Hubert von Goisern will receive the Amadeus for his life’s work at the Austrian Music Awards on April 26th at the Vienna Volkstheater, this was announced by IFPI Austria, the Association of the Austrian Music Industry.
The musician and songwriter Hubert von Goisern is being honored “for his diverse work and his initiatives that go far beyond the musical,” it said in a press release.
Hubert von Goisern is honored at the Amadeus Awards “for his diverse work and initiatives”.
Folk music, rock, jazz, world: Hubert von Goisern is difficult to assign to a genre. The term “alpine rock” was established as an attempt to describe his style. This hardly does justice to his music, because Hubert von Goisern always thought and worked across borders – not just in music: “The diversity in his work, the diverse influences from other cultures and the messages that he conveys through his music, make Hubert von Goisern a unique artist who has had a lasting impact on Austrian music,” said IFPI President Dietmar Lienbacher.
Hubert Achleitner, the artist’s real name, was born on November 17, 1952 in Bad Goisern. At first he repeatedly let himself be talked out of his desire to become a professional musician, went to South Africa as a chemical laboratory technician, later to Canada and finally to Vienna, where he studied electroacoustics and experimental music at the University of Music. The beginning of his artistic career was marked by one of his best-known and most successful songs, “Koa Hiatamadl”, a rock reinterpretation of a folk song that von Goisern released in 1992 with his then band Alpinkatzen and which dominated the charts for weeks. In 2011, according to an IFPI press release, his song “Brenna tuats guat” broke all records and made it not only to number 1 in the Austrian but also in the German charts. In his texts he conveys, above all, cosmopolitanism and unity among all people.
Hubert von Goisern developed his own “Von Goisern style”
“Hubert von Goisern always moves between tradition and modernity, between folk and world music,” it was emphasized. Through the critical examination of his environment, the constant challenge and development of creative, new works and stage performances, he makes it out of the Salzkammergut and into the world. On various trips – to Canada, the Philippines or Tibet – the musician collected impressions and absorbed cultural influences and musical styles. “He combined all of this in his own work and created his own “Von Goisern style” that was completely new to Austria.
The musician has already received six “regular” Amadeus Awards in various categories, including Pop/Rock, Jazz/Blues/World and the “Artist of the Year” award. In 2013 he was awarded an honorary prize for music that connects genres and peoples. In 2018, the artist himself launched a cultural award with which he supports musicians every year.