Opening the season with Bruckner: The last season was opened with his 7th symphony at Heiliggeistkirche, now we will hear the monumental 8th symphony at the same venue. »May it meet with a merciful reception,« Anton Bruckner wrote to his friend, conductor Hermann Levi, when he sent him the finished score of his 8th symphony in 1887. He had spent three years composing it. With his 7th symphony, his previous work, he had celebrated his late breakthrough as a composer. But Hermann Levi is critical of his 8th symphony. Desperate, Bruckner creates a second version, which premieres in 1890. It is conducted by Hans Richter and played by the Wiener Philharmoniker. Hugo Wolf notes in a letter: »A Roman emperor couldn’t have wished for a more beautiful triumph.« A success which was the result of hard work and for that reason might make this gigantic musical creation of Bruckner’s his most personal one.