Editing Anton Bruckner (section)

== Life and career ==

=== Early life ===
[[File:Ansfelden bruckner geburtshaus.jpg|thumb|The house in [[Ansfelden]], Austria, where Anton Bruckner was born. It is now the [[Anton Bruckner Museum]].]]
Anton Bruckner was born in [[Ansfelden]] (then a village, now almost a suburb of [[Linz]]) on 4 September 1824. The ancestors of Bruckner's family were farmers and craftsmen; their history can be traced as far back as the 16th century. They lived near a bridge south of Sindelburg, which led to their being called "Bruckhner an der Bruckhen" (bridgers on the bridge). Bruckner's grandfather was appointed schoolmaster in Ansfelden in 1776; this position was inherited by Bruckner's father, Anton Bruckner Sr., in 1823.<ref name="Rudolf Kloiber">[[Rudolf Kloiber]]: ''Handbuch der klassischen und romantischen Symphonie''. Breitkopf & Härtel, Wiesbaden 1964. {{ISBN|978-3-7651-0017-8}}. pp. 241–285</ref> It was a poorly paid but well-respected position in the rural environment.<ref name="Grebe-1972">{{cite book|last=Grebe|first=Karl|title=Anton Bruckner|publisher=Rowohlt Taschenbuchverlag|location=Hamburg|year=1972|isbn=978-3-499-50190-6}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Schönzeler|first=Hans-Hubert|author-link=Hans-Hubert Schönzeler|title=Bruckner|location=New York|publisher=Grossman Publishers|year=1970|url=https://archive.org/details/bruckner0000scho/page/n7/mode/2up|url-access=registration|via=[[Internet Archive]]|page=8|isbn=978-0-7145-0144-4 |quote=Josef Bruckner had twelve children, and one of them, Anton, born in 1791, became a teacher like his father. ... In 1823 he married Therese Helm from Steyr, a marriage which was to be blessed with eleven children, ... Their eldest was Josef Anton, born on 4 September 1824 and named after his grandfather.}}</ref> Bruckner Sr. married {{ill|Theresia Helm|de}}, and they had eleven children, Anton Bruckner being the eldest.<ref name="52composers.com">{{Cite web|title=Bruckner in a nutshell|website=52composers.com|url=http://www.52composers.com/bruckner.html|access-date=27 July 2018|archive-date=27 July 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180727145536/http://www.52composers.com/bruckner.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Music was a part of the school curriculum, and Bruckner's father was his first music teacher.<ref name="Grebe-1972" /> Bruckner learned to play the organ early as a child. He was very dedicated to the instrument just as he was later in life in composing, often practising for 12 hours a day.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Classical Music (Visual Reference Guide Series)}}</ref> He entered school when he was six, proved to be a hard-working student, and was promoted to upper class early. While studying, Bruckner also helped his father in teaching the other children. After Bruckner received his [[confirmation]] in 1833, Bruckner's father sent him to another school in [[Hörsching]]. The schoolmaster, Johann Baptist Weiß, was a music enthusiast and respected organist. Here, Bruckner completed his school education and refined his skills as an organist. Around 1835 Bruckner wrote his first composition, a ''[[Pange lingua, WAB 31|Pange lingua]]''&nbsp;– one of the compositions which he revised at the end of his life.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.abruckner.com/vocal_instrumental_music/php/index.php@pag=163.htm|title=Pange lingua C-Dur, WAB 31 (zwischen 1835–37) &#124; Diskografie von Anton Bruckner|website=Abruckner.com|access-date=4 September 2024|archive-date=5 September 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240905024245/http://www.abruckner.com/vocal_instrumental_music/php/index.php@pag=163.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> When his father became ill, Anton returned to Ansfelden to help him in his work.

