“Vienna is a handsome, lively city, and pleases me exceedingly.” – Frederic Chopin
Welcome to the Travel Tuesday meme! Join me every Tuesday and showcase your creativity in photography, painting and drawing, music, poetry, creative writing or a plain old natter about Travel.
There is only one simple rule: Link your own creative work about some aspect of travel and share it with the rest of us. Please use this meme for your creative endeavours only.
Do not use this meme to advertise your products or services as any links or comments by advertisers will be removed immediately.
The Belvedere is a historic building complex in Vienna, Austria, consisting of two Baroque palaces (the Upper and Lower Belvedere), the Orangery, and the Palace Stables. The buildings are set in a Baroque park landscape in the third district of the city, on the south-eastern edge of its centre. It houses the Belvedere museum.
The grounds are set on a gentle gradient and include decorative tiered fountains and cascades, Baroque sculptures, and majestic wrought iron gates. The Baroque palace complex was built as a summer residence for Prince Eugene of Savoy.
The Belvedere was built during a period of extensive construction in Vienna, which at the time was both the imperial capital and home to the ruling Habsburg dynasty. This period of prosperity followed on from the commander-in-chief Prince Eugene of Savoy's successful conclusion of a series of wars against the Ottoman Empire.
MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM THE CHRISTMAS MARKET OF VIENNA, AUSTRIA!
“The streets of
Vienna are paved with culture, the streets of other cities with asphalt.” -
Karl Kraus
Welcome to the Travel Tuesday meme! Join me every Tuesday and showcase your creativity in photography, painting and drawing, music, poetry, creative writing or a plain old natter about Travel.
There is only one simple rule: Link your own creative work about some aspect of travel and share it with the rest of us. Please use this meme for your creative endeavours only.
Do not use this meme to advertise your products or services as any links or comments by advertisers will be removed immediately.
Vienna (German: Wien) is the capital and largest city of
Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary
city, with a population of about 1.8 million (2.6 million within the
metropolitan area, nearly one third of Austria's population, and its cultural,
economic, and political centre. It is the 7th-largest city by population within
city limits in the European Union. Until the beginning of the 20th century, it
was the largest German-speaking city in the world, and before the splitting of
the Austro-Hungarian Empire in World War I, the city had 2 million inhabitants.
Today, it has the second largest number of German speakers after Berlin.
Vienna is host
to many major international organisations, including the United Nations and
OPEC. The city is located in the eastern part of Austria and is close to the
borders of the Czechia, Slovakia, and Hungary. These regions work together in a
European Centrope border region. Along with nearby Bratislava, Vienna forms a
metropolitan region with 3 million inhabitants. In 2001, the city centre was
designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site. In July 2017 it was moved to the list
of World Heritage in Danger.
Apart from being
regarded as the “City of Music” because of its musical legacy, Vienna is also
said to be “The City of Dreams” because it was home to the world's first
psychoanalyst – Sigmund Freud. The city's roots lie in early Celtic and Roman
settlements that transformed into a Medieval and Baroque city, and then the
capital of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. It is well known for having played an
essential role as a leading European music centre, from the great age of
Viennese Classicism through the early part of the 20th century. The historic
centre of Vienna is rich in architectural ensembles, including Baroque castles
and gardens, and the late-19th-century Ringstraße lined with grand buildings,
monuments and parks.
Vienna is known
for its high quality of life. In a 2005 study of 127 world cities, the
Economist Intelligence Unit ranked the city first (in a tie with Vancouver,
Canada and San Francisco, USA) for the world’s most liveable cities. Between
2011 and 2015, Vienna was ranked second, behind Melbourne, Australia. For eight
consecutive years (2009–2016), the human-resource-consulting firm Mercer ranked
Vienna first in its annual "Quality of Living" survey of hundreds of
cities around the world, a title the city still held in 2016. Monocle's 2015 “Quality
of Life Survey” ranked Vienna second on a list of the top 25 cities in the
world “to make a base within.”
The UN-Habitat
has classified Vienna as being the most prosperous city in the world in
2012/2013. The city was ranked 1st globally for its culture of innovation in
2007 and 2008, and sixth globally (out of 256 cities) in the 2014 Innovation
Cities Index, which analysed 162 indicators in covering three areas: Culture,
infrastructure, and markets. Vienna regularly hosts urban planning conferences
and is often used as a case study by urban planners. Between 2005 and 2010,
Vienna was the world’s number-one destination for international congresses and
conventions. It attracts over 6.8 million tourists a year.
“I have the gift of neither the spoken nor the written word, especially if I have to say something about myself or my work. Whoever wants to know something about me -as an artist, the only notable thing- ought to look carefully at my pictures and try and see in them what I am and what I want to do.” ― Gustav Klimt
I recently purchased the monumental “Gustav Klimt – The complete Paintings” hardcover, large format book (26.7 x 5.1 x 34.8 cm over 600 pp!) published by the always dependable Taschen and edited by Tobias G. Natter.
It is a wonderful book illustrated lavishly in colour, printed on good quality paper and brimming with new photographs of familiar works, but also containing some gems that were previously unknown to me. I have started to read it and the style is academic and at times overly critical (in the sense of “art-criticese”), however, the text is informative and full of contemporary material that relates to the artist, including extracts from his writings.
One of my favourite artists, the Viennese Gustav Klimt (1862-1918) still surprises with his overt eroticism, amazingly intricate surface designs, and experimentation. Although a little expensive (I’ve seen prices between $80 and $250 online and in bookshops), it’s worth it!
*** *** ***
Gustav Klimt, (born July 14, 1862, Vienna, Austria—died February 6, 1918, Vienna), Austrian painter, founder of the school of painting known as the Vienna Sezession. After studying at the Vienna School of Decorative Arts, Klimt in 1883 opened an independent studio specializing in the execution of mural paintings. His early work had a classical style that was typical of late 19th-century academic painting, as can be seen in his murals for the Vienna Burgtheater (1888) and on the staircase of the Kunsthistorisches Museum.
