Anton Bruckner is now regarded as one of the great symphonists of the nineteenth century. His symphonies broke new ground, the sheer size and scope of each work combining the passion of Beethoven and the orchestral weight of Wagner. He gained little public approval until the last ten years of his life, when his Seventh Symphony was warmly welcomed. In 1894 he set to work on his Ninth, a work of epic proportions, but having completed three movements, he died with the Finale yet to be written. It is nonetheless a masterpiece, the three massive movements now forming a core part of the concert repertoire.