Anton Bruckner is regarded as one of the most influential composers of his time. The gifted organist found inspiration in the beauty and stillness of the landscape along the Danube.
Anton Bruckner was born in 1824 in Ansfelden, close to Linz, as the son of a village teacher. It was evident early on that he had musical talent – that he probably heard more than most in the quiet, rural world of the 19th century and could bring these details and nuances to life in his own compositions.
In the 1840s, he worked as a teacher and organist at the Stift Sankt Florian, where he composed his first motets and a requiem. He was around 20 years old at the time. In 1855, Anton Bruckner became the cathedral organist in Linz and, thus, a professional musician.
"Sometimes, his music sounds like an ode to his homeland. And sometimes, almost like a prayer."
Mach die Augen zu, sagt Sarah Bruderhofer: „Schließ die Augen, und dann hör genau hin. Und hab ein bisserl Geduld!“ Bruckner mache es einem tatsächlich nicht immer leicht, manchmal klinge er sperrig, gelegentlich abgehoben, und hin und wieder sowieso nicht von dieser Welt. „Aber nach einer Weile kann du das Wasser hören. Dieses Fließen, dieses Rauschen – das klingt fast, als stehe man am Ufer der Donau.“
Die Kontrabassistin des Bruckner Orchesters Linz kann gut nachvollziehen, wie sehr die Landschaft an der Donau den großen Symphoniker und Kirchenmusiker beeinflusst hat. Seine Kompositionen seien fest in Oberösterreich verwurzelt, sagt sie.
The reason why today's musicians, such as Sarah Bruderhofer in Linz, Upper Austria's capital city, identify with the composer and why the townhouses not only the Bruckner Orchestra but also the similarly named concert house (right on the banks of the Danube, of course) as well as the International Bruckner Festival - lies in Bruckner's relevance for classical music. It might also have to do with the fact that locals recognise Brukner as someone deeply attached to his home by the Danube. He never did feel quite comfortable in the hustle and bustle of Vienna, where he lived and taught later in life.
His art sprung from his reverence for the idyllic, gentle landscapes surrounding the Danube with their quiet woodlands, small villages and the steady flow of the stream. Sometimes, a hint of permanence and infinity, such as he might have felt during his walks through nature or during meditative contemplation on the banks of the Danube, is discernible in his music.
Did Bruckner spend much of his time standing on these banks, letting his thoughts roam? Very likely. The musician was a devout man with a penchant for melancholy; he never married (but was frequently in love with women many years younger than himself) and shunned the gossiping society of imperial times. When he wasn’t composing, he spent his time surrounded by nature. Without his reverence for it, Bruckner’s music is not conceivable. The river, the hillsides full of grapevines, the wetlands and the endless forests have been a source of inspiration for the composer since his early youth.
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