In Upper Austria, many directional and ordinal adverbs are used in dialect, which are still difficult to translate into High German. In this country, many directions are known: aussi, eina, eini, uma, aufi, owi, drent and many more. The dialect finds precise expression for the many possible directions that are not only possible but also natural in Upper-Austria and beyond. Even Bruckner's organ has moved down the Danube, on ships owi, through the country. It originally stood in Engelszell Abbey before being transferred to the newly established episcopal church, the Old Linz Cathedral, at the end of the 18th century. It waited there for more than half a century for its genius loci. Bruckner's organ had already seen a great deal before it was heard about for itself and its master. The diversity of directions is reflected in the language and its sound. Language reflects reality, both yesterday and today, and Upper-Austria is one of the most diverse-sounding regions in Europe. The birth of a giant of sound took place here in the early morning of 4 September 1824. Anton Bruckner was the first of eleven children - only five of whom reached adulthood - to see the light of day in the schoolhouse in Ansfelden. He came from the country, which he never left, even when he spent the last decades of his life working for the emperor and the University in the Danube metropolis of Vienna. He was also a social climber who trusted the process of becoming and did not disregard doubt. Few world-class composers come from a rural background. This is where Bruckner found himself, between the calls of the choir and the steps of the country, the dance floor and church towers, hills and forests. We can hear it in his music. Bruckner belongs to us, but does not belong to us. For us, he opens a door to the world.
Aussi (out). Bring them in. Eina (in). His music belongs to the whole world. It is played and listened to all over the world. His music creates space, an outer space! His 200th birthday is the occasion for the first Upper-Austrian KulturEXPO Anton Bruckner 2024. The whole of Upper-Austria will be the stage. The many Bruckner locations will become the central space for a movement which wishes to sweep us along with it. A movement which we ourselves are shaping. We let ourselves be heard. Listening is about togetherness, and art and culture know how to create this in a playful manner. The Bruckner Year and the Salzkammergut Capital of Culture 2024 give us the opportunity to gain a new cultural awareness. Culture negotiates diversity, change, openness, respect and togetherness.
Expect the unexpected, we all take care of it ourselves!