The article features the Brucker Organ stamp from Austria in 1996. This famous instrument in the old cathedral in Linz carries the nickname of the “Bruckner organ,” after the composer Anton Bruckner. This famous organist and composer was born in the nearby town of Ansfelden in 1824 and was a choir boy in the cathedral. He was later the organist for the parish and the organ was an inspiration for many of his compositions. When Bruckner died, his request was to be buried below this organ. He is now in the crypt of the cathedral, directly below the organ. The postage stamp commemorates the centennial of Bruckner’s death in 1896.
Anton Bruckner
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Anton Bruckner was an important figure in Austrian music, representing both the culmination of Austro-German romanticism, and an early figure in establishing modernism. His use of dissonances, unusual modulations, and unusual harmonies made him a radical in Viennese music circles. His most famous works are his large pieces including his symphonies, masses, and Te Deum.
Bruckner was one of eleven children and his first music teacher was his father. Bruckner began playing the pipe organ as a young child. He first composition was the motet Pange lingua, which he wrote in 1835. At the age of 13, Bruckner lost his father, and went to live at the monastery in Sankt Florian. He became a choirboy, continued to study organ, and learned the violin. Bruckner was in awe of the great organ and sometimes played it for mass. He gained an appointment as an organist there in 1848. He would consider the organ a major influence on his music throughout his life and this is the instrument that would later carry his name.
Beginning in 1855, Bruckner began studying music and composition seriously with a series of teachers in Vienna. He split his time between Sankt Florian and Vienna until 1868 when he began to teach music theory at the Vienna Conservatory. He only gained popular acclaim at the age of 60 in 1884 after the premiere of his Seventh Symphony, and gained much greater recognition after his death in 1896.
The Stamp
The beautiful stamp has two elements that relate to Bruckner. The top portion of the stamp features the “Bruckner organ.” On the bottom of hte stamp are the opening bars from the Kyrie of the Missa Solmnis in B-flat minor in Bruckner’s own hand. He wrote the composition when he was the organist at Sankt Florian. The stamp designer was Gerhart Schmirl. Learn more about this stamp and other organ stamps here.
The Organ
The “Bruckner organ” is by the Slovenian builder and priest Franz Xaver Krismann. It was built and installed between 1770 and 1774. It has three manuals and 74 stops. When Bruckner was playing the organ in the 1840s through 1860s it was in nearly original condition. Beginning in the 1870s, the organ saw many renovations, including a replacement of approximately 1/3 of the pipes, and the addition of a fourth manual. In the 1930s, the instrument was updated with an electro-pneumatic keyboard action. Finally, in the 1990s, the organ was made into an electric organ with an automatic playback system. The current organ has 7386 pipes.
Listen to a Bruckner piece on this magnificent instrument!