In 1897 Klimt’s mature style emerged, and he founded the Vienna Sezession, a group of painters who revolted against academic art in favour of a highly decorative style similar to Art Nouveau. Soon thereafter he painted three allegorical murals for the ceiling of the University of Vienna auditorium that were violently criticized; the erotic symbolism and pessimism of these works created such a scandal that the murals were rejected. His later murals, the Beethoven Frieze (1902) and the murals (1909–11) in the dining room of the Stoclet House in Brussels, are characterized by precisely linear drawing and the bold and arbitrary use of flat, decorative patterns of colour and gold leaf.
Klimt’s most successful works include The Kiss (1908–09) and a series of portraits of fashionable Viennese matrons, such as Fritza Riedler (1906) and Adele Bloch-Bauer I (1907). In these works he treats the human figure without shadow and heightens the lush sensuality of skin by surrounding it with areas of flat, highly ornamental, brilliantly composed areas of decoration.
“Vienna is a
handsome, lively city, and pleases me exceedingly.” - Frederic Chopin
Welcome to the Travel Tuesday meme! Join me every Tuesday and showcase your creativity in photography, painting and drawing, music, poetry, creative writing or a plain old natter about Travel.
There is only one simple rule: Link your own creative work about some aspect of travel and share it with the rest of us. Please use this meme for your creative endeavours only.
Do not use this meme to advertise your products or services as any links or comments by advertisers will be removed immediately.
Vienna (German: Wien) is the capital and largest city of
Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria’s primary
city, with a population of about 1.8 million (2.6 million within the
metropolitan area, nearly one third of Austria’s population, and its cultural,
economic, and political centre. It is the 7th-largest city by population within
city limits in the European Union. Until the beginning of the 20th century, it
was the largest German-speaking city in the world, and before the splitting of
the Austro-Hungarian Empire in World War I, the city had 2 million inhabitants.
Today, it has the second largest number of German speakers after Berlin.
Vienna is host
to many major international organisations, including the United Nations and
OPEC. The city is located in the eastern part of Austria and is close to the
borders of the Czechia, Slovakia, and Hungary. These regions work together in a
European Centrope border region. Along with nearby Bratislava, Vienna forms a
metropolitan region with 3 million inhabitants. In 2001, the city centre was
designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site. In July 2017 it was moved to the list
of World Heritage in Danger. Apart from being regarded as the “City of Music” because
of its musical legacy, Vienna is also said to be “The City of Dreams” because
it was home to the world’s first psychoanalyst – Sigmund Freud.
The city’s roots
lie in early Celtic and Roman settlements that transformed into a Medieval and
Baroque city, and then the capital of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. It is well
known for having played an essential role as a leading European music centre,
from the great age of Viennese Classicism through the early part of the 20th
century. The historic centre of Vienna is rich in architectural ensembles,
including Baroque castles and gardens, and the late-19th-century Ringstraße
lined with grand buildings, monuments and parks.
Vienna is known
for its high quality of life. In a 2005 study of 127 world cities, the
Economist Intelligence Unit ranked the city first (in a tie with Vancouver,
Canada and San Francisco, USA) for the world's most liveable cities. Between
2011 and 2015, Vienna was ranked second, behind Melbourne, Australia. For eight
consecutive years (2009–2016), the human-resource-consulting firm Mercer ranked
Vienna first in its annual ‘Quality of Living’ survey of hundreds of cities
around the world, a title the city still held in 2016. Monocle’s 2015 ‘Quality
of Life Survey’ ranked Vienna second on a list of the top 25 cities in the
world “to make a base within.”
The UN-Habitat
has classified Vienna as being the most prosperous city in the world in
2012/2013. The city was ranked 1st globally for its culture of innovation in
2007 and 2008, and sixth globally (out of 256 cities) in the 2014 Innovation
Cities Index, which analysed 162 indicators in covering three areas: Culture,
infrastructure, and markets. Vienna regularly hosts urban planning conferences
and is often used as a case study by urban planners. Between 2005 and 2010,
Vienna was the world's number-one destination for international congresses and
conventions. It attracts over 6.8 million tourists a year.
“Vienna is a handsome, lively city, and pleases me exceedingly.” - Frédéric Chopin
The Vienna New Year’s Concert (Neujahrskonzert der Wiener Philharmoniker) is a concert of classical music performed by the Vienna Philharmonic that takes place each year in the morning of New Year’s Day in Vienna, Austria, and is regarded by many as the most important classical concert worldwide. It was broadcast live around the world to an estimated audience of more than 50 million in 73 countries in 2012 and 93 countries in 2017. The concerts have been held in the “Goldener Saal” (Golden Hall) of the Musikverein since 1939.
The music always includes pieces from the Strauss family (Johann Strauss I, Johann Strauss II, Josef Strauss and Eduard Strauss) with occasional additional music from other mainly Austrian composers, including Joseph Hellmesberger Jr., Joseph Lanner, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Otto Nicolai (the Vienna Philharmonic’s founder), Emil von Reznicek, Franz Schubert, Franz von Suppé, and Karl Michael Ziehrer.
There had been a tradition of concerts on New Year’s Day in Vienna since 1838, but not with music of the Strauss family. From 1928 to 1933 there were five New Year concerts in the Musikverein, conducted by Johann Strauss III. These concerts were broadcast by the RAVAG. In 1939, Clemens Krauss, with the support of Vienna Gauleiter Baldur von Schirach, devised a New Year concert, which the orchestra dedicated to Kriegswinterhilfswerk (Winter War Relief), to improve morale at the front lines. After World War II, this concert survived, as the Nazi origins were largely forgotten, until more recently.
