Music » Muzika | 33 V I ENNA AND LUDWI G VAN B E E T HOVEN The city of music meets amusical genius An online exhibition has been prepared to commemorate the 250th 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” ... Beethoven spent 35 of the 57 years he lived in Vienna. Having started his career as a talented 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 remained in the city until his death. Beethoven created tones that still inspire the music world today. The Austrian 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 Beethoven’s aristocratic benefactors, who regularlyfinanced his life in Vienna, donated instruments to him and secured rehearsals and performances at which they occasionallymade housemusicians and orchestras available tohim. AlthoughBeethovenwas knownas 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 himwith an income and opportunities to present his works. Dedicated compositions were a strategy for earning money, but they didn’t imply direct monetary gain, rather they formed part of the social culture. Beethoven dedicated compositions to his benefactors, including Archduke Rudolf of Austria, Prince of Lobkowitz Franz Joseph Maximilian and Countess Maria Wilhelmine von ThunundHohenstein. Beethoven’smost important patron was Archduke Rudolf of Austria, who Beethoven also taught at one point. The second tour encompasses the placeswhere Beethoven’s works were performed.Theatrical andmusical events served to entertain the public, andperformances were social events thatwere 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 Kärntnertor – were administered by the royal court. These two theatres, together with the Theater an der Wien, were under the administration of the Court Theatres association 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 compose one large opera a year for a fee and another smaller work free of charge. Beethoven’s proposal was rejected. Back then concerts implied the presenting of compositions, but also earnings from the sale of tickets that were partly bought directly from the composer. 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 interested to the formerVienna suburbswhereBeethovenspent 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 residences is a house on Probusgasse Street in the district of Heiligenstadt. It was here that he wrote his “Testament from Heiligenstadt” letter, which was addressed to his brothers but never sent. He used the letter to express his despair over the progressive loss of his hearing. The Probusgasse Street house has been converted into a museum to Beethoven. These virtual tours include lots of historical informationaboutVienna and recordings of Beethoven’s compositions recorded during the period from 1900 to 1950, which formpart of the audio-visual archive of the Technical Museum in Vienna. The performers of his works included pianist Artur Schnabel, violinist Jascha Heifetz, soprano Lotte Lehmann and conductors Wilhelm Furtwängler, ClemensKrauss, ErichKleiber, BrunoWalter, Felix von Weingartner and Franz Schalk. Betoven se, dok je živeo u Beču, selio više od 60 puta Beethoven moved home more than 60 times while living in Vienna
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