Bruckner and women

Little sister and Berlin parlor maid

A genius in music, a failure in love: Anton Bruckner had no luck with women, even though there were plenty of them. Linz photographer Zoe Goldstein brings ten women who were once close to Bruckner into the limelight; a touring exhibition is to pay tribute to the ladies.

It is well known that Anton Bruckner's love life was a mess: unsuccessful marriage proposals, pathetic looks, an artistic career that the fathers of young ladies classified as "breadless". Linz-based photographer Zoe Goldstein also criticizes: "We never talk about who the women were!"

The great unknowns
She wants to change this with the traveling exhibition "Für Theresia. Anton Bruckner: A HerStory", which can be seen outside the Brucknerhaus in Linz from today (until March 31). She worked on the lives of ten women in the great composer's circle and designed "memorial panels" with QR codes: "Behind each code is a piece of music by Bruckner that he dedicated either directly or indirectly to that woman," she says.

Quite the caring brother
The selection of women is broad: "There is Maria Anna Bruckner, his youngest sister, who was always ill. Bruckner promised his mother on her deathbed that he would always look after 'Nani' - she lived with him until her death and took care of the household." There is also Ida Buhs, the daughter of a Berlin shoemaker, whom Bruckner met on a trip. Or Betty von Mayfeld, who organized music evenings with her husband, which Bruckner often attended.

After the Brucknerhaus, the show will move to the Ars Electronica Center (April 1 to 30), and a presentation in the Mariendom in Linz (September 1 to 30) is also planned. Further stops in the province are planned.