The 2023 edition of Brucknertage Festival St. Florian showcased a rare treat: Rémy Ballot and the Altomonte Orchestra St. Florian presented the premiere performance of the critical new edition of Anton Bruckner’s Symphony in D Minor, WAB 100, ‘The Nullified’ (formerly known as Die Nullte or No. 0) by David Chapman. This composition, contrary to common belief, is not Bruckner’s symphonic debut but was composed in 1869 after his first symphony, initially intended to be his second. Many aspects of the piece introduce radical new elements, foreshadowing the revolutionary compositional techniques of Bruckner’s later works. Notably, the ‘First Theme’ does not conform to traditional thematic development but rather presents abstract soundscapes, leading conductor Felix Otto Dessoff of the Vienna Philharmonic to famously inquire, ’Well, where is the main theme there?’ This critique deeply affected the sensitive 45-year-old Bruckner, leading him to ‘nullify’ the work by adding the number ‘0’ to the autograph and disregarding it for the remainder of his life. However, it wasn’t until 1924 that this magnificent D Minor symphony, unjustly overlooked in Bruckner’s catalogue, received its long-awaited premiere in Klosterneuburg.