moment sparked a fascination with Bruckner's use of time, which Maxim Shalygin describes as uniquely close to the present. At first, Bruckner’s time appears stretched, but once you engage with it, you feel as though you're floating weightlessly, an unusual sensation in music that Maxim Shalygin has long sought to recreate.

In Bleeding, Maxim Shalygin chose to use only brass instruments, as they hold a key role in Bruckner’s symphonies. Brass instruments convey the main themes and often support the strings. Their thunderous climaxes are essential to Bruckner's dramatic moments, and Maxim Shalygin elevates them to become the climax of his piece. Bleeding is part of Maxim Shalygin’s ongoing life cycle project, S I M I L A R, which began in 2017. Each new chapter of this cycle is written for a specific set of identical instruments, allowing Maxim Shalygin's imagination to explore contrasting sounds within a homogeneous instrument group.

The brass section of the Ludwig Ensemble will perform Bleeding, and rather than being a direct transcription of Bruckner’s themes, the piece is a reflection on the concepts of time and space. Maxim Shalygin intends to take developments initiated by Bruckner to new heights. There are passages in Bruckner’s Eighth Symphony that Maxim Shalygin has always wished to stop and extend as he listened. For example, the finale coda material, where Bruckner, after intense development, abandons the material, letting it collapse. Maxim Shalygin envisions starting his symphony with this coda, allowing it to fully unfold and develop into a massive 60-minute symphony.

Maxim Shalygin views each composition as if it were his last, and Bleeding presents a complex, creative challenge that requires a unique mindset. He believes the artistic essence of the piece will be both unique and unrepeatable.