An Austrian Elegy was commissioned by Karl Leitner of Pabneukirchen in Upper-Austria, and is dedicated to the local society Goldhaubengruppe. It was premiered by the Pabneukirchen Wind Band on August 18, 2003. This chorale is composed in classical three-part song form and expresses the pure joy and beauty of life. The Austrian composer Thomas Asanger was inspired by the German poet Christian Morgenstern, who once wrote: "The more one loves the world, the more he will find it beautiful".