Celebrating Anton Bruckner’s 200th Birthday

Although Anton Bruckner was one the most visionary symphonic composers at the end of the nineteenth century, his biography continues to be dominated by anecdotes about his eccentric personality. Lesser known is the fact that he composed his sacred choral music as a celebrated organist and choir director for performances alongside works of the old masters—particularly Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina. This unlikely “artistic partnership” also inspired his own vocal style. For example, writing about an 1888 performance of Bruckner’s 7-part Ave Maria, a reviewer praised the piece as “a true palestrinian torrent of sound in the garb of the Renaissance.” We celebrate Bruckner’s 200th birthday with favorites such as Os justi, Ave Maria, and selections from the Mass in E Minor in the context of the old masters who influenced him.