=== Teacher's education ===
[[File:St. Florian - Stift (2).JPG|thumb|upright=1.2|[[St Florian's Priory]], where Bruckner lived on many occasions during his life]]
Bruckner's father died in 1837, when Bruckner was 13 years old. The teacher's position and house were given to a successor, and Bruckner was sent to the [[Augustinians|Augustinian]] [[St. Florian Monastery|monastery]] in [[Sankt Florian]] to become a choirboy.<ref name="Grebe-1972"/>{{sfn|Watson|1997|page=3}} In addition to choir practice, his education included violin and organ lessons. Bruckner was in awe of the monastery's great organ, which was built during the late baroque era and rebuilt in 1837, and he sometimes played it during church services. <!--Later, the organ was to be called the "Bruckner Organ".{{cn|date=September 2024}}--> From October 1840 to July 1841, Bruckner undertook further training at the teacher-training school in [[Linz]].<ref name="d394">{{harvnb|Kinder|2000|page=26}}</ref> His teacher of harmony and choral singing was August Durrnberger, who became a friend and would later persuade Bruckner to take up the role of a cathedral organist.<ref name="d394"/><ref name="w509">{{cite book | last=Williamson | first=John | title=The Cambridge Companion to Bruckner | publisher=Cambridge University Press | publication-place=Cambridge | date=2004-07-15 | isbn=978-0-521-00878-5 | page=17}}</ref>

After completing the seminar with an excellent grade, Bruckner was sent as an assistant teacher to a school in [[Windhaag bei Freistadt|Windhaag]]. The living standards and pay were appalling and Bruckner was constantly humiliated by his superior, teacher Franz Fuchs. Despite the difficult situation, Bruckner never complained or rebelled; a belief in his own inferiority was to remain one of Bruckner's main personal traits during his whole life. He stayed at Windhaag from age 17 to 19, teaching general subjects.

[[Prelate]] {{ill|Michael Arneth|de|Michael Arneth (Propst)}} noticed Bruckner's bad situation in Windhaag and awarded him an assistant teacher position in the vicinity of the monastic town of Sankt Florian, sending him to [[Kronstorf]] an der [[Enns (river)|Enns]] for two years. Here he would be able to have more of a part in musical activity. The time in Kronstorf was a much happier one for Bruckner. Between 1843 and 1845, Bruckner was the pupil of [[Leopold von Zenetti]] in [[Enns (town)|Enns]].<ref>[[Paul-Gilbert Langevin]], ''Anton Bruckner – apogée de la symphonie'', pp. 17, 306</ref> Compared to the few works he wrote in Windhaag, the Kronstorf compositions from 1843 to 1845 show a significantly improved artistic ability, and finally the beginnings of what could be called "the Bruckner style".{{sfn|Grebe1972|p=27}} Among the Kronstorf works is the vocal piece [[Asperges me, WAB 4|''Asperges me'']] (WAB 4), which the young assistant teacher, out of line given his position, signed with "Anton Bruckner m.p.ria. Comp[onist]". This has been interpreted as a lone early sign of Bruckner's artistic ambitions. Otherwise, little is known of Bruckner's life plans and intentions.{{sfn|Hinrichsen|2010|p=18}}

=== Organist in Sankt Florian ===
[[File:St. Florian - Stiftskirche, Bruckner-Orgel.JPG|thumb|The "Bruckner Organ" in Sankt Florian]]
After the Kronstorf period, Bruckner returned to Sankt Florian in 1845 where, for the next 10 years, he would work as a teacher and an organist.<ref name="Rudolf Kloiber"/> In May 1845, Bruckner passed an examination, which allowed him to begin work as an assistant teacher in one of the village schools of Sankt Florian. He continued to improve his education by taking further courses, passing an examination giving him permission to also teach in higher education institutes, receiving the grade "very good" in all disciplines.{{sfn|Grebe|1972|pp=27–34}} In 1848 Bruckner was appointed an organist in Sankt Florian and in 1851 this was made a regular position.<ref name="Grebe-1972"/> In Sankt Florian, most of the repertoire consisted of the music of [[Michael Haydn]], [[Johann Georg Albrechtsberger]] and [[Franz Joseph Aumann]].<ref>{{cite journal|last=Hawkshaw|first=Paul|year=2007|volume=90|page=94|title=Anton Bruckner's Counterpoint Studies at the Monastery of Saint Florian, 1845–55|number=1|journal=[[The Musical Quarterly]]}}</ref> During his stay in Sankt Florian, Bruckner continued to work with Zenetti.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.antonbruckner.at/Brucknerorte.php?Ort=28|title=Bruckner Gemeinde|website=www.antonbruckner.at|access-date=16 May 2016|archive-date=3 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303165828/http://www.antonbruckner.at/Brucknerorte.php?Ort=28|url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Study period ===
In 1855, Bruckner, aspiring to become a student of the famous Vienna music theorist [[Simon Sechter]], showed the master his [[Missa solemnis (Bruckner)|''Missa solemnis'']] (WAB 29), written a year earlier, and was accepted. The education, which included skills in music theory and counterpoint among others, took place mostly via correspondence, but also included long in-person sessions in Vienna. Sechter's teaching would have a profound influence on Bruckner. Later, when Bruckner began teaching music himself, he would base his curriculum on Sechter's book ''Die Grundsätze der musikalischen Komposition'' (Leipzig 1853/54).<ref>{{cite book|editor-last=Hinrichsen|editor-first=Hans-Joachim|editor-link=Hans-Joachim Hinrichsen|title=Bruckner Handbuch|publisher=J. B. Metzler'sche Verlagsbuchhandlung and Carl Ernst Poeschel Verlag|location=Stuttgart|year=2010|page=31}}</ref>