Here is the New Year’s Concert of 1987, with conductor Herbert von Karajan. The program has as follows: 1. Beginning/inicio (2:04): Der Zigeunerbaron: Ouvertüre – Johann Strauß 2. 10:06 – Sphärenklänge: Walzer – Josef Strauß 3. 19:34 – Annen Polka: Polka française – Johann Strauß 4. 23:56 – Delirien-Walzer – Josef Strauß 5. 33:28 – Die Fledermaus: Ouvertüre – Johann Strauß 6. 42:24 – Beliebte Annen-Polka – Johann Strauß 7. 45:52 – Vergnügungszug: Polka schnell – Johann Strauß 8. 48:48 – Pizzicato-Polka – Johann Strauß 9. 51:48 – Kaiser-Walzer – Johann Strauß 10. 1:03:34 – Perpetuum Mobile, Musikalischer Scherz – Johann Strauß 11. 1:06:36 – Unter Donner und Blitz – Johann Strauß 12. 1:10:28 – Frühlingsstimmen: Walzer (Kathleen Battle – Sopran) – Johann Strauß 13. 1:19:18 – Ohne Sorgen: Polka schnell – Josef Strauß 14. 1:21:22 – An der schönen blauen Donau: Walzer – Johann Strauß (Neujahrsgruß nicht anwesend - no se presenta – not given). 15. 1:31:50 – Radetzky-Marsch - Johann Strauß, Vater
“We still have to overcome the notion that a clarinet squeaks. People need to remember what a beautiful instrument it is, including in popular music.” - Anat Cohen
Antonio Casimir Cartellieri (27 September 1772 - 2 September 1807) was a Polish-Austrian composer, violinist, conductor, and voice teacher. His reputation dissipated after his death, not to be resurrected until the late 20th century. One son was the spa physician Paul Cartellieri. Another, Josef Cartellieri, compiled some largely second-hand biogaphical notes about the father he scarcely knew.
Cartellieri was born in Danzig. His father, Antonio Maria Gaetano Cartellieri, was Italian, and his mother, Elisabeth Böhm, was Latvian. Both of his parents were opera singers and he received his earliest musical education from them. When he was 13, his parents divorced, at which time Cartellieri moved with his mother to Berlin. In that city he began studying music composition.
In 1791, at the age of 18, Cartellieri became court composer and music director for Micha_ Kazimierz Ogi_ski in Poland. In 1793, he returned to Berlin with his employer where his first opera premiered successfully. He then went with the Count to Vienna, where he continued with further musical studies in music theory and composition under Johann Georg Albrechtsberger and possibly Antonio Salieri.
On 29-30 March 1795, the première of his oratorio “Gioas re di Giuda” took place in Wiener Burgtheater. (In the interval, Beethoven played his first piano concerto, which was Beethoven's public debut as a composer). In 1796, Cartellieri was engaged by Prince Joseph Franz Maximilian Lobkowicz (1772-1817) as the Kapellmeister, singing teacher, and violinist, roles he held until his death 11 years later.
His other duties at court included directing operas and playing the violin in both concerts of chamber music and symphonic music. He notably performed in the world premières of several works by his friend Beethoven under the composer's baton, including the Eroica Symphony and the Triple Concerto on 23 January 1805. He died in Liebhausen, Bohemia at the age of 34.
Here is his Concerto for Two Clarinets in B flat. Mov.I: Larghetto - Allegro 00:00; Mov.II: Larghetto 13:11 Mov.III: Rondo: Allegro 18:56 Clarinet I: Dieter Klöcker Clarinet II: Sandra Arnold accompanied by the Czech Philharmonic Chamber Orchestra, conducted by Pavel Prantl.
“Death is not the greatest loss in life. The greatest loss is what dies inside us while we live.” - Norman Cousins
Johann Heinrich Schmelzer (c. 1620–1623 – between 29 February and 20 March 1680) was an Austrian composer and violinist of the middle Baroque era. Almost nothing is known about his early years, but he seems to have arrived in Vienna during the 1630s, and remained as a composer and musician at the Habsburg court for the rest of his life. He enjoyed a close relationship with Emperor Leopold I, was ennobled by him, and rose to the rank of Kapellmeister in 1679. He died during a plague epidemic only months after getting the position.
Schmelzer was one of the most important violinists of the period, and an important influence on later German and Austrian composers for violin. He made substantial contributions to the development of violin technique and promoted the use and development of sonata and suite forms in Austria and South Germany. He was the leading Austrian composer of his generation, and an influence on Heinrich Ignaz Biber.
Schmelzer was born in Scheibbs, Lower Austria. Nothing is known about his early years, and most of the surviving information about his background was recounted by the composer himself in his petition for ennoblement of 1673. He described his father as a soldier, but in another document, the 1645 marriage certificate of Schmelzer’s sister Eva Rosina, he is listed as a baker. Schmelzer does not mention his father’s name, but Eva Rosina’s marriage certificate does: Daniel Schmelzer. At any rate, it remains unclear where and from whom Schmelzer received primary music education. His activities before 1643 are similarly unknown (the composer is first mentioned in a document dated 28 June 1643, relating to his first marriage). He is referred to as a cornettist at St. Stephen’s Cathedral (Stephansdom), Vienna. The date of his arrival to Vienna is unknown, but he probably worked at the court chapel in the late 1630s, in the employ of Ferdinand II and, after 1637, Ferdinand III. Schmelzer’s colleagues at the chapel included such distinguished composers as Johann Jakob Froberger, Giovanni Valentini, and Antonio Bertali.
Schmelzer was officially appointed court violinist in 1649. Our knowledge of his position, duties, and activities is incomplete. He apparently rose to prominence as a violin virtuoso, as well as a composer, and enjoyed a close relationship with Emperor Leopold I, who was a well-known patron of the arts and a composer himself. Schmelzer started publishing his music in 1659. He was appointed vice-Kapellmeister on 13 April 1671. On 14 June 1673, after the composer petitioned for ennoblement, the Emperor raised Schmelzer to the ranks of nobility; Schmelzer now added von Ehrenruef to his name. Eventually, after his predecessor Giovanni Felice Sances had died, Schmelzer became Kapellmeister, on 1 October 1679. Unfortunately, he fell victim of the plague early in 1680, and died in Prague, where the Viennese court moved in an attempt to evade the epidemic.
Four of his children are known: Andreas Anton Schmelzer (26 November 1653 – 13 October 1701), a composer; Peter Clemens Schmelzer (28 June 1672 – 20 September 1746), a lesser composer; Franz Heinrich Schmelzer (born 27 June 1678), a Jesuit priest; and George Joseph Schmelzer (dates unknown).
Here are some of his Sonatas for Violin, played by Hélène Schmitt (violin); Jan Krigovsky (violone); Stephan Rath (theorbo); Jrg-Andreas Btticher (continuo).
