Just what is going on inside the Bruckner Belvedere rooms?

Just what is going on inside the Bruckner Belvedere rooms?
Bruckner's room at Belvedere - A boom box and a printer??
As most of us know, Anton Bruckner died on October 11, 1896 in his residence at the Upper Belvedere Palace in Vienna. Visitors today can see a plaque on the outside wall of the "caretaker's room." This room was offered to Bruckner by Emperor Franz Joseph during Bruckner's last years in order that he not need to climb stairs in his weakened condition. It was in these rooms that Bruckner struggled on the Finale to his Ninth Symphony, a work that today is widely accepted as one of the greatest symphonic compositions ever written.

Given these facts, one cannot help but wonder what these rooms are used for today. While Bruckner's birth house in Ansfelden has been transformed into a museum honoring the composer, the room where he died in Vienna is completely off limits to the public. On the three occasions that the Bruckner Tour has visited Belvedere, requests for admission have been denied.

Recently, information has come to us that indicates that these rooms are being used in much the same way today as they were in Bruckner's time. At present, an elderly woman lives in the rooms and is living there - at low rent - at the invitation of the City of Vienna. Her husband, a judge who worked for the government, was offered the rooms many years ago and he died there several years ago. His widow is now in her nineties. According to her grandson, she used to occasionally let curious visitors into the rooms, but that stopped as she grew older and it became more difficult for her to move around.

Since the Upper Belvedere Palace is now the home of an art museum and a major visitor's attraction, one would think that city officials would consider making these rooms a place to visit and reflect on the creative struggles that once took place within these walls and to celebrate the man who brought so much incredible music to the world.