Anecdotes from the life of Anton Bruckner (III)

Anton Bruckner revered his musical predecessors. In the shadow of Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven (who died just three years after Bruckner was born), he was deeply conscious of his heritage.

Anecdotes from the life of Anton Bruckner (II)

Bruckner learned to play the organ at the Monastery of St Florian, near the village where he was born. Decades later, he was buried in its crypt underneath the instrument he adored.

Anecdotes from the life of Anton Bruckner (I)

One of the oddest characters to be found in late 19th century Vienna was the composer Anton Bruckner (1824-96). Naive and eccentric, his unshakeable religious faith moved him to create astonishing symphonies of great beauty.

Desert Island Discs (5) – Bruckner and Nilsson

Without a doubt the most beautiful symphony ever penned is Anton Bruckner’s Seventh. It takes its rightful place alongside the composer’s other great works, in the same way that Rembrandt’s Self-Portrait (1658) is one of the best among his other masterpieces.