APOCALYPTIC SYMPHONY

Anton Bruckner (1824-1896) was an Austrian composer. He was the organist of the cathedral in Linz and wrote his major compositions after the age of 40. The Symphony No. 8 is a kind of retrospective, in which he was contemplating non-musical notions as well. He calls the dignified climax of the first movement ’the message of death’. The second movement is a Scherzo in triple meter. This movement is the portrait of a much talked-about symbolic figure of the time, the German Michel, who embodied the disappointments and fears associated with Prussian imperial ambitions. The third movement (Adagio) is an expression of deep emotions. The composition of the grand Finale was also inspired by a historical event: the meeting between Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria and Emperor Alexander III of Russia.

Conductor Christoph Campestrini was born in Linz and has many ties to the works of Anton Bruckner. A sought-after concert and opera conductor all over the world, he has been a welcome guest of our orchestra for many years.