One of his best-known works, the symphony stands as Bruckner’s memorial to fellow composer Richard Wagner, who died while he was writing the piece.

The work opens with an Allegro moderato, featuring a cello theme that Bruckner said he had heard in a dream. Then follows an Adagio that he began while Wagner was ill and completed after the German composer’s death. In tribute to his longtime inspiration, Bruckner used four Wagner tubas, marking the instrument’s first appearance in symphonic music. A mournful elegy, the Adagio includes a cymbal clash that is said to represent the moment of Wagner’s death. A rustic Scherzo brings comic relief before the Finale opens with an echo of the first movement’s initial theme. This also recurs during the closing bars of a symphony that remains among Bruckner’s most popular works.

Described as “one of the very best amateur groups in the country” by Classical Music magazine, KSO has been hailed by Classical Source for “putting on bold, adventurous programmes that few of the ‘big five’ in London would either think of or get away with”.