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Vienna: City of Musical Dreams
Overview:
Join Active Minds as we musically travel through space and time to the great city of Vienna when Mozart, Haydn and Beethoven lived there. We’ll delve into the history of the Viennese Waltz and pay a visit to the Strauss family. No experience is needed; just an inquiring mind and a love of great music.
Key Lecture Points:
Vienna’s roots go back 18 centuries and the city continues to be a geographic and cultural center of Europe. Vienna is famous for the Danube; its boy choir; for eccentric and quirky rulers; as an ethnic melting pot; a trend-setter for politics; pastries; coffee-houses; show-horses and architecture; but, it is music that prevails as the foundation of the World’s perception of the Austrian capital.
By the 18th Century, any musician who wanted to prove his talent and mettle headed for Vienna. Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven all lived in Vienna at about the same time. By the 19th Century, other music greats such as the Strausses elevated Vienna into a musical capital of the highest order. Thanks to the wealthy church hierarchy and nobility who became patrons, a decent living could be made. Not all dreams were actualized; many musicians left Vienna in despair due to the stiff competition and over-critical audiences.
The Great Viennese Composers:
• Franz Joseph Haydn (1732-1809) is known as the “father” of the symphony and the string quartet. He also helped develop the forms of the piano sonata and piano trio. Haydn was an enormous influence on the music and musicians of Vienna who called him “Papa.”
• Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756–1791) was the musical genius and child prodigy to which musicians throughout Europe aspired. His contributions in nearly every form of music, including opera, continue to be the measure by which all other Classical and Romantic composers are compared.
• Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827) was deaf by age 30; but, nevertheless was the key figure in transforming music from the confines and rules of the Classical Period to the freer passions of the Romantic Period. At first renowned as a superior pianist, he almost single-handedly elevated the position of composer from “craftsman” to one of artist.
• Franz Schubert (1797-1828) was the first great composer who was actually born in Vienna. Although he lived to be only 31, Schubert was renowned for beautiful melodies and an output of nearly 1000 works.
• Johann Strauss Sr. (1804–1849) was the principal figure in establishing the waltz as Vienna’s most distinctive musical product. He is best known for being the father of the Strauss dynasty which extended into the 20th Century.
• Johann Strauss Jr. (1825–1899) composed over 500 waltzes, polkas, quadrilles, and other types of dance music, as well as several operettas and a ballet. In his lifetime, he was known as "The Waltz King", and was largely then responsible for the popularity of the waltz in Vienna during the 19th century.
• Johannes Brahms (1833–1897) became the leading figure of the Late-Romantic Period; but, utilized the influences from Baroque and Classical eras in producing a mosaic of sound painting. Brahms is often considered to be the successor to Beethoven, who both, along with Bach, comprise the “Three Bs” of music.
Vienna was the center of music in Europe in the 19th Century. The number of concerts was immense. The sheer number of musicians (good and bad) who flocked to the great city was staggering. The dance-crazed Viennese could waltz through the night and into the morning to any number of (smaller) salon orchestras. The great concert halls of Vienna were filled to capacity to hear debut performances of the greatest works by Europe’s greatest composers. Many of the dreams of composers and performers, citizens and patrons all came true in the magical city of Vienna.
Exploration Questions:
• How did the monarchs of Vienna treat art and artists?
• What are the roots of the Viennese Waltz?
• Then and now: Which of the great Viennese composers was/is most renowned worldwide?
Reflective Questions:
• Have you seen Vienna’s New Year’s celebration on television or in person?
• When did you first learn to waltz? Was it to a Strauss waltz?
• Why do you think so many great musicians ended up in Vienna in the 19th Century?
More to Explore:
• Musicians of Vienna: www.actilingua.com
• Johann Strauss Jr: http://johann-strauss.org
• Franz Schubert: www.franzschubert.org
Books For Further Reading:
• Parsons, Nicholas, Vienna: A Cultural History (Paperback), Oxford University Press (2008), 304 pages. From border garrison of the Roman Empire to magnificent Baroque seat of the Hapsburgs, Vienna's fortunes swung between survival and expansion. By the late nineteenth century it had become the western capital of the sprawling Austro-Hungarian Monarchy. Vienna became the center of music from the late 1700s well into the 20th Century. Parson’s book traces all the influences that made this exemplary city. Click here to order.
• Gibbs, Christopher H., The Life of Schubert (Paperback), Cambridge University Press (2000), 228 pages. Gibbs focuses on the relationship of Schubert's music to his brief life and vice versa, with background on friends, teacher Antonio Salieri, and the social scene in 18th-century Europe. Along the way, he analyzes the copious biographical material on Schubert. Gibbs carefully assesses the evidence, and, for the most part, allows the reader to make judgments. The net result is a well-researched, warmly written, and refreshing new look at the Austrian composer. Click here to order.
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