To get to the heart of what Anton Bruckner’s symphonies mean, we’ve turned for insight to those most immersed in their scale and spirituality – we’ve spoken to one of today’s leading Bruckner conductors about one symphony each.

The criteria for choosing conductors to interview was that they had made admired recordings of the symphony concerned – and it’s worth nothing that, while each interview is about one particular work, many of them have recorded, or are recording, complete cycles, an overarching experience that permeates their specific focus. What we have thus ended up with is a collection of highly personal reflections on what Bruckner’s music means to those closest to it.

Between them, our writers Christian Hoskins, Henry Kennedy and Michael McManus have spoken to a range of conductors spanning approach and age. In the order of work addressed, starting with a joint article about symphonies 0 and 00, they are: Marcus Bosch, Gerd Schaller, Riccardo Muti, Markus Poschner, François-Xavier Roth, Christian Thielemann, Simone Young, Lahav Shani, Herbert Blomstedt and Andris Nelsons. 

We’ve included these conductors’ recordings in an Apple Music playlist below, and we urge you to listen to their interpretations as a companion to reading their interviews, hearing how their thoughts and theories translate into performance.

Key themes come through: the philosophical nature of Bruckner’s work, the religious roots, how innovative he was, but also just how difficult it can be to fully understand and appreciate his achievement, let alone perform it. With Bruckner, versions and editions are invariably part of any discussion of his music, and where relevant to the way we should think about his music, this aspect too is discussed.

‘Every one of the Bruckner symphonies has its own cosmos’ says Gerd Schaller in his discussion of Symphony No 1. We believe the following interviews are a valuable contribution to Bruckner’s anniversary year, a catalyst to listening in a more informed and inspired way.

Symphonies Nos 0 & 00

Marcus Bosch on two works that reveal Bruckner’s emerging symphonic voice – inspired by Mendelssohn

➤ Bruckner’s Symphonies 0 & 00, an introduction by Marcus Bosch

Symphony No 1

Gerd Schaller on the immediacy and philosophical nature of the composer’s first numbered symphony

➤ Bruckner's Symphony No 1, an introduction by Gerd Schaller

Symphony No 2

Riccardo Muti finds that this, like all of Bruckner’s symphonies, carries a message for the soul

➤ Bruckner's Symphony No 2, an introduction by Riccardo Muti

Symphony No 3

Markus Poschner seeks the truth behind this early symphony

➤ Bruckner's Symphony No 3, an introduction by Markus Poschner

Symphony No 4

François-Xavier Roth on a work whose different – and very unique – versions inform one another

➤ Bruckner's Symphony No 4, an introduction by François-Xavier Roth

Symphony No 5

Christian Thielemann discusses this accessible work which exudes a positive energy

➤ Bruckner's Symphony No 5, an introduction by Christian Thielemann

Symphony No 6

Simone Young on why this emotionally charged symphony is her favourite by this composer

➤ Bruckner's Symphony No 6, an introduction by Simone Young

Symphony No 7

Lahav Shani on the lyricism of this work and the human emotion it conveys

➤ Bruckner's Symphony No 7, an introduction by Lahav Shani

Symphony No 8

Herbert Blomstedt considers a work that’s nothing short of miraculous

➤ Bruckner's Symphony No 8, an introduction by Herbert Blomstedt

Symphony No 9

Andris Nelsons on a symphony he places alongside the mighty ninths of Beethoven and Mahler

➤ Bruckner's Symphony No 9, an introduction by Andris Nelsons