Radio-Sinfonieorchester Stuttgart des SWR, Eliahu Inbal

Bruckner's No. 7 represented a new beginning in several respects: not only did it differ from its predecessors in terms of tonal language and formal structure, it was also the first symphony to bring the now 60-year-old composer the success he had long been missing. After its premiere in Leipzig and subsequent performances in other German cities, No. 7 was played in Amsterdam, Chicago, New York, Berlin, Budapest and London. And of course in Vienna, which had been very critical of the composer Bruckner for many years. Soon after completing the 7th, Bruckner composed the 8th Symphony, his most extensive. However, after his good friend, the conductor Hermann Levi, informed him that he could not quite get to grips with it, Bruckner - again plagued by self-doubt - immediately began to revise the score, which took several years. The Symphony No. 8 thus exists in two versions, the original from 1887 (which can be heard on this recording conducted by Eliahu Inbal - one of the first conductors to bring it back into concert halls) and the revised version from 1890.

Anton Bruckner (1824-1896)

• Bruckner: Symphony No. 7 in E Major
• Bruckner: Symphony No. 8 in C minor