Thomas Boyce wrote:

>Wasn't Bruckner Hitler's favorite composer?

One of them certainly.  They played Bruckner (slow movement from the
Seventh Symphony) over German radio when the death of Hitler was announced.
Hitler also had an orchestra formed in Linz (where both he and Bruckner
came from) just to play Bruckner's music.  It was also under Nazi
jurisdiction that the research began into getting Bruckner's scores into
order.

Hitler's favourite composer was probably Lehar.  However, as Steve Vasta
pointed out on the Mahler List recently when this question came up, they
wouldn't have played "The Merry Widow Waltz" over German radio when Hitler
died.  My mother tells me there was dancing in the streets in London,
though.

It is also interesting to remember that Hitler heard Mahler conduct Wagner
in Vienna and wrote to a friend how impressed he was by GM.  There's a
thought.

Tony Duggan, England.
Mahler recordings survey:
http://www.musicweb.uk.net/Mahler/index.html