“The clarinet is an incredible instrument. It’s a great, expressive instrument.” - Anat Cohen
Joseph Leopold Eybler (February 8, 1765 – July 24, 1846) was an Austrian composer and contemporary of Mozart. Eybler was born into a musical family in Schwechat near Vienna. His father was a teacher, choir director and friend of the Haydn family. Joseph Eybler studied music with his father before attending Stephansdom (the cathedral school of St. Stephen’s Boys College) in Vienna. He studied composition under Johann Georg Albrechtsberger, who declared him to be the greatest musical genius in Vienna apart from Mozart. He also received praise from Haydn who was his friend, distant cousin and patron.
In 1792 he became choir director at the Karmeliterkirche (Carmelite Church) in Vienna. Two years later he moved to the Schottenkloster, where he remained for the next thirty years (1794-1824). Eybler also held court posts, including that of court Kapellmeister (chapel master - 1824–33). The Empress Marie Therese commissioned many works from him, including the Requiem in C minor (1803).
Through Joseph Haydn, Eybler met Mozart, who gave him some lessons and entrusted him with the rehearsal of his opera Così Fan Tutte. Eybler also conducted some performances of Così Fan Tutte. On May 30, 1790 Mozart wrote a testimonial for the young Eybler: “I, the undersigned, attest herewith that I have found the bearer of this, Herr Joseph Eybler, to be a worthy pupil of his famous master Albrechtsberger, a well-grounded composer, equally skilled at chamber music and the church style, fully experienced in the art of the song, also an accomplished organ and clavier player; in short a young musician such, one can only regret, as so seldom has his equal.”
Mozart and Eybler remained friends to the end. As Eybler wrote: “I had the good fortune to keep his friendship without reservation until he died, and carried him, put him to bed and helped to nurse him during his last painful illness.” After Mozart’s death, Constanze Mozart asked Eybler to complete her husband’s Requiem. Eybler tried but could not complete the commission perhaps, it is thought, because of his great respect for the music of his friend Mozart. Franz Xaver Süßmayr completed the task.
In 1833 Eybler had a stroke while conducting Mozart’s Requiem and thereafter could not fulfil his duties at the Court. For his service to the Court, Eybler was raised to the nobility in 1835 and was known henceforth as Joseph Leopold, Edler von Eybler. He died in Vienna on 24 July 1846.
Eybler’s main compositions were sacred music, including oratorios, masses, cantatas, offertories, graduals, and his requiem. His other works include an opera, instrumental music (especially his string quintets), and songs. Of special note is the Clarinet Concerto in B flat (HV160) he wrote most probably for “Mozart’s clarinetist” Anton Stadler. Here is this concerto with soloist Dieter Klöcker and the English Chamber Orchestra. Mov.I: Allegro maestoso 00:00 Mov.II: Adagio 11:22 Mov.III: Rondo alla turca: Allegro 17:04
“A man calumniated is doubly
injured - first by him who utters the calumny, and then by him who believes it.”
- Herodotus
Antonio Salieri (18 August 1750 – 7 May 1825) was an
Italian classical composer, conductor, and teacher. He was born in Legnago,
south of Verona, in the Republic of Venice, and spent his adult life and career
as a subject of the Habsburg Monarchy. Salieri was a pivotal figure in the
development of late 18th-century opera. As a student of Florian Leopold
Gassmann, and a protégé of Gluck, Salieri was a cosmopolitan composer who wrote
operas in three languages. Salieri helped to develop and shape many of the
features of operatic compositional vocabulary, and his music was a powerful
influence on contemporary composers.
Appointed the director of the
Italian opera by the Habsburg court, a post he held from 1774 until 1792,
Salieri dominated Italian-language opera in Vienna. During his career he also
spent time writing works for opera houses in Paris, Rome, and Venice, and his
dramatic works were widely performed throughout Europe during his lifetime. As
the Austrian imperial Kapellmeister from 1788 to 1824, he was responsible for
music at the court chapel and attached school.
Even as his works dropped from
performance, and he wrote no new operas after 1804, he still remained one of
the most important and sought-after teachers of his generation, and his
influence was felt in every aspect of Vienna’s musical life. Franz Liszt, Franz
Schubert, and Ludwig van Beethoven were among the most famous of his pupils.
Salieri’s music slowly disappeared from the repertoire between 1800 and 1868
and was rarely heard after that period until the revival of his fame in the
late 20th century.
This revival was due to the dramatic and highly fictionalised
depiction of Salieri in Peter Shaffer’s play “Amadeus” (1979) and its 1984 film
version. His music today has regained some modest popularity via recordings. He
is popularly remembered as a supposedly bitter rival of Wolfgang Amadeus
Mozart. This includes rumours that Salieri murdered Mozart out of jealousy,
when in reality, they were at least respectful peers.
Here is a series of Twenty-six
Variations on the Popular Theme of “La Folìa”
for orchestra written in 1815, which is astonishing by its modernity, its luminous
and light orchestration (contrary to the trends of Salieri’s time). The use of the
harp, the short and sharp orchestral tutti, orchestral soloists (bassoon, oboe,
flute, etc), is simply brilliant. Salieri has composed here a work of an
indisputable thematic solidity in turn, dreamy, dramatic, playful, romantic,
seductive, and served by an impeccable orchestration.
This work is emblematic
of a trend that progressed well into the nineteenth century, notably in France
and Italy, from Paganini to Saint-Saëns, Rossini and Debussy, who all believed
that music should be clear and simple if it carries within its foundation a clear
depth and density. There are still some typical passages in classical variation
form in this piece, a rather rough finish, and a very shy use of brass, but 15
years before the “Symphonie Fantastique” of Berlioz we cannot expect similar
treatments that are more Romantic in their scope. On the other hand, some
passages involving the harp and the violin are worthy of the finest
impressionist melodies of the end of the 19th century. Enjoy!
“It is always
consoling to think of suicide: in that way one gets through many a bad night.”
- Friedrich Nietzsche
Richard Gerstl (14
September 1883 – 4 November 1908) was an Austrian painter and draughtsman known
for his expressive psychologically insightful portraits, his lack of critical
acclaim during his lifetime, and his affair with the wife of Arnold Schoenberg
which led to his suicide.
Richard Gerstl
was born in a prosperous bourgeois family, Emil Gerstl, a Jewish merchant, and Maria
Pfeiffer, non-Jewish woman. Early in his life, Gerstl decided to become an
artist, much to the dismay of his father. After performing poorly in school and
being forced to leave the famed Piaristengymnasium in Vienna as a result of “disciplinary
difficulties”, his financially stable parents provided him with private tutors.