[[File:bruckner circa 1860.jpg|upright|thumb|Bruckner, {{Circa|1860}}]]
Largely self-taught as a composer, Bruckner only started composing seriously at age 37 in 1861. Bruckner studied further with [[Otto Kitzler]], who was nine years younger than him and who introduced him to the music of [[Richard Wagner]], which Bruckner studied extensively from 1863 onwards. Bruckner considered the earliest orchestral works (the "study" [[Study Symphony in F minor|Symphony in F minor]], the [[Four Orchestral Pieces (Bruckner)#Three Pieces for orchestra|three orchestral pieces]], the [[Four Orchestral Pieces (Bruckner)#March in D minor|March in D minor]] and the [[Overture (Bruckner)|Overture in G minor]], which he composed in 1862–1863), mere school exercises, done under the supervision of Otto Kitzler. He continued his studies to the age of 40. Broad fame and acceptance did not come until he was over 60 (after the premiere of his [[Symphony No. 7 (Bruckner)|Seventh Symphony]] in 1884). In 1861, he had already made the acquaintance of [[Franz Liszt]], whom Bruckner idolised. Like Bruckner, Liszt was of the Catholic faith and a harmonic innovator, and, alongside Wagner, he initiated the [[New German School]].<ref>{{cite book | last=Walker | first=Alan|author-link=Alan Walker (musicologist)| title=Franz Liszt: The final years, 1861–1886 | publisher=Cornell University Press | publication-place=Ithaca, New York| date=1987 | isbn=978-0-8014-8453-7 | page=469}}</ref> In May 1861 he made his concert debut, as both composer and conductor of his ''[[Ave Maria (Bruckner)|Ave Maria]]'', set in seven parts.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.hyperion-records.co.uk/al.asp?al=CDA66062 |title=Bruckner: Motets – CD – CDA66062 – Anton Bruckner (1824–1896) |publisher=Hyperion Records |access-date=6 February 2014 |archive-date=22 February 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140222024101/http://www.hyperion-records.co.uk/al.asp?al=CDA66062 |url-status=live }}</ref> Soon after Bruckner had ended his studies under Sechter and Kitzler, he wrote his [[Mass No. 1 (Bruckner)|Mass in D Minor]]. From 1861 to 1868, he alternated his time between Vienna and Sankt Florian. He wished to ensure he knew how to make his music modern, but he also wanted to spend time in a more religious setting.

=== The Vienna period ===
In 1868, after Sechter had died, Bruckner hesitantly accepted Sechter's post as a teacher of [[music theory]] at the [[University of Music and Performing Arts, Vienna|Vienna Conservatory]], during which time he concentrated most of his energy on writing symphonies. These symphonies were poorly received, at times considered "wild" and "nonsensical". His students at the Conservatory included [[Richard Robert]],<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=jUmBd7pwnQkC&pg=PA486 Henry-Louis de La Grange, ''Gustav Mahler'': Volume 3. "Vienna: Triumph and Disillusion" (1904–1907), footnote 66, p. 486]; Retrieved 28 August 2013</ref> [[Hans Rott]], [[Felix Mottl]], [[Heinrich Schenker]], [[Mathilde Kralik]], [[Franz Schalk]], [[Joseph Schalk]], and [[Ferdinand Löwe]]. His student [[Friedrich Klose]] wrote a book about his impressions of Bruckner as a composer and a teacher.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Klose|first=Friedrich|title=Meine Lehrjahre bei Bruckner; Erinnerungen und Betrachtungen|publisher=Regensburg, G. Bosse|year=1927}}</ref>

