Lower Austria (Niederösterreich)

The church of the monastery of Klosterneuburg has a famous organ from 1640 by Joh. Georg Freundt with 3 manuals and 36 stops; some of the pipes are of earlier date. Anton Bruckner frequently played this instrument (plaque in the church); he sometimes stayed overnight in the building at the right side of the monastery entrance.

The composer, organist and teacher of Beethoven Joh. Georg Albrechtsberger was born in Klosterneuburg in 1736; there is a plaque to his honour in the Martinskirche.

At the presbytery of the Martinskirche at nr 38 a plaque reminds us of a certain Knebelsberger, the creator of the Andreas-Hofer-Lied, the national anthem of Tirol.

The little palace at nr 34, the Martinschloß, functioned as the home of the Trapp family in the musical movie The Sound of Music.

In this museum there is an exposition and archive of Max Brand (1896-1980), who lived in the nearby Chiamanistraße 10 from 1975. His expressionist opera Maschinist Hopkins (1929) caused a furore in the years around 1930, being performed in 41 theatres. From 1930 until 1975 he lived in the USA, working at electronic music and constructing a sythesizer in cooperation with Robert Moog.

Leopold Mozart stayed 2 months with his son in Vienna. At the end, Wolfgang and Constanze accompanied their guest up to the Purkersdorf stop of the post carriages; the farewell on 25.IV.1785 was final, father and son didn’t meet anymore until Leopold’s death in 1787.

Johannes Brahms stayed here during the summer of 1881, composing Nänie and the 2^nd Piano Concerto. The small villa he occupied is not extant; plaque.

The conductor and composer Richard Genée lived in Preßbaum from 1878 until his death in 1895. His reputation is based more on the librettos of operettas by Millöcker, Suppé and Strauß than on his own works.

Hugo von Hofmannsthal was the favorite librettist of Richard Strauss. He provided the librettos for six operas, three of which (Elektra, Rosenkavalier, Ariadne auf Naxos) are depicted on his monument (2). He lived in the Fuchs-Schlößl (1) until his death in 1929 and was buried at the nearby cemetery (3).

Traces of Hans Pfitzner, who shortly lived here (1943-45), couldn’t be found. The clockwork of the local church tower was restored in 1846 on the expense of Franz Liszt, whatever his motive could have been.

Rodaun actually is a remote corner of Vienna but fits better into the Wienerwald district, which extends from the town up to Baden.

House of Christoph Willibald von Gluck during the summer months from 1781 until his death in 1787. Only the German version of Iphigénie en Tauride was composed here.

Memorial room of the composer Franz Schmidt, with furniture and souvenirs from his Perchtoldsdorf villa (cf next item).

House of Franz Schmidt from 1926 until his death in 1939. His Symphonies III and IV and the oratorio Das Buch mit sieben Siegeln, were written here.

Between 1888 and 1896 Hugo Wolf frequently stayed in this house, built in the 16^th century and owned by his friends Heinrich and Marie Werner. In Perchtoldsdorf he found more inspiration than elsewhere and a substantial part of his compositions was composed here. Since 1973 the house is a Hugo Wolf museum. > www.hugowolfhaus.at

Hugo Wolf stayed here in 1881 and 1882 for some weeks. He used to play on the piano the whole Parsifal simultaneously with its performances in Bayreuth, beginning exactly at 4 pm and continuing until the final chord. From the original Marienhof only some remnants next to the present hotel are extant.

Ignaz Kober built the organ of the monastic church in 1804 by using parts of the preceding organ (Römer, 1721); 17 stops, rich pedal disposition: a 32’ and two of 16’. Schubert played the instrument during a daytrip in June 1828 and composed a fugue (D 962) on the spot.

Schubert’s song Am Brunnen vor dem Tore da steht ein Lindenbaum finds its perfect ambience at this centuries old inn Höldrichsmühle: fountain, porch and lime tree are all present. That this inspired Schubert to the song from Winterreiseis nonsense, but that he and his friends came round here during their trips through the Wienerwald is very plausible. Probably Beethoven did so too.

Nearby is the so called Husarentempel. It is alleged that Schubert stayed at this classicist building, but without sufficient evidence.

Walther von der Vogelweide, living about 1170-1230 and considered ‘the prince of Minnesang’, is said to have stayed repeatedly at the Mödling castle.

Beethoven stayed here during the summer months of 1818-1819 and composed his Mödlinger Tänze (WoO 17; probably a counterfeit) and the Sonate für das Hammerklavier. The house is accessible to the public.

In 1820 Beethoven couldn’t return to the Hafnerhaus as result of his strange behavior in the preceding years; he rented a room in the Christhof, where he worked at the Missa Solemnis.