In 1898, at the
age of fifteen, Gerstl was accepted into the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna, where
he studied under the notoriously opinionated and difficult Christian
Griepenkerl. Gerstl began to reject the style of the Vienna Secession and what
he felt was pretentious art. This eventually prompted his vocal professor to
proclaim, “The way you paint, I piss in the snow!” Frustrated with the lack of
acceptance of his non-secessionist painting style, Gerstl continued to paint
without any formal guidance for two years.
During the
summers of 1900 and 1901, Gerstl studied under the guidance of Simon Hollósy in
Nagybánya. Inspired by the more liberal leanings of Heinrich Lefler, Gerstl
once again attempted formal education. Unfortunately, his refusal to
participate in a procession in honour of Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria
further ostracised him and led to his departure. Gerstl felt that taking part
in such an event was “unworthy of an artist”. His final exit from Lefler’s
studio took place in 1908.
In 1904 and
1905, Gerstl shared a studio with his former academy classmate and friend,
Viktor Hammer. Although Hammer had assisted in Gerstl’s admittance to Lefler’s
tutelage and their relationship was friendly, it is difficult to determine how
close the two men were as Gerstl did not associate with other artists.
Regardless of their personal feelings, by 1906, Gerstl had acquired his own
studio.
Although Gerstl
did not associate with other artists, he did feel drawn to the musically
inclined; he himself frequented concerts in Vienna. Around 1907, he began to
associate with composers Arnold Schoenberg and Alexander von Zemlinsky, who
lived in the same building at the time. Gerstl and Schoenberg developed a
mutual admiration based upon their individual talents. Gerstl apparently instructed
Schoenberg in art.
During this
time, Gerstl moved into a flat in the same house and painted several portraits
of Schoenberg, his family, and his friends. These portraits also included
paintings of Schoenberg’s wife Mathilde, Alban Berg and Zemlinsky. His highly
stylised heads anticipated German expressionism and used pastels as in the
works by Oskar Kokoschka. Gerstl and Mathilde became extremely close and, in
the summer of 1908, she left her husband and children to travel to Vienna with
Gerstl. Schoenberg was in the midst of composing his Second String Quartet,
which he dedicated to her.
Mathilde rejoined
her husband in October. Distraught by the loss of Mathilde, his isolation from
his associates, and his lack of artistic acceptance, Gerstl entered his studio
during the night of 4 November 1908 and apparently burned every letter and
piece of paper he could find. Although many paintings survived the fire, it is
believed that a great deal of his artwork as well as personal papers and
letters were destroyed. Other than his paintings, only eight drawings are known
to have survived unscathed.
Following the
burning of his papers, Gerstl hanged himself in front of the studio mirror and
somehow managed to stab himself as well. The incident had a significant impact
on Arnold Schoenberg and his opera ‘Die
Glückliche Hand’ is based on these events. After his suicide at the age of
twenty-five, his family took the surviving paintings out of Gerstl’s studio and
stored them in a warehouse until his brother Alois showed them to the art dealer
Otto Kallir in 1930 or 1931.
Although Gerstl
had never managed to mount an exhibition of his works during his lifetime,
Kallir organised one at his Neue Galerie. Shortly afterward, the Nazi presence
in Austria hindered the further acclaim of the artist and it was not until
after the war that Gerstl became known in the United States. Sixty-six
paintings and eight drawings attributed to Gerstl are known, although it is
possible he destroyed many more or that others could have been lost over the
years.
The painting above is a detail of a portrait of Arnold Schoenberg from 1905.
“Vienna is the gate to Eastern Europe.” - Niki Lauda
Johann Baptist Wanhal (May 12, 1739 – August 20, 1813), also spelled Waṅhal (the spelling the composer himself and at least one of his publishers used), Wanhall, Vanhal and Van Hall (the modern Czech form Jan Křtitel Vaňhal was introduced in the 20th century), was an important Czech classical music composer. He was born in Nechanice, Bohemia, and died in Vienna.
Wanhal was born in Nechanice, Bohemia, into serfdom in a Czech peasant family. He received his first musical training from his family and local musicians, excelling at the violin and organ from an early age. From these humble beginnings he was able to earn a living as a village organist and choirmaster. He was also taught German from an early age, as this was required for someone wishing to make a career in music within the Habsburg empire.
In 1760, at the age of 21 Wanhal must have been well under way to become a skilled performer and composer, as his patron, the Countess Schaffgotsch, took him to Vienna as part of her personal train. There he quickly established himself as a teacher of singing, violin and piano to the high nobility, and he was invited to conduct his symphonies for illustrious patrons such as the Erdődy families and Baron Isaac von Riesch of Dresden. During the years 1762-63, he is supposed to have been the student of Karl Ditters von Dittersdorf, even though they were born the same year. Baron Riesch sponsored a trip to Italy in 1769, so that Wanhal could learn the Italian style of composition, which was very much in fashion. To return the favour, Wanhal was supposed to become Riesch’s Kapellmeister.
The details of Wanhal’s journey to Italy (1769–1771) are scant, but it is known that he met his fellow Bohemians Gluck and Florian Gassmann in Venice and Rome respectively. The Italian journeys present the only knowledge we have of Wanhal writing operas: He is supposed either to have written operas over the Metastasian operas Il Trionfo di Clelia and Demofonte, either by himself, or as a cooperation with Gassmann, where Wanhal supplied some or all of the arias; these works have been lost. In additions to his documented travels in northern and central Italy, Wanhal was supposed to travel to Naples – arguably the most important centre of music in Italy at the time – but never seems to have gotten there.
After his journey to Italy, Wanhal returned to Vienna in 1771 rather than to go to Riesch in Dresden. Claims have been made that Wanhal became heavily depressed or even insane, but these claims are likely to have been overstated. During this period he is supposed to occasionally have worked as a de facto Kapellmeister for Count Erdődy in Varaždin, although the small number of compositions by him remaining there suggests that this was not the full-time employment that would have been expected from Riesch, which may have been why he preferred it. There is no evidence of visits after 1779.
