Fourteen programmes exploring the symphonic legacy of Anton Bruckner a century after his death.
"Hallelujah! The Eighth is finished," wrote Bruckner to Hermann Levi. "I hope it meets with your approval." In fact, after three symphonies that escaped significant revision (Nos 5, 6 and 7), Bruckner was thrown into despair by Levi's rejection of the first version of the Eighth.
Stephen Johnson introduces a rare opportunity to hear this 1887 version in a studio recording by the BBC Philharmonic conducted by Gunther Herbig. With comments from Bruckner scholars, and reminiscences of contemporaries.