He later accepted a post at the [[University of Vienna]] in 1875,<ref>{{harvnb|Schönzeler|1970|p=70}}: "In July 1875 Bruckner ... proposed yet a third time to the university of Vienna that a lectureship in harmony and counterpoint be created, and at long last, despite Hanslick's opposition, his application was successful. Bruckner was appointed to the post, and on 25 November 1875 he gave his opening oration."</ref> where he tried to make music theory a part of the curriculum. Overall, he was unhappy in [[Vienna]], which was musically dominated by the critic [[Eduard Hanslick]]. At the time, there was a feud between advocates of the music of Wagner and [[Johannes Brahms]]; by aligning himself with Wagner, Bruckner made an unintentional enemy out of Hanslick. He was not without supporters, though. ''Deutsche Zeitung''{{'s}} music critic [[Theodor Helm]], and famous conductors such as [[Arthur Nikisch]] and [[Franz Schalk]] constantly tried to bring his music to the public, and for this purpose proposed "improvements" for making Bruckner's music more acceptable to the public. Bruckner bequeathed his original scores to the [[Austrian National Library]] in Vienna.<ref>{{harvnb|Schönzeler|1970|p=173}}</ref>

In addition to his symphonies, Bruckner wrote [[Masses (Bruckner)|Masses]], [[Motets (Bruckner)|motets]] and other sacred [[choir|choral]] works, and a few [[Chamber Music (Bruckner)|chamber works]], including a [[String Quintet (Bruckner)|string quintet]]. Unlike his romantic symphonies, some of Bruckner's choral works are often conservative and [[counterpoint|contrapuntal]] in style; however, the [[Te Deum (Bruckner)|Te Deum]], [[Helgoland (Bruckner)|Helgoland]], [[Psalm 150 (Bruckner)|Psalm 150]] and at least one Mass demonstrate innovative and radical uses of chromaticism.{{citation needed|date=September 2024}}

Biographers generally characterise Bruckner as a "simple" provincial man,<ref>Peter Gammond, ''Bluff Your Way in Music''. London: Ravette Books (1985):: 33. "it is generally said that Bruckner was a very simple man ... If, after listening to one of his symphonies, you still feel that he was simple, then you are not the kind of person who should be reading this book."</ref> and many of them have complained that there is huge discrepancy between Bruckner's life and his work. For example, Karl Grebe said: "his life doesn't tell anything about his work, and his work doesn't tell anything about his life, that's the uncomfortable fact any biography must start from."{{sfn|Grebe|1972|p={{page needed|date=January 2022}}}} Anecdotes abound as to Bruckner's dogged pursuit of his chosen craft and his humble acceptance of the fame that eventually came his way. Once, after a rehearsal of his [[Symphony No. 4 (Bruckner)|Fourth Symphony]] in 1881, the well-meaning Bruckner tipped the Austrian-Hungarian conductor [[Hans Richter (conductor)|Hans Richter]]: "When the symphony was over", Richter related, "Bruckner came to me, his face beaming with enthusiasm and joy. I felt him press a coin into my hand. 'Take this' he said, 'and drink a glass of beer to my health.'"<ref name="k529">{{harvnb|Watson|1997|page=35}}</ref><ref name="n456">{{cite web | last=Paget | first=Clive | title=Did you hear about Bruckner's boozy beer bout in Bayreuth? | website=Limelight | date=2019-05-31 | url=https://limelight-arts.com.au/features/did-you-hear-about-brunckers-boozy-beer-bout-in-bayreuth/ | access-date=2024-10-05}}</ref> Richter accepted the coin, a [[Maria Theresa thaler]], and wore it on his watch-chain ever after.<ref name=Engel>{{cite web|url=https://www.brucknersocietyamerica.org/society/ewExternalFiles/anton_bruckner_by_gabriel_engel-c.pdf|title=The Life of Anton Bruckner|author=Gabriel Engel|access-date=2024-10-05}} Reprint of vol. 2, no. 1, ''Chord and Discord – A Journal of Modern Musical Progress'', January 1940, Bruckner Society of America</ref><ref name="k529"/>

