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

Viennese History – Viennese Stories

Not only two female singers and two male singers survived the horrible fire in the Viennese Ringtheater in December 1881 but columns were under the survivors too. These theatre columns were still usable and cheap. That’s why they were included into the building of the church Kaisermühlenkirche at the Schüttauplatz. A place from where one easily can walk to the ”coldest part of Vienna”. Where a special track commemorates the ice extraction out of the Old Danube and the name reminds us of the discovery of the „Franz Josefs Lands“ in the Northern Arctic Sea.

Two clocks “survived” the fire of the Viennese Ringtheater too. They can be seen in the Clock Museum of the Wien Museum. As is the famous watch and clock collection of Marie von Ebner-Eschenbach.

Friedrich Freiherr von Schmidt – A Man from Württemberg lets Viennes Stones Talk

Some architecture alumni from Stuttgart colleges and universities built important buildings in Vienna. As part-time Stuttgart citizen and part-time Viennese I enjoy this fact. And I will write about it from time to time. Today – the builder of the Viennese town hall.

In the middle of the 19th century the number of Viennese inhabitants jumped from 50,000 people up to more than 430.000. The old town hall didn’t had space enough to manage Vienna. What followed where years of metropolitan discussions much like the discussions about the hygienic needs. 23 places for a new town hall were discussed. And then finally a tender for the new building was finalized. 65 Austrian and foreign architects handed in their proposals. Members of the selection committee were among others the famous architects Ferstel and Semper. Project XIV with the title „Saxa loguntur“ (the stones talk) won. In a ceremony the sealed envelope with the architects’ name was opened and the winner was: Friedrich Schmidt (1825 – 1891), a German Viennese. Second till fifth places went to Parisian and Berlin architects only from place six onwards native architects were awarded. 1873 they started with the foundation stone; ten years later an area of 19,592 square metres had been covered and the cap stone could be set. Again ten years later the German Viennese became a honorary citizen of Vienna. 1886 he became a baron.
Humbly he steps back behind his work – 1896 the memorial for Schmidt had been uncurtained behind the town hall – photo.

Clemens Freiherr von Pirquet – allo & ergon from Vienna

This summer the term allergy celebrates its 102nd birthday. Maybe the pollen don’t dance too madly that day because it is a sad day for them. Someone “saw” their side effects. A Viennese of course – who else. In Vienna of course – where else. Clemens von Pirquet (1874 – 1929), a paediatrician, founded together with a colleague the science of allergies. The term was coined by Pirquet. He brought together the Greek words different & action. Although there are other readings. In addition: different & function, changed & action. May there be name readings, an allergic reaction is an allergic reaction. Whom it conquers it doesn’t give time to muse about the name. She or he gets tortured by this overreaction to the immune system on normally “harmless” substances like pollen & co.

Pirquet worked as paediatrician at the Viennese St.-Anna-Kinderspital (children’s hospital). When treating children contracted with diphtheria he was surprised by the side effects of vaccinations. That’s why his research and the allergy definition were at the beginning focused on the so called serum disease. The term allergy was published for the first time in print in the „Münchner Medizinischen Wochenschrift“ (Munich Medical Weekly) 24 July 1906.
Pirquet was aware that not only these vaccination reactions were allergic reactions but that there was an even more diverse range of allergies. Therefore the Berlin Charité could commemorate the 100th birthday of the term allergy with a rich exhibition from the first known symptoms of a cat hair allergy to dark forecasts about the allergic future of mankind in industrialised countries. [2]

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)