Performing the Austrian national anthem with an Oscar-winning composer in front of an audience of millions? It sounds like a dream, but for 50 music-loving motorsport fans, it’s a dream that is about to come true. They all entered the Anthem of your Life competition on the music game app MyGroove and were hand-picked by star percussionist Martin Gruber to join him in the spectacular rendition at the 2024 Formula 1 Qatar Airways Grand Prix of Austria.
The stories of the winners, who will belting out the reinterpreted anthem on the home straight of the Red Bull Ring on race Sunday, are every bit as interesting as the novel concept of performing the Austrian national anthem with amateur musicians at the country’s biggest motorsport event. When the competition was first opened to the public, winner Tabea had never picked up a guitar before.
“When I heard about this challenge by chance on the radio, I thought it was the perfect opportunity for me as a huge Formula 1 fan to really get stuck in and start practising on the electric guitar.” Tomorrow she will join Grubinger, Hans Zimmer and the MyGroove All-Star Band in front of the drivers lined up on the grid.
From 7 to 50 years
Siblings Daniele and Emanuela, who have travelled all the way from Baden-Württemberg to the Red Bull Ring, are also sparing no effort. The twelve winners from Steiermark, Austria, have the shortest journey. The youngest participant is Ella Anna from Salzburg. According to the panel of judges, the seven-year-old submitted the cutest application.
Burgenland’s winner Consti is just one year older. His first entry resulted from a workshop with Martin Grubinger. “He still needed a lot of practice at that stage,” says Grubinger, who was all the more surprised by the youngster’s enhanced performance four weeks later. “The improvement was very obvious, and he emerged as one of our winners.” Aged 50, Kurt is one of the oldest participants in Anthem of your Life. He was motivated to take part by his daughter Anna. A father-son duo comes from Tyrol, one half of which is well known. It’s the former pop star Michael Tschuggnall, who is there with his son Noah.
Oscar winner arranges 'Land der Berge'
No less a figure than composer, arranger and Hollywood music producer Hans Zimmer (Dune, The Lion King, Gladiator and Inception) has been tasked with arranging the country’s national anthem for this year’s race.
“With my new interpretation, I have tried to honour the Austrian anthem while giving it a new sound. It will be a bit more rock ‘n’ roll, a bit more electronic and a bit more risqué”, said Zimmer.
No fewer than 7,000 people learned and rehearsed Hymn of your Life on the MyGroove app and hundreds of entries were submitted. “With this new version of the anthem, Formula 1 is going to experience something unprecedented in its long history,” says Grubinger with conviction.
