www.bruckner-online.at - Webarchive for Bruckner research

The aim of the project bruckner-online is a comprehensive Bruckner Internet portal (web archive), which does not only include the electronic documentation of all manuscripts, but also all compositions, germane persons and places. Moreover complete digital copies of all sources shall be provided. This project, which is uinque in the world, is aimed at creating new possibilities of research for science and concert practice. In the first phase of the project, which is proposed here, all musical manuscripts from Austria and elsewhere shall be documented. Currently 628 signatures have been compiled in a database, of these 72 sources have already been completed with full philological comments, further 101 sources in part. A significant synergy came about with the mainly finished digitalization of the Bruckner autographs by the Department of Music of the Austrian National Library (ÖNB). Along with that, about 6.800 high-quality colour pictures of sources from Lower and Upper Austrianarchives (Stifte (monasteries) Seitenstetten, St. FlorianandKremsmünster, Oberösterreichisches Landesmuseum et al.) were produced. Regarding philological comments a further synergy comes about, as the reports published within the context of the Neue Kritische Bruckner-Gesamtausgabe can be used for the project. For all compositions, for which such reports are not available yet, it will necessary to make new inquiries. The information of the reports is particularly relevant in the fields of copyist, format, extent, measurement, paper / watermarks, writing instrument and for the free text. The publication in this electronic form provides aside from the vast reduction in costs and the conservational protection of the original manuscripts significant advantages for the users: By the use of complex search modes all sources of the very same work can be easily found and/or be correlated with the names of copyists or other handwritten entries (for example datings). Especially the inclusion of contemporary transcripts constitutes an important desideratum of transmission history. Furthermore the database enables practicing artists to easily compare different versions of one specific work, what especially in the case of Bruckner often is a central issue. Of course this form of publication will make it possible to work in new insights or newly discovered sources quickly and therefore to guarantee always the latest state of research to an international circle of interested people. With this proposal the cost absorption for the online edition of www.bruckner-online.at is requested. The costs for the previous disclosure and documentary work as well as for the digitalizing of the sources not belonging to the ÖNB were borne by the Department of Musicology of the Austrian Academy of Sciences (ÖAW).