What would Bruckner's symphonies be without the influence of Richard Wagner's music theatre? He returned from his visits to Bayreuth both shaken and enchanted - Wagner's swan opera Lohengrin became the source of everything romantic for Bruckner. However, despite their admiration, the musical language of the two composers is very different. Bartók's Viola Concerto is a kind of "swan song" for the composer. Shortly before his death, he began work on his masterpiece, which he did not live to see completed.

Version by Tibor Serly