Bryan Benner’s Adventure From Schubertviertel to Newly Revisiting Schubert’s Music in Vienna

When Bryan Benner, a classically trained singer-songwriter from The Erlkings, lived in Vienna’s Schubertviertel, the birthplace of Franz Schubert, he stumbled upon many historic signs about Franz Schubert. The young American wandered around his new neighbourhood imagining how Schubert met friends, played the piano, and generally had fun with music. Soon it hit him: Franz Schubert had been a young musician, doing exactly what Bryan was trying to do - only 200 years earlier.
Bryan Benner is a singer and guitarist of The Erlkings, a Schubert band he founded. He is an active member of the Viennese musical community, emphasizing his connection to Schubert's legacy. Benner's image of Schubert evolved from seeing him as a composing genius to a normal human being, appreciating the humanizing experience of walking the same streets of Schubertsviertel and imagining shared experiences.
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▬In this video: ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬
00:00 - Intro Bryan Benner
00:41 - Schubertviertel
02:29 - About Schubert’s Songs
02:57 - The Erlkings
04:28 Schubert’s burial place
05:09 Schubertiade, Vorarlberg
▬Falling in love with Vienna ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬
Bryan arrived in Vienna in 2011, with his guitar in his hand and a dream to further sharpen his musical skills. By that time, he was a passionate opera singer, songwriter, composer, and street musician. Earning a coveted spot at the Music and Arts University of Vienna, he deeply immersed himself in the city’s music culture. “I immediately fell in love with Vienna. The city’s music legacy is inspirational and energizing for any musician, and it struck me very quickly: I am now living where it all happened-and still happens today.”
At university in Vienna Bryan studied the Kunstlied (art song), a classical music genre made widely popular by Franz Schubert. The Kunstlied took German poems and folksongs and transformed them into classical music masterpieces. “As a singer-songwriter, I was immediately connected to Schubert’s beautiful melodies and poems, but they also posed a bit of a challenge for me.”
▬An artistic challenge ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬
Traditionally, playing Schubert’s Kunstlied requires a grand piano, an instrument not easily squeezed into a student apartment. Each time he wanted to practice, Bryan had to find a pianist and space with a piano. He also needed to learn German. For a while, Bryan worked hard to honour the traditions of this beautiful music. “I continued to passionately practice Schubert’s songs with a pianist and a piano, and I sang the songs in the original language of German.”
At the time Bryan lived in the Schubertviertel, the neighbourhood in Vienna where Franz Schubert was born. Everywhere he turned, he’d see historic
signs about Schubert. “I began to imagine how Schubert met his friends, played the piano, drank, and had a jolly time.” Bryan began experimenting
with the art songs on guitar, an instrument in which he is very skilled and always carries with him. Working on the first song he translated, “Der König in Thule,“
Bryan began to see just how much these art songs had in common with folk songs--that they could be performed with similar simplicity and directness.
Inspired, Bryan founded his first ensemble in Vienna: The Erlkings, named after Franz Schubert’s most famous Lied. The band of four sees itself as the bridge between today’s acoustic singer-songwriters and the great Lieder composers of the past. “Together with our voices, guitar, cello, tuba, drums, and vibraphones
we create a new sound.”
▬Reaching new peaks ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬
For Bryan playing at the renowned Schubertiade Festival, set amidst Austria’s
alpine peaks in the Vorarlberg region, was a personal highlight. Featuring the world’s best Lieder performers as well as newcomers, no other festival presents so many song recitals in such a short period of time. “For me, this was the most significant confirmation and proof of concept that such a discerning,
international audience would like our new and radical take on Schubert. This was extremely gratifying and certainly the peak of my career.”
#musicinvienna #schubertsbirthplace #schubertiadefestival #vorarlberg #musiclegacy #musiclovers #famouscomposer #chambermusic #kunstlied
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