Old masters (subtitled a comedy) is a novel by the austrian writer Thomas Bernhard, which was first published in 1985. It tells of the life and opinions of reger, a 'musical philosopher', through the voice of his acquain...Old masters (subtitled a comedy) is a novel by the austrian writer Thomas Bernhard, which was first published in 1985. It tells of the life and opinions of reger, a 'musical philosopher', through the voice of his acquaintance atzbacher, a 'private academic'.