The Hallé at The Glasshouse in Gateshead

Bruckner’s deeply held religious faith motivated his music and it’s been aptly said that he glorified God through his symphonies. The composer laboured at his Eighth for 16 years and, after its premiere, the composer Hugo Wolf declared that it was ‘the work of a giant’. At its core is the sublime slow movement where Bruckner included the rich sonorities of Wagner tubas.