Around 1780, Wanhal stopped writing symphonies and string quartets, focusing instead on music for piano and small-scale chamber ensembles, and Masses and other church music. The former, written for a growing middle class, supplied him with the means to live a modest, economically independent life; for the last 30 years of his life he did not work under any patron, probably being the first Viennese composer to do so. During these years, more than 270 of his works were published. In the beginning of the period he was still an active participant in Viennese musical life, as is witnessed in Michael Kelly’s legendary account of the string quartet Wanhal played in together with Haydn, Mozart and Dittersdorf in 1784. After 1787 or so, however, he seems to have ceased performing in public, but he nevertheless was economically secure, living in good quarters near St. Stephen’s Cathedral. He died in 1813, an elderly composer whose music was still recognized by the Viennese public.
Wanhal had to be a prolific writer to meet the demands made upon him, and attributed to him are 100 quartets, at least 73 symphonies, 95 sacred works, and a large number of instrumental and vocal works. The symphonies, in particular, have been committed increasingly often to compact disc in recent times, and the best of them are comparable with many of Haydn’s. Many of Wanhals symphonies are in minor keys and are considered highly influential to the “Sturm und Drang” movement of his time.
Around 1780 Wanhal seems to have stopped writing large-scale instrumental music, and rather contented himself with writing piano music for the growing middle class, and church music. In the former category his programmatic pieces, often related to recent events such as “The Battle of Würzburg”, “The Battle of Abukir”, and “The Return of Francis II in 1809”. Judging from the number of extant manuscripts available, these works must have been highly popular. Wanhal was also the most prolific writer of Masses and other Catholic church music of his generation in Vienna. Despite this, it appears that he was never in the employ of any religious institution. This means that his late Masses are both testaments to a genuine personal faith, and evidence of how lucrative his focus on incidental piano music must have been.
Here is his Sinfonia in G minor, played by Camerata Bern with Thomas Füri, conductor and violin solo. Recorded in September of 1982 in Radio Studio DRS, Bern I. Allegro moderato 00:00 II. Andante Cantabile 04:42 III. Menuetto 10:12 IV. Finale. Allegro 14:09
“Let our New
Year's resolution be this: we will be there for one another as fellow members
of humanity, in the finest sense of the word.” - Göran Persson
The Vienna New Year’s Concert (Neujahrskonzert der Wiener Philharmoniker)
is a concert of classical music performed by the Vienna Philharmonic that takes
place each year in the morning of New Year’s Day in Vienna, Austria. It is
broadcast live around the world to an estimated audience of 50 million in 73
countries in 2012 and 90 countries in 2015.
There had been a
tradition of concerts on New Year’s Day in Vienna since 1838, but not with
music of the Strauss family. From 1928 to 1933 there were five New Year
concerts in the Musikverein, conducted by Johann Strauss III. These concerts
were broadcast by the RAVAG. In 1939, Clemens Krauss, with the support of Vienna Gauleiter Baldur von Schirach,
devised a New Year concert which the orchestra dedicated to Kriegswinterhilfswerk (Winter War Relief),
to improve morale at the front lines. After World War II, this concert
survived, as the Nazi origins were largely forgotten, until more recently.
The music always
includes pieces from the Strauss family (Johann Strauss I, Johann Strauss II, Josef
Strauss and Eduard Strauss) with occasional additional music from other mainly
Austrian composers, including Joseph Hellmesberger, Jr., Joseph Lanner,
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Otto Nicolai [the Vienna Philharmonic’s founder], Emil
von Reznicek, Franz Schubert, Franz von Suppé, and Karl Michael Ziehrer). In
2009, music by Joseph Haydn was played for the first time: The 4th movement of
his “Farewell” Symphony to mark the 200th anniversary of his death.
There are
traditionally about a dozen compositions played, with an interval halfway
through the concert and encores at the end. They include waltzes, polkas,
mazurkas, and marches. Of the encores, the first is often a fast polka. The
second is Johann Strauss II’s waltz “The Blue Danube”, whose introduction is
interrupted by applause of recognition and a New Year greeting from the
musicians to the audience. The last is Johann Strauss I’s Radetzky March,
during which the audience claps along under the conductor’s direction. In this
last piece, the tradition also calls for the conductor to start the orchestra
as soon he steps onto the stage, before reaching the podium. The complete
duration of the event is around two and a half hours.
The concerts
have been held in the Großer Saal (Large
Hall) of the Musikverein since 1939. The television broadcast is augmented by
ballet performances in selected pieces during the second part of the programme.
The dancers come from the Vienna State Opera Ballet and dance at different
famous places in Austria, e.g. Schönbrunn Palace, Schloss Esterházy, the Vienna
State Opera or the Wiener Musikverein itself. In 2013, the costumes were designed
by Vivienne Westwood. From 1980 until 2013, the flowers that decorated the hall
were a gift from the city of Sanremo, Liguria, Italy. In 2014, the flowers were
provided by the Vienna Philharmonic itself. Since 2014, the flowers have been
arranged by the Wiener Stadtgärten.
The concert is
popular throughout Europe, and more recently around the world. The demand for
tickets is so high that people have to pre-register one year in advance in
order to participate in the drawing of tickets for the following year. Some
seats are pre-registered by certain Austrian families and are passed down from
generation to generation.
Here is the
complete New Year Concert 2013, with the Wiener Philharmoniker under the
direction of Franz Welser Moest.
“Forget not that the earth delights to feel your bare feet and the winds long to play with your hair.” - Khalil Gibran
Heinrich Ignaz Franz von Biber (12 August 1644 [baptised] – 3 May 1704) was a Bohemian-Austrian composer and violinist. Born in the small Bohemian town of Wartenberg (Stráž pod Ralskem), Biber worked at Graz and Kroměříž before he illegally left his Kremsier (Kroměříž) employer (Prince-Bishop Carl Liechtenstein-Castelcorno) and settled in Salzburg. He remained there for the rest of his life, publishing much of his music but apparently seldom, if ever, giving concert tours.
Biber was one of the most important composers for the violin in the history of the instrument. His technique allowed him to easily reach the 6th and 7th positions, employ multiple stops in intricate polyphonic passages, and explore the various possibilities of scordatura tuning. He also wrote one of the earliest known pieces for solo violin, the monumental passacaglia of the “Mystery Sonatas”.
