Ceremonial opening of the International Bruckner Festival Linz 2024

The hymns that open the ceremony as usual are followed by a Bruckner hymn composed by Wilhelm Floderer in 1894 and performed for the first time at the unveiling of the memorial plaque at Bruckner's birthplace in Ansfelden on May 12, 1895 with the Liedertafel "Frohsinn", of which he was choirmaster at the time.

All the early orchestral works written by the composer himself can be heard, which were composed during his apprenticeship with the Linz theater conductor Otto Kitzler, which lasted from autumn 1861 to summer 1863 and ended with the composition of the "Study Symphony" in F minor. Although they still bear traditional traits, they already strike an individual note and show their creator at the crossroads between an existence as a composer of functional music for everyday use and an existence as a symphonist. As is well known, Bruckner decided to take the latter path, even if it turned out to be a much rockier one.

The program also pays tribute to him as a symphonist, albeit with a twinkle in his eye, as the composer declared that this was his "life's work": The commissioned work InstAnt on looks back to the future and, following the motto "Bruckner's complete symphonies (slightly shortened)", roams through his eleven contributions to the genre in eleven minutes, adapting, arranging, spinning on, eavesdropping, rethinking, alienating and quoting. Who would be better suited to take on this challenge with as much fun and humour as Johannes Berauer, who was born in Wels and specializes in overcoming the boundaries between classical avant-garde, jazz and world music? And who would be more knowledgeable interpreters of such a piece than the Bruckner specialists of the orchestra named after him and its chief conductor?

Wilhelm Floderer (1843 -1917)

Bruckner Hymne in C major for mixed choir a cappella (1894)

Anton Bruckner (1824 - 1896)

Overture in G minor, WAB 98 (1862-63)

March in D minor, WAB 96 (1862)

Three orchestral pieces in E flat major, E minor and F major, WAB 97, Nos. 1-3 (1862)

Johannes Berauer (* 1979)

InstAnt on for orchestra (2023-24) [world premiere]

Choir house Frohsinn:

Linzer Singakademie (Singing Academy of Linz)

Hard Choir Linz

Hard-Chor TNG - The New Generation

Bruckner Orchestra Linz

Markus Poschner | Conductor