The program of this literary reading with music gives us insight into Anton Brucknerâs correspondence, beginning with the first three extant letters from the year 1852, during his years in Upper Austria and particularly during his time as the parish organist at Old Cathedral in Linz from 1855 to 1868. The selected writings reveal much about the self-presentation and self-image of the musician and composer who never ceased studying. Lesser-known lieder and piano works by Bruckner allow us audibly to trace the composerâs development in the period between 1850 and 1868. In the intertwining of his words with his works, a multifaceted and surprisingly sophisticated yet uncommon image of Brucknerâs âhidden personalityâ (Elisabeth Maier) is revealed.
Born in Linz, Wolfgang Böck completed his acting training in Graz. His theater work includes appearances at the Vorarlberg Theater, Bregenz Festival, Landestheater Linz, and the Vienna Volkstheater. Böck was awarded the Josef Kainz Medal in 1984 to promote artistic talent, and in 1985â1986 he was the recipient of the Karl Skraup Award. He has been a freelance actor since 1987. Böck has appeared at the Theater in der Josefstadt in Vienna, the Zurich Schauspielhaus, the Renaissance Theater in Berlin, at the Salzburger Festival, as well as the Vienna Volksoper. He is a three-time Romy winner (2005, 2007, 2009).
Elisabeth Wimmer studied music drama (opera) at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna under Julia Bauer Huppmann, as well as lied and oratorio under Charles Spencer. From 2010 to 2015 she was the soprano for the German National Theater in Weimar, where she celebrated major successes singing roles that included Susanna, Musetta, Gretel, Sophie and Pamina. The Austrian soprano can already look back on noteworthy concert activity at home and abroad. She has performed with prominent concert partners such as the Helsingborg Symphony Orchestra, the Staatskapelle Weimar, the Südwestdeutsche Philharmonie (Southwest German Philharmonic) in Konstanz, the Vienna Jeunesse Orchestra, as well as the Ensemble Barucco, the LâOrfeo Baroque Orchestra, and the Camerata Salzburg.