During Biber’s lifetime, his music was known and imitated throughout Europe. In the late 18th century he was named the best violin composer of the 17th century by music historian Charles Burney. In the late 20th century Biber’s music, especially the “Mystery Sonatas”, enjoyed a renaissance. Today, it is widely performed and recorded.
The “Rosary Sonatas” (also known as the “Mystery Sonatas”) are a collection of 16 short sonatas for violin and continuo, with a final passacaglia for solo violin. Each has a title related to the Christian Rosary devotion practice and possibly to the Feast of the Guardian Angels. It is presumed that the “Mystery Sonatas” were completed around 1676, but they were unknown until their publication in 1905. Once rediscovered, the “Mystery Sonatas” became Biber’s most widely known composition. The work is prized for its virtuosic vocal style, scordatura tunings and its programmatic structure.
The music of Biber was never entirely forgotten due to the high technical skill required to play many of his works; this is especially true of his works for violin. Violinists therefore always were partial to the works as they provide a showcase for their talents and they allow exploration of the violin’s potential for different sonorities and unusual chord soundings with the scordatura tuning.
The second work in which Biber explored scordatura techniques is Harmonia Artificioso-Ariosa(1696), his last known published collection of instrumental music. It contains seven partitas for two instruments and basso continuo: five for two violins, one for two violas d’amore, and one for violin and viola. Six of the partitas require scordatura tunings, including those for viola and two violas d’amore; Biber utilises the full potential of the technique, including all possibilities for complex polyphony: Some of the pieces are in five parts, with both of the melodic instruments carrying two. Interestingly, no other chamber works by Biber use such devices, and the only other pieces to use scordatura are two of the sonatas included in Sonatae violino solo of 1681. That collection comprises eight sonatas for violin and basso continuo, all noted already by Charles Burney in late 18th century, for the brilliant virtuosic passages and elaborate structures. In contrast to both Mystery Sonatas and Harmonia, these works consist mostly of pieces in free forms (prelude, aria) or variations, rather than dances.
Here is Harmonia Artificioso-Ariosa of 1696, played by by Musica Antiqua Köln and Reinhard Goebel. You may buy these excellent CDs on Amazon.
“The violin sings.” - Joshua Bell Ignazio Albertini was born, probably in Milan, around 1644. The first preserved document that mentions him is a letter from composer Johann Schmelzer to the Prince-Bishop Olmuca where it is mentioned that Albertini was prized as a violinist, although prone to “bad behaviour”. Albertini was supposedly murdered in Vienna in 1685, at the time he was a musician in the court of the Empress-mother Eleonore Gonzaga, who was a great patron of musicians. In the Austrian capital Albertini belonged to a circle of selected soloists who have been linked to the Habsburg court, and we can we conclude this from his close relationship with Schmelzer, the leading composer in Vienna at that time. To date, the only known works by Albertini are violin sonatas, which have come down to us in the collection printed in 1686 in Frankfurt, seven years after the composer’s death. The only remaining copy is now kept in the National Library of France in Paris. Belonging to a long line of violin sonatas published in the second half of the seventeenth century, Albertini’s compositions have some original characteristics, but in terms of musical language, the composer shows a clear blend of Italian style and violin virtuosity characteristic of the German cultural space. Albertini’s sonatas are multi-sectional pieces, quite varied in content and structure, and all of the highest quality. Some idea of the rich variety of forms found in the “Sonatinae” may be gleaned from the following examples: Sonata IX is a passacaglia in which the main theme is presented as a canon at the fifth in the first and the last sections; and statements of the ostinato sometimes overlap with formal sections of the sonata. Sonata XII, the last in the cycle, consists entirely of imitative movements, unlike other sonatas, in which imitative movements are either absent or are surrounded by free sections, such as slow lyrical arias, toccata-like movements with rapid passagework over sustained bass notes, etc. Albertini’s sonatas are very demanding technically, with frequent instances of difficult fast passages, leaps, sudden changes of register and, particularly in the last sonata, double stopping. The sonatas are also somewhat reminiscent of Heinrich Ignaz Franz von Biber (12 August 1644 (baptised) – 3 May 1704) who was a Bohemian-Austrian composer and violinist. No doubt, these two composers knew of each other’s work (if not personally acquainted with one another). Little else is known of Albertini’s life (and quite tantalisingly little of his murder by stabbing). One can still enjoy listening to his violin sonatas, here performed by Hélène Schmitt with Jörg-Andreas Bötticher, Karl-Ernst Schröder and David Sinclair on various continuo instruments. There’s poise and grace in Schmitt’s performances, as well elevated lyricism. But most of all there’s passion: A passionate intensity of line, a passionate concentration of tone, a passionate brilliance of color, a passionate love of this fiercely expressive and violently beautiful music. Schmitt’s trio of continuo players are sympathetic players and each gets his/her own sweet solo Prelude or Toccatina interspersed with Schmitt’s Sonatas. 1 Sonata for violin & continuo No. 1 in D minor (8:06)
2 Sonata for violin & continuo No. 2 in F major (5:50)
3 Sonata for violin & continuo No. 3 in B minor (5:56)
4 Prelude (3:56)
5 Sonata for violin & continuo No. 4 in C minor (6:35)
6 Sonata for violin & continuo No. 5 in A major (6:51)
7 Sonata for violin & continuo No. 7 in A minor (6:52)
8 Toccata (4:28)
9 Sonata for violin & continuo No. 8 in D minor (7:04)
10 Prelude (0:54)
11 Sonata for violin & continuo No. 10 in E minor (8:16)
12 Toccata No 5 for keyboard (2:49)
13 Sonata for violin & continuo No. 11 in G minor (5:20)
14 Sonata for violin & continuo No. 12 in A minor (4:46)
