“Since Beethoven, nothing has been written that even comes close!” The great conductor Arthur Nikisch made this remark to Bruckner’s former student, Joseph Schalk, while fellow conductor Hermann Levi described the piece as “the most significant symphonic work since Beethoven’s death.” Arthur Nikisch conducted the first performance in the Stadttheater, Leipzig, on 30 December 1884, with Bruckner in the audience. While the performance was not a total triumph, it brought a new and significant international recognition for the sixty-year-old composer. During Bruckner’s lifetime, the Seventh, especially its Adagio, was his most popular symphony, and it remains among his most beloved and frequently performed works.