Eduard Hanslick – Viennese Temperament in Front of the Stage

„The foreign fairy child music needs to dress up with so many earthly costumes and needs so much stiffening once it decides to meet so many people that any moment of disturbance “from our world” could easily break its unselfconsciousness and take us out of our illusion.” [1]
Temperament in the auditorium seems to be a common thing in Vienna of 1853/54. That is why the Imperial Opera House had to counteract. What the music critic Eduard Hanslick (1825 – 1904) described in his wonderful ironic way as “aesthetic police” to safeguard the pureness of the music enjoyment.

Hanslick was born in Prague and his musical talents were nourished. But they were not sufficient enough to become a musician so he had to study law. 1846 he came to Vienna proceeded with his studies and wrote reviews of music performances. After three years as jurist in Klagenfurt he came back to Vienna and worked in the cultural ministry. More and more he went into music aesthetics. Among others he was as a member of the jury at the World Exhibition in Paris responsible for music. 1861 he became the first professor for music at the University Vienna after the reform of the university in the 16th century. Being polemic and using his power he could influence the fate of musicians. Dr. Clemens Hellberg, head of the management of the „Wiener Philharmoniker“, mentioned at the symposium to mark the 100th anniversary of the death of Hanslick: “The critic spread anxiety. And this lead to the fact that some artists did not play in Vienna any longer.” [2]

But the Hanslick descriptions of the Viennese “temperament” of the audience are no bad but best cabaret.
“The general manger of the Imperial Opera House did ban repetitions of musical parts of the operas and he could so eliminate the „da capo“ the greatest enemy of the dramatic connection. When Arnold (in Wilhelm Tell) seeks bloody revenge for the murder of his father and is on his way to the Rütli than the audience used to clap till he had to start with the most peaceful face again, listen to the report of the murder of his father again, get shocked again and seek revenge again.”
And there was this “second ban deserving thanks too. The ban to call upon a singer on the stage. How often did we see the hero knifed before our eyes coming back with great Hurrah making compliments! That should not damage our enjoyment any longer!”
And the “entering the stall during an act was banned … Raoul whispers in his first romance:”Quietly did I tell” – you prick your ears expecting the wonderful orchestrated entry of the A-major-accord – when all out of a sudden the peloton fire of ten folding seats answers you.”
Many more of these tragic & comic experiences that now were removed by peace describes Hanslick. And he closes that one species was overlooked in this aesthetic police codex – the early home returners – “whose heart was never warm but whose soup was always about to get cold.”

As I am no opera fan I cheated with the photo (People coming late can only enter during the break). Experts will know this – I took the photo in the Burgtheater. This is already part one of my cultural quiz in the next post here.

Hanslick-Sources:
Universität Salzburg > Lexikon Literatur in der Wiener Moderne > (University Salzburg > Encyclopaedia Literature of the Viennese Modernity) > Eduard Hanslick (in German)

aeiou Austria Encyclopaedia > Hanslick, Eduard

[1] „Eduard Hanslick. Sämtliche Schriften. Historisch-kritische Ausgabe“ (Eduard Hanslick. Complete Works. Historical-Critical Edition) Band I, 2, Aufsätze und Rezensionen 1849 – 1854, (Volume I, 2, Essays and Reviews 1849 – 1854) published and annotated by Dietmar Strauß, Böhlau Verlag, Wien, Köln, Weimar, 1994, Seiten 342 – 344 (Mai 1854)

[2] Foyer „Das Hanslick-Symposium in Wien vom 9. und 10. Oktober 2004“ (The Hanslick-Symposium in Vienna 9 – 10 October 2004) by Markus Gärtner in „Die Tonkunst online“ (The Art of Music online”) , issue 0411, 1.November 2004

Johann Schmid, „Schmid Hansl“ – Wienerlied (Viennese Songs) from 8 pm to bis 4.00 am

The story of “Hansl Schmid, the Last Master of the Viennese Songs” („Hansl Schmid, dem letzten Herrn des Wienerliedes“) shows that you can answer the question in a flexible way whether one should earn ones living with his/her creativity or whether one should live with his/her creativity and be successful without any super star contest.

In 1897 Johann Schmid was born in Ottaktring. Together with friends his parents rent the restaurant in the Türkenschanzpark. Johann grows up with concerts of military musicians, Deutschmeister, dragoons, 84er. 1908 his parents give him a piano and he becomes an opera lover: from Walküre till the Tote Stadt. Although very musical Johann studies at the commercial college.

Vienna Ice Revue – Once Upon a Time…

… there was a dream of the „Magic of Love” “In the Country of Dreams”. A dream under the “Rainbow” with “Masquerades”, “Confetti” and “Cocktails”. These were the imaginative names of the imaginative productions of the Revue (1945/46 – 1970/71).

Why was an Ice Revue developed in Vienna? There are two explanations. A sportive and an imaginative. The sportive explanation starts with much Austrian success in figure skating before and after World War II, among others Karl Schäfer, Emmy Puzinger, Emmerich Danzer. So there was potential for founding an Austrian style „Holiday On Ice“. With the music by Robert Stolz and the style of ice operettas they made the Austrian audience happy and could distinguish themselves abroad from their competitors. “The Vienna Ice Revue was a guarantee that after the War there was an Austrian product that was both brilliant and glamorous.” [1] The imaginative explanation is that Vienna was the right place for icy seductions & innovations, colourful & sweet ice exhibits. As a “logic consequence” the Eismarillenknödel (Ice Apricot Dumplings) got invented in 1967 and earned their inventor the title Kommerzialrat.

Anton Bruckner – Always only for the Moment

Anton Bruckner (1824 – 1896) studied music in Vienna. On the organ of the Piaristenkirche he had do pass an exam. The examiners were music experts of that time. After the exam one of the examiners said: “He should have tested us.” Because Bruckner was one of the best organists and he was very talented in improvising on the organ. He was in great demand internationally – invited to a playing contest in Nancy (1869), played in Notre Dame, gave a concert on the steam engine driven organ in the Royal Albert Hall in 1871 and in the Crystal Palace with 70,000 listeners. “Bruckner’s playing the organ was bright and colourful, less structured in the core, than outwardly dazzling and adorable. He was not interested in contrapuntal perfection but in harmonic evolvement and a dignified effect on the whole audience. That is why he achieved the deepest impact with improvising where he could free his imagination.” (ADB)

Family Artaria – Paradise Vienna

Visitors and people who moved to Vienna love Vienna; Viennese love Vienna less.
The Italian family Artaria founded a firm in Vienna in 1770 and led love lead to actions. From 1779 onwards they published the famous “Sammlung von Aussichten der Residenzstadt Wien” (Collection of Views of the Residential Town Vienna). Views of Vienna in 57 coloured outline etchings. They do not only show buildings but also people and their life in the town. Among others the park “Augarten” then opened for the public – today my favourite jogging area. The park now still looks in some parts like on the four “Augarten” pages of the collection.
Not only did they produce a sheet of pictures of the city – it even grew with the development of the town because the pages were updated: Again not only the buildings but also the fashion of the inhabitants. But not all changes of the social life from Josephinism to Biedermeier, from the times of “reforms in law, administration, education, culture and the catholic church” to the times of “disappointments after the Restauration of 1815 and the nearly complete renunciation of public-political life” got visualised. Perhaps the idealised town sold better to “tourists”.