Concert in ice caves

Dachstein Glacier: The tears of eternal ice

Peter Brugger at the "Eisklang" concert in the Dachstein ice caves(Bild: Manfred Schöpf)

Every year, the glass grand piano is transported into the Parzifal Dome of the Dachstein Giant Ice Caves - hard work for "Eisklang" concerts. For the first time this year there will also be sound installations: The glacier melt will be combined with the bells of Notre Dame to form a duet.

The glass grand piano weighs 550 kilograms. "It was dismantled and brought to the Parsifal Dome of the Dachstein Giant Ice Caves in Obertraun at the end of July," says Peter Brugger. The grand piano needs special oils in the cold, and: "It was reassembled in the cave." Now it is ready for "Eisklang".

Brugger, pianist and director of the Landesmusikschule Bad Goisern, has been pulling the strings at this concert series, which takes place every summer, for 16 years. In his eyes, it is becoming ever more precious, as climate change is affecting the eternal ice of the glacier: "Our concerts are a musical exploration of the phenomenal, crystal-clear acoustics that only this ice cave can offer us."

Peter Brugger from Goisern(Bild: Elisabeth Rathenböck)

However, the unique sound experience has an expiration date: "The melting is shocking. Once the ice is completely gone, the acoustics will change."

(Bild: Fontana, Kulturhauptstadt Bad Ischl Salzkammergut 2024)

Bruckner and yodels
The "Eisklang" concerts will kick off with pop singer Bernadette La Hengst and Brugger, who will play works by Schönberg and others on the glass grand piano (16. 8.). Then trumpeter Thomas Gansch (Mnozil Brass) meets keyboard wizard Michael Hornek (30. 8.). Vocal artist Christian Zehnder and the Yodel Trio from Ausseerland will conclude the program. And a bridge is built to Anton Bruckner, as the Linz Ars Electronica contributes a "Locus Iste" installation (6. 9.).

The tears of the glacier and the silent bells
Last year, Brugger toured the Dachstein with US sound artist Bill Fontana, a student of John Cage, to record the sounds of the melting glacier. In his sound work "Silent Echoes", Fontana combines the tears of the glacier with sound vibrations emitted by the bells of Notre Dame (at a standstill).

The unusual sound duet will be presented from September 3 in the ice caves and at the Pompidou Center in Paris. On September 4, it will also be broadcast in the Mariendom in Linz to mark the 200th anniversary of Anton Bruckner 's birth.