Postcard from Vienna
Vienna has often been considered the capital of classical music. It's a strong claim, as many of the great composers were drawn there. So hop into a Fiaker by St Stephen's Cathedral and join us for a musical tour around the city.
Read more…- Mozart•String Quartet No. 17 in B flat major KV 458 “The Hunt”•IV. Allegro assai
- Mozart•Die Zauberflöte (The Magic Flute) KV 620: 'Der Hölle Rache kocht in meinem Herzen' (Königin der Nacht, Act II)•Der Hölle Rache kocht in meinem Herzen
- Mozart•Concerto for Clarinet and Orchestra in A major KV 622•II. Adagio
- Haydn•String Quartet in C major op. 76/3 Hob. III:77 “Emperor”•II. Poco Adagio. Cantabile (Theme) – Var. I-IV
- Beethoven•Symphony No. 3 in E flat major op. 55 “Eroica”•I. Allegro con brio
- Beethoven•Fidelio op. 72: Overture•Allegro
- Hummel•Septet No. 1 in D minor op. 74•IV. Finale. Vivace
- Lanner•Dornbacher Ländler op. 9•
- Lanner•Die Schönbrunner op. 200•
- Schubert•Symphony No. 5 in B flat major D 485•I. Allegro
- Schubert•Die Forelle (The Trout) op. 32 D 550•In einem Bächlein helle, da schoß in froher Eil
- Schubert•Piano Quintet in A major op. posth. 114 D 667 'Forellenquintett' ('The Trout')•IV. Theme. Andantino – Var. I-V – Allegretto
- Brahms•Symphony No. 2 in D major op. 73•IV. Allegro con spirito
- Suppé•Ein Morgen, ein Mittag, ein Abend in Wien (Morning, Noon and Night in Vienna): Overture•Andante maestoso
- Strauss II (Jr.)•An der schönen blauen Donau (The Blue Danube), Waltz op. 314•Andantino – Tempo di Valse
- Bruckner•Symphony No. 4 in E flat major WAB 104 'Romantic' (Version 1878-1881)•III. Scherzo. Bewegt
- Strauss II (Jr.)•Geschichten aus dem Wienerwald (Tales from the Vienna Woods), Waltz op. 325•Tempo di valse
- Rott•Symphony No. 1 in E major•III. Scherzo. Frisch und lebhaft
- Mahler•Rückert-Lieder (Version for Voice and Orchestra)•Ich bin der Welt abhanden gekommen
- Schoenberg•Verklärte Nacht op. 4 (1899)•Breiter – Schwer betont – Sehr breit und langsam – Sehr ruhig
- Zemlinsky•Es war einmal... (Once upon a time) (Vienna 1900): Prelude (Prologue)•Es war einmal (Once upon a time) (Vienna 1900): Prelude (Prologue)
- Korngold•Der Schneemann (The Snowman) (1910) (Arr. A. Zemlinsky for Orchestra)•Moderato
- Mahler•Symphony No. 9 in D major•II. Im Tempo eines gemächlichen Ländlers. Etwas täppisch und sehr derb
- Mahler-Werfel•Vier Lieder (Four Songs) (1915) (Arr. for Voice and Orchestra)•1. Licht in der Nacht (Light in the Night)
- Mahler-Werfel•Vier Lieder (Four Songs) (1915) (Arr. for Voice and Orchestra)•2. Waldseligkeit (Woodland Bliss)
- Mahler-Werfel•Vier Lieder (Four Songs) (1915) (Arr. for Voice and Orchestra)•3. Ansturm (Storm)
- Mahler-Werfel•Vier Lieder (Four Songs) (1915) (Arr. for Voice and Orchestra)•4. Erntelied (Harvest Song)
- Mahler-Werfel•5 Gesange (arr. for mezzo-soprano and orchestra)•II. No. 2. Ekstase (Ecstasy)
- Sieczyński•Wien, Wien nur du allein (Vienna, Vienna Just for You)•I. Wien, Wien nur du allein (Vienna, Vienna Just for You)
- Strauss I (Sr.)•Radetzky-Marsch op. 228•Marsch – Trio
After leaving his Esterházy employment, pursuing a freelance career, Joseph Haydn moved to Vienna where his late works included his "Emperor" String Quartet. It was in Vienna that he and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart met to play string quartets – along with fellow composers Vanhal and Dittersdorf. According to the Irish tenor Michael Kelly (the original Don Curzio in The Marriage of Figaro), "the players were tolerable; not one of them [except for Dittersdorf] excelled on the instrument he played."
Mozart lived in Vienna from 1781, composing some of his greatest works. In the final months before his death, he wrote his Clarinet Concerto (for his friend Anton Stadler), and 'Die Zauberflöte'.
Young firebrand Beethoven, bristling with revolutionary fervour, lived in Vienna from 1792 . He planned to dedicate his Third Symphony to Napoleon, but on hearing that the Frenchman had declared himself emperor, he furiously scratched out the annotation, renaming it the Eroica.
Vienna is inextricably linked to dance music. Joseph Lanner was one of the earliest composers to refine the waltz from a simple peasant dance (the Ländler) into something high society enjoyed. His great rival was Johann Strauss who fathered a dynasty of dance composers, the most famous being "Waltz King" Johann Strauss II.
The Ländler itself often appeared in symphonies by Bruckner and Mahler, and by Mahler's one-time room, the little-known Hans Rott whose Scherzo in his sole symphony bears more than a passing resemblance to music by Gustav… except Rott composed his first!
Fin-de-siècle Vienna was a golden age for the arts: Gustav Mahler, Alexander Zemlinsky, Gustav Klimt, Hugo von Hofmannsthal, Arnold Schoenberg, Oskar Kokoschka and Egon Schiele all rubbed artistic shoulders. Alma, Mahler's wife (and lover of Zemlinsky and Kokoschka), composed a number of songs. Indeed, Kokoschka illustrated the cover of her 1915 set heard here. Erich Wolfgang Korngold – like Mozart – was a child prodigy, son of a prominent music critic. 'Der Schneemann' was premiered at the Vienna State Opera when he was just 13.
And no celebration of Viennese music could end with anything but the Radetzky March!