Anton Bruckner – 1000 Schilling banknote from 1954
This 4 September 2024 marks the 200th anniversary of the birth of Anton Bruckner, one of Austria's most important composers. His portrait can be found on the 1000 schilling banknote from 1954.
Born in Ansfelden near Linz, Upper Austria in 1824, he came into contact with music at an early age through his father, who was a teacher. After his father's early death, Bruckner was sent to the nearby Augustinian monastery of St Florian, where he also received music lessons as a choirboy. He subsequently trained as a teacher and initially taught as an assistant teacher himself. At the same time, he composed his first works for masses and perfected his organ playing. This also led to him taking over the vacant position of organist at Linz Cathedral and increasingly turning his attention to music. As a composer and choirmaster in Linz, Bruckner wrote numerous pieces.
His compositions were not without criticism in Vienna, where he lived from the end of the 1860s and worked as a teacher of music theory at the conservatory. In the mid-1880s, Bruckner's compositions experienced a heyday, which began with the premiere of Symphony No. 7 in Leipzig. Bruckner's music became established both at home and abroad. After a long illness, he died in 1896 and was buried in St Florian's Abbey Basilica. The most important works in his oeuvre include his large-scale and virtuoso symphonies. He also enriched church music with important compositions - including three large masses and the Te Deum. For the latter, he was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Order of Franz Joseph by Emperor Franz Joseph I.
Bruckner's portrait is not only found on numerous commemorative coins and medals, but also, as mentioned at the beginning, on the 1000 schilling banknote from 1954. Shortly after the end of the Second World War and as late as December 1945, the Oesterreichische Nationalbank had new banknotes designed for the young Second Republic, although these were still produced with the printing plates of the First Republic (‘interim notes’). The already established graphic designers Roman Hellmann (1921-2012) and Erhard Amadeus-Dier (1893-1969) were commissioned to design the subsequent new series from 1954. At this time, Hellmann was already primarily responsible for ensuring the design and security processes for printing banknotes on behalf of the National Bank. Rudolf Zenziger (1891-1978) and Rudolf Toth (1918-2009) took over the engraving. In addition to Austrian composers, poets, writers, doctors and Nobel Prize winners were also to be depicted on the various denominations of the 1950s series.
The 1000 schilling banknote features a portrait of Anton Bruckner on one side and the famous organ of St Florian's Abbey in Ansfelden, which still bears his name today, on the other.
Image: Roman Hellmann, Erhard Amadeus-Dier, 1000 Schilling, Austria, 2nd Republic, 1954, PG 38227.
