Thousands at the open air

Bruckner Orchestra and folkshilfe filled the square

Great atmosphere under the evening sky on the main square(Bild: reinhard winkler)

What an unusual birthday serenade! On Thursday, "Quetschn synth-pop masters" folkshilfe performed together with the Bruckner Orchestra on Linz's main square. Further support came from cello virtuoso Kian Soltani. Thousands enjoyed the free concert. At the end, the blessing also came "from above".

You could see the joy in the musicians on the stage on Linz's main square: Together they celebrated a unique open-air concert that will not be repeated so soon.

The hitmakers folkshilfe - Paul Slaviczek, Gabriel Fröhlich, Florian Ritt - performed for the first time with the Bruckner Orchestra Linz under Markus Poschner. This made the band's well-known catchy tunes even more groovy. The arrangements were created by the Upper Austrian composer Johannes Berauer.

Several thousand music enthusiasts
The young Austrian cellist Kian Soltani was also a virtuoso in the round. He swept over the astonished, huge crowd with Gulda's legendary hits from jazz, romanticism and beer tent music, who thanked him with thunderous applause. Then Rossini, Wagner, Bruckner and John Williams - all in all, the unusual rendezvous thrilled around 6000 people who had come to the free event.

The audience was carried away - even by classical music
The overall performance was so gripping that the ears got used to the over-amplified "sound". It's just different in the open air than in a concert hall. And it became clear once again that no distinction should be made between light music and serious music. It is better to enjoy how the individual dialects of the musical language are mastered.

The weather god held back until the last song. Then he sent his well-deserved blessing from above. That was a first "Happy Birthday, Anton Bruckner!". The second will follow on September 4 in Ansfelden, we reported.