Ingo Metzmacher Richard Wagner
Anton Bruckner

Richard Wagner (1813–1883) had his breakthrough with the opera The Flying Dutchman in 1843. In the following decades, he revolutionized the opera genre and became one of the 19th century's most influential artists in any art form. The idea for Parsifal must have arisen in 1857, but it took 25 years to finish, and it was Wagner's last opera. He himself wrote the libretto based on the medieval legends of the Holy Grail. The program includes Prelude to the first act and Good Friday Music from the third act.

Anton Bruckner (1824–1896) discovered the music of Richard Wagner in the 1860s, and the eleven years older composer was to become his great role model. Bruckner wrote his first symphonies in Vienna, and they were sometimes harshly criticized - Wagner's music had created hard lines in the city. Bruckner, therefore, chose in 1884 to premiere his Symphony No. 7 in Leipzig. There it was a great success and a breakthrough for the composer. The second movement is a tribute to Wagner, who died in 1883. Symphony No. 7 has since been one of Bruckner's most popular works.