Vinzenz Goller (1873-1953): Festpraeludium in memoriam Anton Bruckner

As well as being a major figure in Austrian church music (he set up the church music department at the Vienna Music Academy) he fought in WW1, was taken prisoner of war in Mantua, escaped and fled over the mountains to Switzerland. He was also politically involved, becoming mayor of Klosterneuberg in 1936, before being removed by the National Socialists in 1938. Two of his children were members of the resistance, and suffered greatly as a result of their betrayal and capture. The Festpräludium was composed for the unveiling in 1937 of the bust of Bruckner in the Walhalla near Regensburg, Bavaria—a repository of memorials to significant figures in German history—an event culturally misappropriated by the National Socialists. Fortunately, newer memorials there include figures such as resistance activist Sophie Scholl, and a plaque dedicated to the 'Widerstand' (the German resistance to Nazism.) Notwithstanding the Nazi tainting of the Bruckner unveiling, Goller's Festpräludium is a grand tribute, based on motifs from the 5th Symphony.