Anton Bruckner had begun composition of his…

Anton Bruckner had begun composition of his Symphony No. 8 in C minor in 1884.

In 1887, Bruckner sends the work to Hermann Levi, the conductor who had led his Seventh to great success.

Levi, who had said Bruckner’s Seventh Symphony was the greatest symphony written after Beethoven, believes that the Eighth is a confusing jumble.

Bruckner's Symphony No. 5 in B flat major crowns his most productive era of symphony-writing, finished at the beginning of 1876.

Many consider this symphony to be Bruckner's lifetime masterpiece in the area of counterpoint.

For example, the Finale is a combined fugue and sonata form movement: the first theme (characterized by the downward leap of an octave) appears in the exposition as a four-part fugue in the strings and the concluding theme of the exposition is presented first as a chorale in the brass, then as a four-part fugue in the development, and culminating in a double fugue with the first theme at the recapitulation; additionally, the coda combines not only these two themes but also the main theme of the first movement.

Bruckner has never heard it played by an orchestra.

Symphony No. 6 in A major, written in 1879–1881, is an oft-neglected work; whereas the Bruckner rhythm (two quarters plus a quarter triplet or vice versa) is an important part of his previous symphonies, it pervades this work, particularly in the first movement, making it particularly difficult to perform.

Symphony No. 7 in E major is the most beloved of Bruckner's symphonies with audiences of the time, and remains popular today.

It was written 1881–1883 and revised in 1885.

During the time that Bruckner began work on this symphony, he was aware that Wagner's death was imminent, and so the Adagio is slow, mournful music for Wagner (the climax of the movement comes at rehearsal letter W), and for the first time in Bruckner's oeuvre, Wagner tubas are included in the orchestra.