Anton Bruckner

Bruckner composed nine numbered symphonies, the last of which was left unfinished at his death in 1896, plus two early unnumbered works known as the 'Study Symphony' in F minor and Symphony No. 0 in D minor ('Die Nullte'). His Symphony No. 9 was intended to be dedicated to God, following his personal tradition.

Bruckner was deeply insecure about his work and repeatedly revised his symphonies, often at the urging of well-meaning but interfering students and conductors. This resulted in an extraordinarily complex editorial situation, with the Bruckner Society publishing 'original' and 'revised' editions that scholars still debate today.

Symphony No. 4 in E-flat major, nicknamed the 'Romantic,' is his most frequently performed work. Symphony No. 7 in E major brought him his first major public success in 1884, largely because of the profound Adagio that many interpreted as a memorial to Richard Wagner.

Bruckner deeply admired Wagner's music and incorporated Wagnerian brass and harmonic language into his symphonies, though he never wrote an opera himself. This association made him a target of the anti-Wagner faction in Vienna, particularly the influential critic Eduard Hanslick, who relentlessly attacked his work.