“Adopt the pace of nature: Her secret is patience.”― Ralph Waldo Emerson The eccentric and playfully self-advertising Viennese artist known as Friedensreich Hundertwasser was born as Friedrich Stowasser on 15 December 1928. He did not assume his nom d’artiste until 1949 (‘sto’ meaning ‘one hundred’ in Slavic languages and ‘Wasser”’ meaning ‘water’). Even in adolescence Stowasser brought home reports from school attesting to his “exceptional feeling for colour and form”. After taking the examinations qualifying for university entrance, Hundertwasser spent three months at the Viennese Art Academy studying under Professor Robin Christian Andersen. Hundertwasser was, however, more indebted to the work of Egon Schiele and Walter Kampmann, which he saw at their exhibitions, than to the brief period of academic instruction. Hundertwasser travelled extensively in Italy, where he met René Brô, whom he accompanied to Paris. Hundertwasser had thought of continuing formal training at the École des Beaux-Arts but spent only one day at that institution. Instead he found the numerous and adventurous trips he took to Morocco, Tunisia, Nepal, Tokyo and Siberia inspirational for the path he intended to follow. Taking Viennese Jugendstil as his point of departure, Hundertwasser developed an abstract, decorative, two-dimensional and vibrantly colourful, utterly distinctive style distinguished by ornamental spiral and labyrinth forms, circles, meanders and biomorphic shapes. During the 1960s Friedensreich Hundertwasser was extremely successful, with a 1962 retrospective in the Austrian pavilion at the Venice Biennale and a 1964 retrospective mounted by the Kestner Gesellschaft in Hannover. In addition, the first comprehensive catalogue of his œuvre was published. Active in the ecological movement, Hundertwasser was committed to making life liveable in a humane environment that was close to nature. He furthered his aims by issuing manifestos and making provocative public appearances, for instance giving a speech in the nude (1968) in Vienna. Between 1968 and 1972 Hundertwasser re-hauled the old sailing vessel ‘San Giuseppe’ at docks in the Venice lagoon, rechristened it ‘Regentag’ [‘Rainy Day’], and going to see in it several times. So versatile and prolific was Hundertwasser that he also designed coins and stamps for Austria, Senegal and the UN from the 1970s. Moreover, Hunderwasser was the first European artist to have work carved by Japanese master carvers. In 1981 Hundertwasser was appointed head of the master classes for painting at the Viennese Art Academy. The famous Hundertwasser House in Vienna, begun in 1983, attests to Hunderwasser’s skill as an architect. The year before he died, Hundertwasser was working on a catalogue raisonné of his works and presented the Uelzen Station architectural project. Friedensreich Hundertwasser died on a cruise ship off New Zealand in 2000. The painting above is “Columbus Landed in India”. Signed Friedensreich and numbered 687. Painted at La Picaudière, May 5 - Seeshaupt, May 25 - Venice, Giudecca, July 2 1969. Mixed media: Egg tempera, wax, oil and water colour on paper, primed with chalk and PV (polivenil); mounted on hemp with PV (polivenil) 81 x 111 cm. The painting was sold for 3,932,247 Swedish Kroner (≈$605,000 AUD) at auction. The painting shows the brilliant colours and intricate interlocking shapes characteristic of the artist, as well as the appearance of a spectral face often found in Hundertwasser’s works.
“If music be the food of love, play on.” – William Shakespeare Carl Ditters von Dittersdorf (1739 - 1799) was an Austrian composer, violinist and forest ecologist. He was born in the Laimgrube (now Mariahilf) district of Vienna, Austria, as August Carl Ditters. His father was a military tailor in the Austrian Imperial Army of Charles VI, for a number of German-speaking regiments. After retiring honourably from his military obligation, he was provided with royal letters of reference and a sinecure with the Imperial Theatre. In 1745, the six-year-old August Carl was introduced to the violin and his father’s moderate financial position allowed him not only a good general education at a Jesuit school, but private tutelage in music, violin, French and religion. After leaving his first teacher, Carl studied violin with J. Ziegler, who by 1750, through his influence, secured his pupil’s appointment as a violinist in the orchestra of the Benedictine church on the Freyung. Dittersdorf had composition lessons from Giuseppe Bonno in his native Vienna and served as a violinist in the orchestra of the Prince of Sachsen-Hildburghausen, before joining the imperial theatre. He then served as Kapellmeister to the Bishop of Grosswardein, where, in 1762, he succeeded Michael Haydn. In 1769 he became Kapellmeister to the Prince-Bishop of Breslau, at this period acquiring the patent of nobility that added to the name of Ditters the honorific ‘von Dittersdorf’. Conditions in Johannisberg, the seat of the Prince-Bishop, deteriorated in the political circumstances of the time, and on the death of his employer in 1795 he moved with his family to join the household of a nobleman in Bohemia. Before his death he dictated his fascinating autobiography to his son, a vivid account of musical life in his time. Dittersdorf wrote a large number of stage works. The earlier Italian works written for Johannisberg were followed by a series of Singspiel primarily for Vienna, and 11 further such works in 1793 and 1794 for Duke Friedrich-August of Brunswick-Oels. These, all in all, mark an important stage in the development of the form. Dittersdorf made his due contribution to oratorio in four such works. He wrote settings of the Mass and other liturgical works, as well as cantatas and arias for church use. His secular vocal works are few. In orchestral music Dittersdorf may be compared in some respects to his near contemporary Joseph Haydn. His 120 listed symphonies include a set of six giving musical expression to the Metamorphoses of Ovid and another ‘nel gusto di 5 nazioni’ (‘in the taste of five nations’). His concertos, rather fewer in number, include 18 for violin, five for viola, one for cello and one for double bass, as well as a Double Concerto for viola and double bass. The chamber music of Dittersdorf, with all the clarity of Classical style, includes string quartets and quintets, divertimenti, and compositions for groups of wind instruments. Here is his Viola Sonata in E-flat major:
00:00 I. Allegro moderato
04:47 II. Menuetto, Allegretto
07:54 III. Adagio
10:24 IV. Menuetto, Allegretto
12:52 V. Tema con variazioni, Allegretto
Viola: Anna Barbara Dütschler; Fortepiano: Ursula Dütschler
I have been blogging daily on this platform for several years now. It is surprising that I have persisted as the world is changing and "microblogging" is now the norm. I blog to amuse myself, make comment on current affairs, externalise some of my creativity, keep notes on things that interest me, learn something new and to surprise myself with things that I discover about this wonderful, and sometimes crazy, world we live in.
I sometimes get the impression that I am on a soapbox delivering a monologue, so your comments are welcome.
