Glazunov's Symphony no. 8, the last the composer completed, is a majestic achievement whose combination of talent, imagination and contrapuntal mastery was destined to remain unsurpassed. The Dutch musicologist Alex van Amerongen was of the opinion that the symphony was the most striking and monumental work of a whole generation. Furthermore, he believed that “this piece - and not the music of Reger - has the final word on the subject of chromaticism.