In the music studio

A long-awaited wish was fulfilled for a man of the heart

Matthias Ortner from "Matakustix" and "Herzensmensch" Hubert Offner in the studio.(Bild: Evelyn Hronek)

Hubert Offner, award-winning "Herzensmensch", makes music free of charge for all age groups. The "Krone" enabled him to spend a day in the studio.

He rehearsed for two months, the last week every day, in order to be prepared for the studio recordings. "I'm not that excited, more excited!"

Hubert Offner was honored last year as a "person of the heart". "I was so happy to receive the award, it was a wonderful honor!" says Offner enthusiastically and still remembers this special day fondly. "A big dream is to record another album with my songs," Offner told the "Krone" newspaper.

Offner surprised with a bag full of delicacies
Now the dream has become reality. Together with daughter Andrea and her husband Wolfgang Reinisch, they set off for Klagenfurt. Matthias "Matakustix" Ortner opened the doors to his music studio to make music with Offner. The sprightly Wolfsberger surprised the "Matakustix" frontman with a bag full of delicacies on the steps to the sacred hit chambers.

"I'm a big fan of the harmonica myself, coming from a blues background. It's something very special when such a young-at-heart gentleman is my guest in the studio," says Ortner, looking forward to their time together in the studio. Offner and his family are big Matakustix fans and are scattering roses for the versatile musician.  

Recording in a fully equipped studio
The 89-year-old brought a large repertoire with him for the studio session so that he could shine during the recording. The microphone was set up, the volume adjusted and Offner opened his treasure chest. "I have between 50 and 60 harmonicas at home," says the passionate musician proudly, before the first song - an original composition - is played.

Listening to the sounds of Offner, the passion literally jumps out at you. A certain lightness paired with a touch of melancholy pervades the recording room, as you can sense the life experience and interesting life story that is palpable with every note.

Love of music united
After the first recorded work - applause from daughter, son-in-law and Ortner and the next piece is tackled straight away. Ortner picked up the guitar and the two played together - generations coming together with a shared love of music. In the fully equipped studio, the two artists talk shop, discuss and exchange ideas about music. 

My life is music - it's in my blood! When I start playing, people are hooting and dancing

Hubert Offner, Mundharmonikaspieler

During the recordings, Offner tells exciting stories again and again. "I was once in a hut, sitting in front of it - it was a wonderful day, started playing and suddenly the lead cow discovered me - the other animals were scattered far and wide. Then the lead cow came up to me and suddenly about 50 head of cattle came marching up to the fence and they all listened to me."

Your hands are tingling
One by one, fast-paced numbers are played and suddenly Offner shouts: "Normally people start hooting and dancing!" This is not the case in a recording studio like this - there is "absolute silence", but the enthusiasm with which Offner plays his instrument makes your hands tingle. Some passages are repeated, whereby almost every number is a precision landing for Offner.

Daughter Andrea tells another story: "My dad went looking for mushrooms and it was 6 or 7 pm and dad didn't come home. That's when I panicked. I called the Giesl Hütte and found out that Dad had been playing music upstairs for three hours. There was a wedding party there and my dad was "Team Groom". They wouldn't let him go home - they said 'Hubert play another one'. The landlady then told me that she was sending him home - he came home around half past nine in the evening."

Melodies stay in your head
Again and again, they reach for a glass of water, moisten their lips and then get back to making music with full commitment. After an intensive studio session, the doors of the recording studio close again and everyone hums Offner's songs as they walk up the stairs.