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After six months on the job it's about time that I bring you all the way home to my capitol and namesake of this magazine. The arts in this international metropolitan city are widespread and diverse. I will give you a taste from three different categories, including a concert hall I played in myself some years back.
This incredible building is situated in the heart of downtown Vienna and is nicknamed 'Steffl.' Saint Stephen, its namesake, was the first martyr of Christendom. The cathedral is Austria's most eminent Gothic edifice. The oldest remaining parts date from the 13th century and are Romanesque in style. During the 18th century, the cathedral was decorated with Baroque altar pieces. The south tower is 448 feet high and the north tower houses Austria's biggest bell.
On my last visit to Vienna I took a guided tour of St. Stephen's to get access to its wealth of art treasures. Those include the tomb of Prince Eugene of Savoy, dating from 1754, and the mausoleum of the bishops. The treasures are located in the catacombs, an underground burial place beneath the cathedral.
When you travel to Vienna you can go to the high mass on Sundays at St. Stephen's cathedral to hear beautiful church music. For an updated schedule of the many additional concerts check this bilingual Austrian website.
On the left you can see the cover of the program notes of the very first concert in this hall in the year 1913. On the bottom it says: "price: 40 Heller." Gulden and Heller were the currency in those times of the waning years of Austria's last emperor, Franz Josef II, who was also king of Hungary.
The Haus has three performance halls. The Big Hall today holds 1840 people and its ceiling is supported by 16 green marble columns. It also sports a huge organ. Besides several annual international music festivals, many other events take place in the Konzerthaus: seminars, film showings, banquets, and balls.
I myself was part of a memorable concert at the Konzerthaus. We were invited to adapt our famous annual show, the Salzburger Adventsingen for the Viennese people. We obliged by including some famous local actors and Viennese folk songs. Listen to a choral piece that was part of that concert. I am playing the organ solo accompaniment.
Copyright: What can you say about this museum with its ever growing number of exhibits? Not much except that you have to go there! In the meantime, visit their website where you can find pictures and lots of info about past and current exhibitions and the artists from all over the world. A quote from the website:
"...it is the largest museum of modern art in Central Europe. Its unique collection is housed in two exhibition buildings, both of which also regularly show special exhibitions of contemporary art."
Special Invitation: what do you think of my article? Please come and smell the coffee in our brand new Konzerthaus Café where we editors of Vienna Online hang out every day! On this message board you can voice your opinions and requests. Let the friendly discussions begin. After all, you, the reader, are the boss. What would we do without you? Join in, or just come for the pastry!
Florian would be thrilled to have you sign his guestbook at his beautiful bilingual website. Hear him sing, yodel, play piano, organ, guitar, and timpani. In November 1999 Florian will conduct the Broadway musical "Snoopy" for 15 performances. Florian is updating his website on a regular basis and always looks to implement new interesting features.
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Architecture: the Stephansdom (St. Stephen's Cathedral)
Music: the Wiener Konzerthaus.
The famous Christmas carol "Silent Night" originally had a slightly different (and nicer) melody than the one you sing and listen to every year! Come back in December and I will tell you all about it in my next article. After all, my son was born in the little village of Oberndorf, Austria, where Silent Night was created in 1818. So I should know.
