Brucknerhaus affair

Complete audit may still take months

The Brucknerhaus in Linz is 50 years old - and in crisis

(Bild: Horst Einöder/Flashpictures)

The LIVA Supervisory Board met today for a special meeting to take further steps in the Brucknerhaus affair. The contract with a German artists' agency, concluded during the Kerschbaum era, was on the agenda, as were the next steps. The "Krone" has the first results.

Following allegations of questionable self-dealing, Dietmar Kerschbaum, Artistic Director of the Linz Brucknerhaus, was dismissed by the LIVA Supervisory Board on March 15. The commercial director Rainer Stadler was also suspended, as we reported.

Second meeting in the affair
Another extraordinary Supervisory Board meeting was held today. On the agenda was the Opus 3 contract; under the Kerschbaum era, a contract had been concluded with a large international artists' agency. However, information was also provided on the status quo of the current investigations as a whole.

Artists' agency is history
After careful examination and on the recommendation of the new Commercial Director René Esterbauer, the Supervisory Board unanimously decided to terminate the contract with Opus 3 Artists prematurely. The review showed that this would not lead to any economic disadvantage for LIVA or the program yet to be created. 

Mayor Klaus Luger is also Chairman of the Supervisory Board of LIVA

(Bild: Wenzel Markus)

Dramaturgy from the house
The agendas, which largely concern the design of the program, will be taken over by the artistic operations office and the in-house dramaturges. The intention is to employ a further in-house dramaturge, and a call for applications is being issued.

Allegations under further investigation
After obtaining corresponding offers, KPMG (an auditing and tax consultancy firm) was commissioned to carry out an intensive compliance audit. It is not yet possible to make a reliable statement about how long it will take to produce a report. Based on experience, the audit is expected to take up to four months. 

The municipal audit office has also been working intensively on the special audit of LIVA since it was commissioned by Mayor and LIVA Supervisory Board Chairman Klaus Luger on March 12, 2024.