theatres, together with the Theater an der Wien, were under the administration of the Court Theatres asso- ciation from 1806 to 1810. Beethoven was constantly attempting to secure long-term engagement contracts that would provide him with a regular income. And so it was that in 1807 he addressed the directorate of the Court Theatres association with the proposal to com- pose one large opera a year for a fee and another small- er work free of charge. Beethoven’s proposal was re- jected. Back then concerts implied the presenting of compositions, but also earnings from the sale of tick- ets that were partly bought directly from the compos- er. The Theater an der Wien still exists today, while the other two theatres have been demolished. The third tour is the longest and leads those interest- ed to the former Vienna suburbs where Beethoven spent his summers. It is well known that Beethoven moved home frequently. Over the course of the 35 years that he spent in Vienna, he moved home more than 60 times, while during some periods he used several residences simultaneously. Beethoven had the habit of spending his summers out of the city, and one of his summer res- idences is a house on Probusgasse Street in the district of Heiligenstadt. It was here that he wrote his “Testa- ment from Heiligenstadt” letter, which was addressed to his brothers but never sent. He used the letter to ex- press his despair over the progressive loss of his hear- ing. The Probusgasse Street house has been converted into a museum to Beethoven. These virtual tours include lots of historical informa- tion about Vienna and recordings of Beethoven’s compo- sitions recorded during the period from 1900 to 1950, which form part of the audio-visual archive of the Tech- nical Museum in Vienna. The performers of his works included pianist Artur Schnabel, violinist Jascha Heif- etz, soprano Lotte Lehmann and conductors Wilhelm Furtwängler, Clemens Krauss, Erich Kleiber, Bruno Wal- ter, Felix von Weingartner and Franz Schalk.
VIENNA AND LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN The city of music meets a musical genius An online exhibition has been prepared to commemorate the 250 th anniversary of the birth of Ludwig van Beethoven. Where did he live? How did he maintain his lifestyle? Where could his latest creations be heard? These are just some of the questions that visitors will have answered through the online exhibition of the Austrian Media Library entitled “Beethoven on the spot” ... B eethoven spent 35 of the 57 years he lived in Vienna. Having started his career as a tal- ented pianist in Bonn, at the age of 22 he headed to Vienna for the second time, as a student of Josef Haydn, and this time he re- mained in the city until his death. Beethoven created tones that still inspire the music world today. The Aus- trian Media Library’s exhibition entitled “Beethoven. vor.Ort” (Beethoven on the spot) encompasses three virtual tours that lead visitors through Vienna to the places where Beethoven lived, created and performed. One tour represents a walk in the footsteps of Bee- thoven’s aristocratic benefactors, who regularly financed his life in Vienna, donated instruments to him and se- cured rehearsals and performances at which they occa- sionally made house musicians and orchestras available to him. Although Beethoven was known as an impulsive person who didn’t hesitate to show his irritability even in front of noblemen, he knew how to take advantage of the connections that he established. His relationships with members of the aristocracy provided him with an income and opportunities to present his works. Ded- icated compositions were a strategy for earning mon- ey, but they didn’t imply direct monetary gain, rather they formed part of the social culture. Beethoven dedi- cated compositions to his benefactors, including Arch- duke Rudolf of Austria, Prince of Lobkowitz Franz Jo- seph Maximilian and Countess Maria Wilhelmine von Thun und Hohenstein. Beethoven’s most important pa- tron was Archduke Rudolf of Austria, who Beethoven also taught at one point.
The second tour encompasses the places where Bee- thoven’s works were performed. Theatrical and musical events served to entertain the public, and performances were social events that were subjected to regular reviews by the newspapers. Many theatres in the city’s suburbs were under private ownership, while the city’s theatres – the Old Burgtheater and the Theater am Kärntner- tor – were administered by the royal court. These two
Betoven se, dok je živeo u Beču, selio više od 60 puta Beethoven moved home more than 60 times while living in Vienna
Music » Muzika | 33
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