Symphony No. 8 by Anton Bruckner reviewed by Tom Service 9th December 2023

Symphony No. 8 by Anton Bruckner reviewed by Tom Service chooses 9th December 2023
Bruckner was widely regarded as one of the great organ improvisers of his day and he was well respected, too, as a teacher of organ, counterpoint and harmony at the Vienna Conservatory.
As a composer of symphonies and disciple of Wagner it was a different matter and his first unequivocal symphonic success came with his Seventh. But that didn't smooth the path to its successor. Beset by self-doubt and forever on the receiving end of vitriolic criticism from the anti-Wagner faction (Brahms scornfully mocked Bruckner's seemingly interminable symphonies as 'symphonic boa constrictors'), the Eighth took Bruckner three years to complete. Then, rejected as baffling by a hitherto sympathetic conductor in 1887, Bruckner sank into a depression and it wasn't until 1890 and a year's revision, that it was finally premiered.
Utterly distinctive and conceived on a massive scale – the slowest performances can take the best part of two hours – the Eighth is Bruckner's last completed symphony and over a near-century it has lured many great conductors and orchestras into the recording studio.
Tom's choice:
London Philharmonic/Klaus Tennstedt
Warner Classics 3817612