Anton Bruckner, composer

Born: September 4, 1824 in Ansfelden, Austria

Died: October 11, 1896 in Vienna, Austria

Education: Bruckner spent many years studying counterpoint and composition via correspondence course; he ultimately passed exams at Vienna Conservatory in 1861.

Assignments: spent early years as organist and choirmaster at a church in Linz; 1868, admitted to faculty of the Vienna Conservatory

Best known for: Of all of the late Romantic composers, Bruckner is perhaps best remembered as one of the simplest and most homely. His symphonies, though often grand and heavy in scale, are not constrained by the intellectual or philosophical gravity of Brahms or Wagner, for example. Bruckner’s plain faith and unaffected manner are reflected in his numerous choral works.

Notable compositions: Symphony No. 4 (“Romantic”), 1874–88 Os justi for chorus, c. 1879 Symphony No. 9 (“Unfinished”), 1887–96 String Quartet in C minor, c. 1862 Te Deum for chorus, organ and orchestra, 1881–84

Quote: Famed Viennese music critic Hans Graf once commented that Bruckner “…pondered over chordes and chord associations as a medieval architect contemplated the forms of a Gothic cathedral.”