# Where is Vienna?



## Aramis (Mar 1, 2009)

Now.

Where is Vienna.

Now.

Where is Vienna NOW! 

Yes.

Wilkommen. 

Sorry, I had no better idea to begin this post. 

So, what's on my mind. Long time ago, Vienna was considered as a music capital of the whole Europe. Many composers traveled there hoping for success. I don't remember who, but someone contemporary to Viennese Classics said that composer who conquers Vienna, conquers the whole musical world. There are still many prominent musical schools and theaters, but I wouldn't call it capital any more. So, where is the capital now? Which city is the most propitious for young composers, where you can meet the musical elites, where you can learn from the most regarded proffesors? Where can you see the best performances and world premieres? Where is the Vienna now?


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## kg4fxg (May 24, 2009)

*Waltz*

I will never forget Vienna. A wonderful place, I was there visiting as a tennager and dancing with some girls from France. I did not understand French but having them whisper into me while dancing was pure heaven. An French girl can whisper into my ear any day


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## Rasa (Apr 23, 2009)

Paris Conservatoire.


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## Sid James (Feb 7, 2009)

New York, New York? (had to lengthen message!)


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## Cortision (Aug 4, 2009)

Undoubtedly it is Melbourne Australia (just joking). Sorry, I have no idea


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## emiellucifuge (May 26, 2009)

Yes, The german world was the center of Music. When Dvorak issued the challenge that the american music must come from the negro and indian folk music it sent shockwaves throughout europe. Journalists at the Paris Herald were dispatched to interview authorities and discover their thoughts on the statement. Top French composers, who were convenientyle nearby - such as Saint-Saens were completely ignored and all the journalists travelled to Vienna or Berlin to interview Bruckner and the likes.



As to the answer of your question I have no idea


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## StlukesguildOhio (Dec 25, 2006)

Austrain and German culture as a whole were absolutely decimated by the rise of Hitler. Austria and Germany (Vienna and Berlin) were rivals to Paris in art, literature, music, and film: Gustave Klimt, Egon Schiele, Zemlinski, Mahler, Korngold, Schoenberg, Richard Strauss, Max Beckmann, Paul Klee, Joseph Albers, E. L. Kirchner, Hermann Hesse, Thomas Mann, R.M. Rilke, Kafka, Bertholt Brecht, Sigmund Freud, Joseph Roth, Fritz Lang, F. W. Murnau, Robert Wiene, Paul Wegener, Georg Trakl, Gottfried Benn, etc... are just a few of the names of leading figures active in the arts in Austria and Germany prior to Hitler's rise. Ironically, Hitler... who imagined himself as the great savior of German culture... may have effectively brought the greatest period of German contribution to the arts as a whole to an early demise.


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## Air (Jul 19, 2008)

Los Angeles, CA. 



StlukesguildOhio said:


> Hitler


Funny this is brought up.. ahem.. never mind, never mind, continue talking everybody.  (I assume the moderators will get this, but I don't mean it in a bad way, just in jest )


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## Sid James (Feb 7, 2009)

I'd say that already Europe was becoming old hat by the time Hitler came along. Sure, he contributed to a mass exodus of artists as a result of his tyranny, composers such as Schoenberg, Stravinsky, Hindemith, Milhaud, Dohnanyi & Bartok all fled to the USA. Not to speak of many major painters & writers. But I'd argue that the USA & New York in particular was already becoming a big artistic hub, as well as Los Angeles (movie production being centred there). I'd say Europe is now only beginning to get back to the position it once held as leader of the arts. But these are just my observations, based on what I know, they probably aren't very objective, but anyway...


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## emiellucifuge (May 26, 2009)

I Like to separate the european arts with those to be found in Los Angeles.

One is high and the other is low.


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## LuvRavel (Jun 23, 2009)

^^ One is classical and one is pop(Holywood and American Idol).


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## Isola (Mar 26, 2008)

I'd say Vienna is still the capital, well, one of the capitals. All the major cities around the world that have a good orchestra and concert hall, or frequantly hold classical concerts are capitals. Which is a good thing. In the old time when Vienna was _The_ capital, one could hardly have imagined Mozart being played in Tokyo!

Vienna is still special, though. You can _sniff _the music there (while eating Mozartkugeln chocolate balls). 



kg4fxg said:


> I will never forget Vienna. A wonderful place, I was there visiting as a tennager and dancing with some girls from France. I did not understand French but having them whisper into me while dancing was pure heaven. An French girl can whisper into my ear any day


I doubt if whispering into ears is still in fashion for French girls now.


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## ConcertVienna (Sep 9, 2009)

I'd say it is still Vienna. Of course, I am not unbiased, as I am Viennese 
***
But it is true - Mozart is just everywhere - from the chocolate balls, to the Mozart-look-alikes, who offer you concert tickets. Strauss too - waltz is played everywhere, it is literally in the air.
***
I readily admit that the great opera singers of today rarely come to the Vienna Opera. But still, there is the Vienna Philharmonic, one of the best (some say the best) orchestras of the world. And there is the New year's concert of course.
There is just a very special atmosphere in Vienna, and yes, as the previous reviewers have stated - it is old, but in a good sense.


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## danae (Jan 7, 2009)

Rasa said:


> Paris Conservatoire.


 No, definately not the Conservatoire!


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## michael walsh (Sep 6, 2009)

Salzburg was chosen for ... well, the Salzburg Festival. Quite a feast it must be said. Liverpool surely must have some claim to the title considering that for a brief period at least, it rivalled Vienna (as in the Strauss family) in international popularity.

Every year Liverpool's Mathew Street Music Festival attracts over 300,000 people. I believe it is a bigger street party than the New Orleans Jazz Festival. For some reason the Liverpool festival of music gets very little media coverage: because it is such a joyous trouble free party perhaps? Here's a poem I penned awhile ago:

*THE SCOUSE FAMILY OF MURPHYSIDE*

At marketing there is no doubt the Strauss's were ahead,
But less well known the Scousers who were Bootle born an' bred.

With father on the banjo and our Billy on guitar,
Mother smacked the tambourine and granny drove the car;
With whackers on maracas they would set the pubs alight,
But not before McNally's spoons had wet the appetite.

Interviewed on wireless and they even made the Echo,
Their photographs were taken so we all could have a dekko;
The 'Tipsy Karen' polka and 'The Mersey Flows So Blue'
Were instant hits around the pubs so credit where it's due.

They packed them in on Friday nights and Sunday lunch time too;
And sounded even better if you'd knocked back one or two;
They really got them clapping, there was sing-a-long and laughter,
When grandma did her table-dance the fellers raised the rafter.

Humble (being Scousers) they weren't posh or bold as brass,
Unlike the famous Strauss's they were proud and working class.
It's true to say that Kirkdale and the Dock Road aren't Vienna,
But in their jeans and trainers you could book them for a tenner.

In Liverpool we're very proud of pubs and singing Scousers,
And that is why we're better than the Kings of Waltz, the Strauss's.​


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