Bruckner was a renowned organist in his day, impressing audiences in France in 1869, and the United Kingdom in 1871, giving six recitals on a new [[Henry Willis]] organ at the [[Royal Albert Hall]] in London and five more at [[the Crystal Palace]]. Though he wrote no major works for the organ,<ref>{{harvnb|Watson|1997|p=73}}: "Unlike Franck or Reger, however, he [Bruckner] has not left a single composition of any value for his instrument."</ref> his improvisation sessions sometimes yielded ideas for the symphonies. He taught organ performance at the Conservatory; amongst his students were [[Hans Rott]] and [[Franz Schmidt (composer)|Franz Schmidt]]. [[Gustav Mahler]], who called Bruckner his "forerunner", attended the conservatory at this time.<ref>Walter n.d. {{incomplete short citation|date=January 2022}}</ref>

[[File:Anton Bruckner (1824–1896) nach 1890 © Ludwig Grillich (1856–1926).jpg|thumb|Bruckner, c. 1892]]
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Bruckner was a lifelong [[bachelor]] who made numerous unsuccessful marriage proposals to teenage girls. One such was the daughter of a friend, called Louise; in his grief he is believed to have written the cantata ''[[Entsagen, WAB 14|Entsagen]]'' (Renunciation). His affection for teenage girls led to an accusation of impropriety where he taught music, and while he was exonerated, he decided to concentrate on teaching boys afterwards. His calendar for 1874 details the names of girls who appealed to him, and the list of such girls in all his diaries was very long. In 1880 he fell for a 17-year-old peasant girl in the cast of the [[Oberammergau Passion Play]]. His unsuccessful proposals to teenagers continued when he was past his 70th birthday; one prospect, a hotel chambermaid in Berlin named Ida Buhz, came near to marrying him but broke off the engagement when she refused to convert to Catholicism.<ref name="Wolff-1942">{{Citation | title= Anton Bruckner Rustic Genius | first= Werner | last= Wolff | publisher=E.P. Dutton & Co | year= 1942 | url= https://archive.org/details/antonbrucknerrus005903mbp}}</ref><ref>Wilson. C. (1966), ''Chords and Discords: Purely Personal Opinions on Music'', Crown Publishers, p.40</ref><ref name=Engel /> He suffered from periodic attacks of depression, with his numerous failed attempts to find a female companion only adding to his unhappiness.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.violinman.com/Violin_Family/history/composer/biography/BRUCKNER,%20Anton/BRUCKNER,%20Anton.htm|title=Bruckner, Anton (1824–1896)|website=Violinman.com|access-date=4 September 2024}}</ref>
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In July 1886, the Emperor decorated him with the [[Order of Franz Joseph]].{{sfn|Watson|1997|p=39}} He most likely retired from his position at the University of Vienna in 1892, at the age of 68. He wrote a great deal of music that he used to help teach his students.

Bruckner died in Vienna in 1896 at the age of 72. He is buried in the crypt of the monastery church at Sankt Florian, immediately below his favorite organ.<ref>{{harvnb|Schönzeler|1970|p=108}}: "Bruckner's ... body was taken to St. Florian. ... There, in a splendid sarcophagus, lie the earthly remains of Anton Bruckner, but from above the crypt, from the great 'Bruckner Organ', his living spirit still bursts forth."</ref> He had always had a fascination with death and dead bodies,<ref>{{cite web|last=Service|first=Tom|author-link=Tom Service|title=Sex, death and dissonance: the strange, obsessive world of Anton Bruckner|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2014/apr/01/sex-death-dissonance-anton-bruckner-concertgebouw-orchestra|website=[[The Guardian]]|access-date=4 April 2018|date=1 April 2014|archive-date=5 September 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240905024344/https://www.theguardian.com/music/2014/apr/01/sex-death-dissonance-anton-bruckner-concertgebouw-orchestra|url-status=live}}</ref> and left explicit instructions regarding the [[embalming]] of his corpse.

The [[Anton Bruckner Private University for Music, Drama, and Dance]], an institution of higher education in [[Linz]], close to his native Ansfelden, was named after him in 1932 (as the "Bruckner Conservatory Linz" until 2004). The [[Bruckner Orchestra Linz]] was also named in his honor.