Bruckner invites you to marvel

I think he would be amazed at how an entire country celebrates him and what he has activated. And about how an orchestra now implements its symphonies. I would wish him the same sense of wonder that he, on the other hand, triggered in me very early on,” says Norbert Trawöger, invited to the thought experiment of personally shaking Anton Bruckner’s hand on his 200th birthday on September 4, 2024. “My wish is for him “It’s not that big to meet,” admits the Bad Schallerbach flautist: “This contradictory figure that you can’t get a handle on fascinates me.” Only: “I would like to hear him improvise on the organ and see how he does met the monkey in Wilhering and watched in amazement as he marveled,” says the 52-year-old, who has been artistic director of the Bruckner Orchestra Linz since 2019.

Despite all odds

Since 2022, as artistic director of the “OÖ. Kulturexpo Anton Bruckner 2024”, he has been pulling the strings behind around 250 projects, which are also an invitation to be amazed. “I never wanted to have a commemorative year. Rather, Bruckner should be the occasion for us to deal with ourselves, our diverse culture, with topics of openness in connection with the world: What does Upper Austrian mean? Not in the sense of patriotism, this ‘Mir san “mish” is totally foreign to me. The work of art opens a window into the world.”

Perhaps knowledge of its creator will grow and some clichés about Bruckner, the supposed oddball in a frock coat, will fade. “He wasn’t a child prodigy. He was a half-orphan, a teacher’s child, a social climber, a crisis-stricken person at risk of burnout because he worked so much. An incredibly contemporary figure who wasn’t always sure of himself, but was very sure that he could do this work must be uncovered”, despite all odds, such as on December 16, 1877 in Vienna: “At the premiere of his ‘Third’, the Vienna Philharmonic and the audience walked out while it was playing and he had to conduct. Whether this insult, that he experienced himself, it’s surprising that he got up the next day and started the next symphony. This not giving up, sticking with the passion, that’s what touches me about this character. He simply didn’t let himself get down. “

Including projects up to AI

Norbert Trawöger has also worked tirelessly over the past two years on the event series, “a huge score with a wealth of projects from inclusion to artificial intelligence. What Bruckner has triggered is unbelievable. That we are in days when the world is like this “To be able to deal with art and culture, with togetherness, that’s what drives me. I’m happy about what I’m allowed to do. And about the fact that we do it together – with a sound forest, brass music concerts, the music schools,” he begins, to list some of the many “Upper Austrian Cultural Expo Anton Bruckner 2024” collaborations.

When on Sunday, January 14th, as one of the first highlights, Markus Poschner lifts the baton for Bruckner’s “Fourth” at the sold-out Linz Music Theater at the Bruckner Orchestra’s podium, Norbert Trawöger will also be in the audience. And listen to the symphony that magically captivated him on a record at home when he was eight years old.

Goosebumps in the “Fourth”

To this day: “I dive in and get goosebumps. That takes me into a transformative state where I don’t even know what’s happening. There is no false amazement in real life. That’s this primal experience that I also had as a child , knowing full well that I’m a musician’s child.”

An amazement that can also be shared in the concert: “We come together, we listen together, something is played. That alone is great in our purpose-oriented world.”

Norbert Trawöger, Head of Upper Austria. Kulturexpo Anton Bruckner 2024 about the anniversary

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