"Happy birthday, Anton!" - Concert for Bruckner's 200th birthday in Ansfelden

Since 2018, the International Bruckner Festival Linz has begun annually on 4 September, the birthday of its namesake. The birthday concert to kick off the festival always takes place in Ansfelden, the place where it all began for Anton Bruckner, where he was born in the servants' quarters of the school building and baptised on the same day in the neighbouring parish church.

In 2024, the well-wishers could hardly be more prominent: The Cleveland Orchestra, known as the most "European" of the American orchestras, and its chief conductor Franz Welser-Möst, who hails from Linz, will do the honours and pay tribute to the jubilarian with an open-air performance in the open space between the parish church and courtyard.

In keeping with the setting under an open (evening) sky, Bruckner's Symphony No. 4 in E flat major, his first in a major key, is one of the composer's most accessible and consequently most popular works, to which the title Romantic, which goes back to the composer himself, and the associations associated with it have contributed significantly. This applies in particular to the "1878/80 version", whose depictions of nature clothed in sound find one of numerous highlights in the newly composed third movement, which became famous under the nickname "Jagd-Scherzo". Its premiere on 20 February 1881 by the Vienna Philharmonic under Hans Richter was a great success and represented an important 'stage victory' for Bruckner on his way to becoming a recognised symphonist.

This event takes place as part of the 24-hour birthday celebration for Anton Bruckner.

Start of ceremony: 7:00 pm

Start of birthday concert: 8:00 pm

The Cleveland Orchestra

Franz Welser-Möst | Conductor