Music in Austria
Music, classical music in particular, is this field of art, which Austria is most famous for. Already in the 12th century. Vienna was known worldwide for the performances of minezingers and other traveling musicians. W 1498 r. Maximilian I moved the court orchestra from Innsbruck to the capital.
W XVIII i XIX w. they were downloading here – mainly to Vienna – composers from all over Europe, who could count on the patronage of the Habsburgs. In fact, many members of this dynasty had developed musical talents: Leopold I was a composer, Charles VI a violinist, Maria Teresa played the double bass, and Józef II on the harpsichord and cello. The greatest musicians in Austria created and developed numerous forms of classical music, like a symphony, concerts, sonatas, operas and operettas.
As time passed, Austria's romance with music has lost nothing of its fervor. After each of the world wars, when people made ends meet with great difficulty, there was always some money to continue the performances at the State Opera [State Opera]. Music festivals held in Austria, including the Salzburg and Bregenz festivals, are among the most important events in the calendar of every lover of classical music.
Christoph Willibald von Gluck – The opera house was born in Italy around 1600 r. The main reformer of this musical genre was Christoph Willibald Gluck (1714-1787), who settled in Vienna in 1751 r. It gave the opera pieces a more dramatic dimension (as in Orpheus and Eurydice or in Alcea), and his work opened up new possibilities for future generations of composers.
Joseph Haydn – This great composer (1732-1809) he was the most important figure in the eighteenth-century world of music. He is widely regarded as the creator of Viennese Classicism, although he had to work hard for this honorable title.
Born in Rohrau, Lower Austria, Haydn began his musical career at the age of 6 lat, when he left his family home and went to live with his cousin, who led the choir in nearby Hainburg. At the age of 8 years he became a chorister in the Vienna Cathedral of St.. Stefan, working in this activity to 17 age, when he completely lost his voice. Kicked out of the choir, had to earn a living as a freelance musician, and because he had no theoretical education in music, he intensively studied the works of other artists (in particular Bach), to develop your own skills as a composer. Haydn achieved financial stabilization only in 1761 r., when he got the post of conductor (Kappel-meister) with the Esterhazy family in Eisenstadt in the province of Burgenland.
W 1760 r. Józef married Maria Anna Keller, however, this childless relationship was not a happy one – the composer's true love was Maria's sister, Teresa, who chose to live in a monastery. Haydn's wife did not share his love for music, disregarding her to such an extent, that she used her husband's manuscripts to line the baking molds. During his lifetime, Haydn composed 19 oper i operetek, 107 symphony, 62 piano sonatas, 68 works for a string quartet and 43 for piano trio. His most famous works include two great oratorios: Creation of the world (1798 r.) and Seasons (1801 r.) and Symphony No. 102.
The New Vienna School
Vienna's fame as a music center survived until the beginning of the 20th century. The revolutionary achievements of Arnold Schönberg had a breakthrough (1874-1951), the creators of the so-called. the Viennese dodecaphonic school, which developed the composition theory on the 12-ton scale. Already in some of his early works, np. Composition for piano, Op. 11 z 1909 r., it has completely exceeded the limits of tonicity. Schónberg was undoubtedly a key figure in music theory, but despite this, his music was never popular with the general public. Many Viennese would like to forget about the fact as soon as possible, that of all the great composers associated with their beloved city, only Schónberg and Schubert were born there.
Alban Berg was one of Schönberg's most brilliant students (1885-1935) i Anton von Webern (1883-1945), both creatively developing the technique of dodecaphony.
Contemporary music
In Viennese wine bars (Heuńgen) the original musical tradition has survived, in which very sentimental songs dominate, known as Schrammelmusik, usually sung with violin accompaniment, accordion, guitar and clarinet. Folk music is very popular in the Alpine regions [folk music), based on traditional melodies.
Austria lagged somewhat in the field of rock and pop music (not counting the short-term achievements of the composer Fal-co, who died in a car accident in 1998 r.), although and Vienna, and Graz stand out for their great jazz scenes, and Joe Zawinul from the Weather Report team lived in the capital.
Today symphony orchestras, such as the Vienna Philharmonic, are world famous, and Austrian music institutions – Vienna Boys' Choir, State Opera (State Opera), music Society (Music Society) or Konzerthaus (Concert House) -are second to none. Apart from Vienna, Salzburg and Graz are well-known music centers. Annual famous music festivals are also held in these three cities. Linz has its International Bruckner Festival, Schwarzenberg in Vorarlberg with his Schubertiads (Schubert Festival), and Innsbruck Early Music Concerts. The festival in Bregenz attracts audiences, including. the location of most of the concerts in the picturesque scenery of Lake Constance. Attending one of these festivals should become an integral part of your travels in Austria.