House of Arnold Schönberg from 1918 until 1925 and birthplace of the ’12-note music’ (1923). Today property of the Intern. Schönberg Society and accessible to the public. The exhibition includes the grand piano and (partly home-made) furniture from his last house in the USA. > www.schoenberg.at

Anton Webern lived here from 1918 until 1932. Frequent musical intercourse with Schönberg.

Anton Webern lived here from 1932 until the year of his death, 1945.

There is a ‘Beethoven trail’ between Mödling and Baden. Beethoven used to walk in these environs. A favorite path went through the Helenental with ‘Beethoven’s Rock’ on the south bank. His nephew and foster son Karl made a suicide attempt here on 30.VIII.1826; the composer was desperate. (cf. a study about their curious love-hate relationship: E. and R. Sierra: Beethoven and His Nephew, N.Y. 1954.)

Beethoven visited Baden during more than 20 years. Because of the destruction by fire of a part of the town in 1812 his tracks from earlier visits have been erased. From 1816 until 1822 he lived at the following addresses:

In 1816 and 1818: in the palace of count Ossolinsky; today a school (1).

In 1822: in the Goldener Schwan (2), where Die Weihe des Hauses was composed, and in the Magdalenenhof (3).

In 1823 Beethoven met Carl Maria von Weber in the Sauerhof; they dined together. The original building made room for a luxury hotel (4). Monument in the garden.

1824 and 1825: in a hermitage that also made room for a luxury hotel (5). Bust inside.

In 1824 Beethoven composed a part of the ninth Symphony and the Quartet op. 127 in what now is called Haus der Neunten (6); this house is accessible to the public.

In June 1791 Mozart visited his wife Constanze, who was taking a cure in Baden. On this occasion he composed the Ave Verum Corpus, KV 618. There are plaques at the house in which he stayed (8) and in the church in which the famous motet sounded for the first time (9).

In the park there are three composer monuments: Mozart temple, Beethoven temple and a statue of Lanner and Strauß.

The operetta composer Karl Millöcker lived here from 1894 until his death in 1899. Later on C.M. Ziehrer lived here for some years.

In this house Carl Zeller, the composer of the operetta Der Vogelhändler, died in 1898.

Merkenstein! Wo ich wandle denk’ ich dein is the first line of a poem by J.B. Rupprecht, which was used in 1814 by Beethoven for a song (WoW 144) and a duet (op. 100). Merkenstein is the name of the ruined estate of the former rulers of Baden, as well of a more recent palace nearby. Beethoven probably was acquainted with the spot.

Johann Strauß jr. owned a magnificent villa in Schönau, spending the summer months from 1880 until 1892. The villa frequently turns up in his biographies, but is probably not extant. (Photo from internet)

NOT VERIFIED

The painter Leopold Kupelwieser, perhaps the most intimate friend of Schubert, was born here in 1796. His work reveals a lot about Schubert and his companions. His monument is flanked by that of Schubert.

The first complete and official performance of Mozart’s Requiem, completed by Süßmayr, took place in this monastery on 14.XII.1793. The conductor was Count von Walsegg zu Stuppach, the mysterious man behind the commission of the work. Constanze had secretly allowed Walsegg - for a remuneration, of course - to present the work as his own. The truth was revealed soon.

Birthplace of Josef Matthias Hauer, °1883. The centuries old building has been spic-and-span restored in the 1990s and plans existed to establish memorial rooms, devoted to the pioneer of twelve-note music. This was not realized, but a new plaque with a graphic depiction of his system was installed. (The picture of the house was made before its restoration.)

Friedrich von Flotow lived here during the winters of 1870-73, while his sons studied at the gymnasium of the town; the summer months he spent in Hirschwang (> 23).

The local theatre has been situated in a monastery from 1668, that was dissolved within the scope of secularization in 1794.

The piano firm of Bösendorfer has given up its monumental factory in Vienna and concentrated the piano making in Wiener Neustadt. > www.boesendorfer.com

In September 1827 Schubert and his friend Joh. Baptist Jenger ended their holiday trip to Styria with a joyful weekend in this little castle of the tradesman Stehmann.

Arnold Schönberg was vacationing here in 1903. This district was (and is) a favorite tourist area for the Viennese. The following numbers, 23 and 24, provide ample evidence.

Friedrich von Flotow stayed in this hotel in 1846; also Ritter von Köchel (KV!) was a guest here.

From 1867 until 1873 Flotow was the owner of the villa Trautenberg in Hirschwang; the house was demolished in 1960, but a stone table from its garden was moved to the Kurpark in Reichenau to become a Flotow monument. Also Franz Schreker stayed in Reichenau two times, but he left no traces. The conductor Franz Schalk was buried in Reichenau.

