City of Music
Vienna is the world capital of opera and classical music. Who else can claim Mozart, Beethoven, Strauss and Schubert among their historical repertoire? The rich musical legacy that flows through the city is evident everywhere, whether it be buskers hammering out tunes on the streets or a formal performance in one of the capital’s renowned venues.
The Habsburgs began patronising court musicians as far back as the 13th century, and by the 18th and 19th centuries they had created a centre for music that was unrivalled in the world. Many of the Habsburgs themselves were accomplished musicians. Leopold I (1640–1705) stroked a violin, his daughter Maria Theresia (1717–80) played a respectable double bass, while her son Joseph II (1741–90) was deft hand at the harpsichord.
Hofmusik (music of the royal court) had its beginnings in the Middle Ages when it developed as a form of music to accompany church Masses. From around 1300 a tradition of choirs with multiple voice parts established itself in Austria. The Habsburgs adopted this tradition and, with the collapse of the Habsburg monarchy, the Austrian state took over the Hofkapelle, which today includes members of Vienna’s Philharmonic Orchestra, the Vienna State Opera and, above all, the young boys who traditionally provided the ‘female’ voice parts, the Wiener Sängerknaben – the Vienna Boys’ Choir (Click here). This tradition lives on with Sunday performances of the Vienna Boys’ Choir in the Burgkapelle (Click here) inside the Hofburg, and other venues.
The first dedicated theatre for opera north of the Alps was built in Innsbruck in 1650, but opera was also playing a role in Vienna’s cultural scene as early as the 1620s, capturing the hearts of the Habsburg rulers through its paraphernalia of excess – elaborate costumes and stage props, and performers who sang, danced and acted great dramas on stage. Today the baroque era of music is most audible in performances of the two German masters of baroque church music, Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750) and Georg Friedrich Händel (1695–1759), performed in many churches around town.
An unmissable Viennese musical experience is a visit to the Vienna Philharmonic (www.wienerphilharmoniker.at), which mostly performs in the Grosser Saal of the Musikverein (Click here). The Philharmonic has the privilege of choosing its conductors, whose ranks have included the likes of Mahler, Richard Strauss and Felix Weingartner. The instruments used by the Philharmonic generally follow pre-19th-century design and more accurately reflect the music Mozart and Beethoven wrote.
Vienna and music go hand in hand. The following is a selection of composers who came from Vienna or who lived and worked in the capital.
Christoph Willibald Gluck (1714–87) Major works include Orfeo (1762) and Alceste (1767).
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756–91) Wrote some 626 pieces; among the greatest are The Marriage of Figaro (1786), Don Giovanni (1787), Cosí fan tutte (1790) and The Magic Flute (1791). The Requiem Mass , apocryphally written for his own death, remains one of the most powerful works of classical music. Have a listen to Piano Concerto Nos 20 and 21, which comprise some of the best elements of Mozart: drama, comedy, intimacy and a whole heap of ingenuity in one easy-to-appreciate package.
Josef Haydn (1732–1809) Wrote 108 symphonies, 68 string quartets, 47 piano sonatas and about 20 operas. His greatest works include Symphony No 102 in B-flat Major, the oratorios The Creation (1798) and The Seasons (1801), and six Masses written for Miklós II.
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770–1827) Studied briefly with Mozart in Vienna in 1787; he returned in late 1792. Beethoven produced a lot of chamber music up to the age of 32, when he became almost totally deaf and, ironically, began writing some of his best works, including the Symphony No 9 in D Minor, Symphony No 5 and his late string quartets.
Franz Schubert (1797–1828) Born and bred in Vienna, Schubert was a prolific composer whose best-known works are his last symphony (the Great C Major Symphony), his Mass in E-flat and the Unfinished Symphony.
The Strausses and the Waltz The early masters of the genre were Johann Strauss the Elder (1804–49) and Josef Lanner (1801–43). Johann Strauss the Younger (1825–99) composed over 400 waltzes, including Vienna’s unofficial anthem, ‘The Blue Danube’ (1867) and ‘Tales from the Vienna Woods’ (1868).
Johannes Brahms (1833–97) At the age of 29, Brahms moved to Vienna, where many of his works were performed by the Vienna Philharmonic. Best works include Ein Deutsches Requiem , his Violin Concerto and Symphony Nos 1 to 4.
Gustav Mahler (1860–1911) Known mainly for his nine symphonies; best works include Das Lied von der Erde (The Song of the Earth) and Symphony Nos 1, 5 and 9.
Wiener Klassik (Vienna Classic) dates back to the mid- and late 18th century and saw Vienna at the centre of a revolution that today defines the way we perceive classical music. Music moved away from the churches and royal courts into the salons and theatres of upper-middle-class society. The period is associated with composers such as Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756–91), Joseph Haydn (1732–1809), Ludwig van Beethoven (1770–1827) and Franz Schubert (1797–1828), later giving way to a new wave of classical composers in the 19th century, such as Franz Liszt (1811–86), Johannes Brahms (1833–97) and Anton Bruckner (1824–96).
Vienna’s impact on international jazz, rock or pop music is minimal, but it has an interesting scene. Artists on G-Stone Records (www.g-stoned.com) such as Kruder & Dorfmeister, Patrick Pulsinger and Erdem Tunakan have proved a powerful source for new electronic music. In the last few years the city’s scene has experienced a revival, with old and new artists once again creating waves in the electronic genre. Tosca, a side project of Richard Dorfmeister, is well regarded; DJ Glow is known for his electro beats; the Vienna Scientists produce tidy house compilations; the Sofa Surfers’ dub-hop tracks are often dark but well received; and the likes of Megablast, Makossa and Stereotype are going from strength to strength.