I. Introduction. Adagio – Allegro II. Adagio. Sehr langsam  III. Scherzo. Molto vivace. Schnell – Trio. Im gleichen Tempo IV. Finale. Adagio – Allegro moderato

Bruckner (1824-1896) began work on this epic symphony in February 1875. He first composed the Adagio. We can perhaps sense his gloom and disenchantment with life at the time expressed in the principal theme heard on the oboe. He then wrote the first movement, before composing first the scherzo and finally the monumental finale. The entire symphony was completed relatively quickly, a mere nine months. He later returned time and again to this symphony, sensing it was not quite perfect, but he did not radically rewrite it as he did the Third, Fourth and Seventh symphonies. Ferdinand Löwe and Franz Schalk, who were the supreme Bruckner conductors of the time, made some alterations at several vital points of the work (primarily the orchestration) but Bruckner would not endorse these corrections. The symphony received it premiere only in 1894 in Graz at a concert that Bruckner did not attend.

The chronology of the movement's composition is actually quite important because it explains much about the motifs employed throughout the entire work. The pizzicato accompaniment to the Adagio theme is heard again in the scherzo (and also quoted in the closing movement). It also creates the tone of the introductory adagio of the first movement. This slow introductory music also prepares the path for the first important formal moment of the first movement, launching the development section. Finally, it finds a role in the finale movement, again functioning as an introduction. Bruckner subordinates the construction of the Fifth Symphony to three principals: allowing classical structures to emerge flexibly and clearly (for example the first movement is in sonata form); that the thematic material (clearly following the examples of Liszt and Wagner) should fulfil a function within the context of the whole work; and finally, that the music be primarily contrapuntal. For many Bruckner researchers in the early 20th century, this tri-partite system signified the summation of the European symphony genre. “It is as if the spirit of Bach, Beethoven and Wagner had fashioned a new figure in the final movement of this symphony, that he could become a new natural phenomenon, known by the name Anton Bruckner” wrote Theodor Helm. Perhaps it is this extreme complexity which led to the symphony having to wait twenty years for its premiere.