Mahler stayed in the Edlacherhof in 1905; other guests included his brother-in-law Arnold Rosé and the conductor Bruno Walter.Karol Szymanowski was (vainly) cured for tuberculosis in the Kuranstalt in 1928 and 1929; the landscape reminded him to his beloved Tatra mountains, but he felt lonely and the homosexual composer experiencedthe exclusively female nursing staff as embarrassing.

Both buildings were demolished, as was the hotel Eggl in nearby Prein, where C.M Ziehrer (1898) and Alban Berg stayed in resp. 1898 and 1911.

Shortly before his death Gustav Mahler bought a parcel near the Semmering pass with the intention to build a villa. The villa was not realized untl 1914 and became the home of his widow Alma, from 1918 with Franz Werfel; the couple lived here until 1938. After the war the Red Army a.o. occupied the house; unfortunately it was deprived of several artistic details, including a fresco by Kokoschka.

The Blauer Hof was a hunting lodge of empress Maria Theresia. At its left side there are remainders of the ballroom and the theatre wing, where musical performances took place. Mozart visited Laxenburg in July 1782 and in June 1784.

When in the 1750s rich pupils of Nicola Porpora spent the summer months in this spa, he continued their singing lessons here. His (poor) pupil Joseph Haydn accompanied at the keyboard; once an appearance by Porpora and Haydn was attended by their colleagues Gluck and Wagenseil, on visit here.

A plaque adorns the former bathhouse.

Birthplace of the Haydn brothers, Joseph (°1732) and Michael (°1737). Along several renovations the shabby farmstead of father Matthias finally has been turned into an attractive Haydn museum (1). Mother Anna Maria had worked before her marriage as a cook in the castle of count Harrach; in 1793 a monument for the 61 years old and meanwhile famous son of the former servant was erected in the castle garden, which afterwardsmoved to the central place of the village (2). The brothers were baptized in the local church (3); the parents were buried at its southern wall.

Joseph Haydn went to the school of master Franck from 1738 until 1740 (1). The Renaissancebrunnen at the Marktplatz was dedicated to Haydn (2); at the post office is a copy of the Rohrau bust. A plaque was installed on the house - possibly rebuilt - of Haydn’s ancestors (3).

During the years 1820 until 1823 Franz Schubert and his friends were in any case for three days the guests on a summer happening, organized by the proprietor of this castle, an uncle of Franz von Schober; with music, dancing and other entertainment the hours rushed by. In the meantime Schubert found the occasion to compose the Atzenbrugger Tänze (D 145 and 365), probably in a cabin on the premises. The castle and cabin are accessible to the public; the exhibition concentrates on Schubert’s circle of friends.

Birthplace of the composer and piano maker Ignaz Pleyel, °1759 (1). His career brought him via Vienna, Italy and London to Paris, where he established a music shop and publishing house in 1795 and the famous Pleyel piano firm in 1807.

In 1998 a Pleyel museum was established in the former school of Ruppersthal.> www.pleyel.at

Mozart, traveling from Vienna to Prague in 1787, reputedly should have taken a sanitary stop here; a convenient opportunity to erect a monument, called Pinkelstein (pissing stone).

House of the Lamatsch family, to which Johanna belonged, the mother of Beethoven’s nephew and foster child Karl. Beethoven hated Johanna, but visited the family in 1818 on account of an inheritance issue. A plaque at the house reminds us of Beethoven’s visit; Johanna is mentioned at the wall of the local church.

Organ from 1764 by Mattias Jeßwanger with 2 manuals and 22 stops. A peculiarity of this instrument is its original state; even its wind-raising device is not powered by an electric motor but by human effort.

Organ from 1654 by Michael Prackhwith 2 manuals and 17 stops. The front has been decorated with the finest woodcarvings, on the vault fresco angels sing and play.

Organ from 1731 by Joh. Ignaz Egedacher in a monumental threefold case by Matthias Götz. Pipes and actions were replaced in the 19^th century; probably meanwhile the original disposition has been restored.

Two houses of Franz von Suppé: the first one he rented from 1876 until 1878 and here the operetta Boccaccio was written, the second one – a junction of two smaller houses – he bought in 1878 and occupied until his death in 1895. Initially a part of his belongings remained in this Sofienheim and was exhibited. In 1932 the objects were stored elsewhere, but since 2002 they moved into the Zeitbrücke-Museum, Kollergasse 155, and are accessible to the public again.

The composer Gottfried von Einem lived here from 1992 until his death in 1996. The house, maintaining the original inventary, is open to the public. A Gottfried von Einem Wanderweg has been mapped out, his favorite walk to Maissau.

