Born to a Jewish family, his parents and elder brothers were detained in Dachau concentration camp after Germany had invaded Austria.

[1] In the mid-1980s, disheartened by his country's sharp turn to the right (Kurt Waldheim's presidency) and dismayed by the antisemitism he felt was becoming more prevalent there, Bronner moved to the United States, and lived in Boca Raton, Florida.

Suddenly free from the demands of celebrity, he began to relax and enjoy the more casual American lifestyle.

Bronner continued to compose and write, and frequently visited Vienna to do concerts, book tours and television appearances.

After nearly 15 years in the States — and after having become a naturalized American citizen — an opportunity arose to return to his beloved Vienna, where he was asked to run a small independent theater.