It remains one of the great puzzles of Romantic music: while some of Anton Bruckner’s powerful and multi-faceted oeuvre is long established in the concert hall, other aspects of his work, no less impressive, remain neglected. We are still to fully come to grips with Bruckner and his music.

That this is the case today, when the history of art and culture in the 19th century holds few secrets, is not something that can be reduced to a single factor. It is rather the result of the interplay of long-established perceptions of this time, of musicians in general and of this one musician in particular. As a generalization, however, it is fair to say that it is not easy to fit Bruckner neatly into a linear presentation of musical history. His musical personality is too complex, and his technical and aesthetic development too ambivalent