The Wasserhof was the property of Beethoven’s brother Johann from 1819 until 1837. The composer stayed here in the autumn of 1826 in order to improve his poor health and to better the relations with his brother and his sister-in-law Johanna, with whom he was on bad terms. In vain, after two months he returned posthaste to Vienna in an open coach; this precipitated his death, less than four months later. Not the castle but the annex at nr. 6 with an attractive memorial room is open to the public (2).

In Gneixendorf the last string quartet op. 135 was composed, with its ominous motto Muß es sein? Es muß sein!At the street corner a monument with the notes of the motto was erected (3).

Birthplace of Maria Anna Lager, the mother of Franz Liszt, °1788, with plaque. There exists another address, Untere Landstraße 4, perhaps a later house of her family; not verified.

The organist and composer Joh. Georg Zechner (1716-78) spent the last 30 years of his life as a priest in this medieval palace, built in 1286 and belonging to the Göttweig monastery.

The impressive Mazzettihaus from 1721 was the birthplace of the jurist Ludwig Ritter von Köchel, °1800. As the author of the Chronologisch-Thematischer Verzeichnis sämtlicher Tonwerke Wolfgang Amadé Mozarts, in short Köchel-Verzeichnis, he made an invaluable contribution to the musical world.

In 1192/93 the trouvère Blondel de Nesle is said to have played a role in freeing Richard the Lionheart from captivity. By singing a song only known to Richard and after having received a correct reaction, he discovered where his friend was imprisoned. The story is located at Dürnstein castle and told in Blondels Liedby Schumann on a text by J.G. Seidl.

At the end of the first act of the opera Der Evangelimann by Wilhelm Kienzl, a fire was set to the St. Othmar monastery. The episode was inspired by a fire of the Hellerhof – a former monastery – that occurred in 1820; a pretext to establish a Kienzl museum here.

Organ from 1752 by Johann Hencke, 17 stops on 2 manuals original; afterwards extended. The wonderful decorations took nearly 30 years of work, but it really paid off.

Franz von Schober was the librettist of Schubert’s opera Alfonso und Estrella. To work together at the opera they visited in September 1821 the summer residence of Schobers uncle, the bishop of Sankt Pölten. At the castle, 8 km. south of the town, we find a plaque, a Schubertbrunnen and a Schubert inn; the castle itself is not open to the public.

During their stay at the Ochsenburg in September 1821 Schubert and Schober visited frequently the town of Sankt Pölten. They were guests of the inn Drei Kronen (1) and a first Schubertiade took place in the Bichlerhaus (2). In the Biedermeierzimmer in the historical museum of the town (3) Schubert’s visit is amply reminisced.

A small exhibition in the Musikzimmer of the monastery sheds light on its musical history, including the Melker Marienliedfrom the 12^th century and the Melker Reform from 1418, an appeal to a more restraint liturgical practice.Other features: Joh. Georg Albrechtsberger worked here as chorister (1749-54) and as organist (1759-65). His pupil Abbé Maximilian Stadler, a prolific composer, was befriended to the Mozarts, who paid him a visit in 1767, and to Beethoven; he is the Signor Abate in Beethoven’s best known canon. Stadler assisted Constanze in administrating Mozart’s inheritance. Carl Zeller finally obtained the gymnasium certificate here in 1861.

A plaque at the former Franciscan monastery reminds us of the organ playing in October 1762 by the six year old Mozart, that put the whole convent in utter astonishment. In 1864 the event became the subject of a picture by Heinrich Lossow, now in the Landesgalerie in Linz.

Karl Joseph Edler von Fürnberg, who lived in this castle, used to make music with some fellows, one of whom was Joseph Haydn. On Fürnberg’s request to compose something for the ensemble, Haydn wrote in 1759 his Divertimento, op. 1. This piece ranks as the first genuine string quartet and the starting point of the most exclusive musical tradition of the next two centuries. The castle now houses an agricultural college; in the central hall a plaque and a photo collage recall the castle’s history, including Haydn’s appearance.

Birthplace of Joh. Heinrich Schmelzer, °around 1620. He is an important composer of early baroque instrumental music. In 1679 he became the first Hofkapellmeister of Austrian birth in Vienna. Unfortunately he died in the same year; his successor was a foreigner again, the Italian Draghi.

Birthplace of Carl Zeller, °1842. He was a jurist and a high-ranking official at the Ministry of Culture, as much as the composer of Schenkt man sich Rosen in Tirol and several operettas, including Der Vogelhändler. The building now houses a cantonal court; a commemorative room is devoted to Zeller.

Bruckner’s ancestors lived in this house from 1625 until 1732; in this year Anton’s great-grandfather Josef, born here in 1715, left the house to his sister. She married Johann Hagler; to the present time the Hagler family - with Bruckner blood - occupies the site.

at6Oberösterreich