On Bruckner and Ideology

Since the 1990s, claims that Anton Bruckner has been 'appropriated' or 'annexed' by the Third Reich have surfaced among a number of scholarly works. With reference to contributions by Benjamin M. Korstvedt and other writers in this field, this article first discusses why the possible connections between Bruckner and the Nazis deserve our attention. After that, it offers a critical evalution on an attempt to separate ideological elements from musical criticism in the study of Bruckner. This paper then turns to examine the view that there are immanent qualities in Bruckner's symphonies that explain why the Nazis were particularly taken with them.