BRUCKNERG'SCHICHTEN, a cinematic tour of Anton Bruckner's places of reference, celebrated its premiere at Moviemento in Linz on Wednesday, March 20, 2024. The 35 films were conceived and shot by filmmaker Markus Kaiser-Mühlecker as part of the first Upper Austrian KulturEXPO to mark the 200th anniversary of Anton Bruckner's birth.
Premier
"Markus Kaiser-Mühlecker takes us on an exciting cinematic journey with Bruckner G'schichten: He paints a multi-layered picture of the composer Anton Bruckner, historical and modern Upper Austria, its culture and its people. And it shows how Bruckner and his music still have an impact today," said Governor Thomas Stelzer at the presentation of the film series to mayors, cultural organizers and cultural coordinators from the 35 Bruckner communities at the Moviemento in Linz.
Markus Kaiser-Mühlecker traveled 2,500 kilometers through Upper Austria last year - from Windhaag near Freistadt in the north-east to Bad Goisern in the far south. During this journey, he held numerous conversations with a wide variety of personalities from the places that played a special role in the life and work of the outstanding composer Anton Bruckner. Interesting insights and a multitude of personal references came to light during the conversations. The result is 35 episodes that paint a colorful picture:
- about various professions that have something to say about Bruckner and could have been his contemporaries: Musicians, clergymen, archivists, historians and cultural figures
- about the different rural and urban areas of Upper Austria, how the historical places along Anton Bruckner's biography are similar: for example, sacristan's houses next to churches, organ galleries, palaces and castles, inns, historically compact town centers
- about the social and economic history of 150 years ago, which suddenly comes to life, about the mobility of that time, about the economic conditions and in particular the influence of the church and monasteries, what courtship and club life looked like.
"The Bruckner G'schichten are a form of animation - the bringing to life by his compatriots of the historical and dazzling figure of Anton Bruckner, who is no longer so easy to grasp," explains Markus Kaiser-Mühlecker, for whom it was a privilege to be allowed to use Anton Bruckner's music for the films: "His musical language was so groundbreaking that even the sound of Hollywood today allows Bruckner's signature to resonate."
All films are now available online on the Anton Bruckner 2024 YouTube channel:
Handover of the Bruckner plaques
As part of the premiere, Governor Thomas Stelzer also handed over the specially produced"Bruckner Place" additional plaques to the municipal representatives. These boards will be mounted in addition to the existing place name signs and thus make the Bruckner places recognizable at first glance. The Department of Culture of the Province of Upper Austria, Upper Austrian Culture EXPO project, provided these boards free of charge for each Bruckner place on request. These are not only intended for the year 2024, but also for the future. Municipalities will thus remain visible as Bruckner locations even after 2024 and benefit from the effects of the anniversary year.
