Beautiful Vienna - city of classical music | Sunday Observer

Beautiful Vienna - city of classical music

31 January, 2021
City of Vienna
City of Vienna

Vienna where dreams come true
Where music is always in the air

From Baroque to Classical, Vienna makes them happen. During classical, concert symphony and concerts were introduced with the decline of church music. This was followed by the age of the piano virtuoso. With these great happenings the iconic masters emerged, from Beethoven to Vivaldi though not in that order.


A concert hall

Among the greats, I wish to recall Ludwig van Beethoven, Johannes Bramhs, Christopher, Gluck, Joseph Hayden, Gastav Maheler, Wolfgang Amadeuz Mozart, Franz Schubert, Johann Strauss and the rest of the Strauss clan, Richard Wagner, Antonio Vivaldi, etc. The list is endless and talent bounteous and brimming with extraordinary magic as Vienna nurtured them all that made Austria stand proud also with the entry of the iron-string piano which came to be the most favoured instrument when all the later composers jumped for joy, hailing it as God-sent. If I am right, most Viennese Masters composed scores for strings and few for wind. This is the reason that Viennese music (most of them) has the waltz tempo. Even the birds tweet the waltz.

This endearing Vienna is the city with haunting melodies.

Mozart, an intellectual among many composers, wrote symphonies but was happy scoring anything and everything that had melody. He needed little time discovering himself the genius he was but played a low profile.

All composers varied differently and were Masters of Vienna. To mention some of the best melodies at random:

On the beautiful Blue Danube
Thunder and lightning
Death and Transfiguration
Don Quixote
Four Last songs (Richard Strauss who wrote 150 songs)
Salome (among operas)
Don Juan (among tone poems)

Among the Strauss clan (there were so many) four dominated all dance floors with couples waltzing, the ladies in sweeping gowns that looked heavenly.

Viennese Waltz.
Tales from the Vienna woods
Emperor Waltz
The Blue Danube

Talking of the Blue Danube, there was never a waltz mightier than this score where Johann Strauss put in the sounds of the flowing Danube River with rolling waves, dancing ripples upon clear and pure water.

Apart from such experiences, for those who enjoy twelve-note music, very few composers had such access to them.

Here, the music is compelling, ebullient and difficult to absorb in a hurry. But the passion, versatility and enthusiasm were the driving forces that these brilliant composers contained to reach the top.

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