Vienna Celebrates Mozart’s 250th Birthday
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart stood at the window, looking out at the narrow street in front of him as twilight descended, stretching to ease his cramped shoulder muscles. His work on the Marriage of Figaro was going well, but he was having a problem with the current passage and needed a break. As he looked out on the snowy, winter street and looked around his spacious flat, he realized that he was very fortunate to be living in Vienna.
Beginning on January 27th, 2006, you could stand at that same window and look out at the same streetscape that Mozart saw over 200 years ago from Domgasse 5, a narrow street close to St. Peter’s Church. The new living history exhibit, Mozarthaus Vienna, will celebrate the composer’s birthday with a round-the-clock preview beginning at 2 p.m. on the 27th and ending at 8 p.m. on Jan. 29th. Pick up a complimentary ticket (see www.mozarthausvienna.at for locations) to the weekend sneak peak at the only remaining Vienna residence of the great composer, the home where he composed some of his most significant work including the bread-and-butter opera, the Marriage of Figaro.
Sponsored by the Wien Museum in a public-private partnership with two major investment companies, the total net cost of the Mozarthaus project is approximately 8 million euros ($9,479,529 U.S.)
The Domgasse , where Mozart once strolled with his dog, Gaukerl, has changed very little over the last two centuries. In fact, the building that houses the exhibit still functions as a residential apartment complex. Spacious for an 18th century apartment with 6 rooms and a kitchen, the flat is divided into 3 exhibit areas. Mozart and his family lived on the first floor, or beletage (which to Americans would be the 2nd floor) from 1784 to 1787. Formerly occupied by one of Vienna’s finest stucco artisans who used it as his showroom, the rooms are decorated with elaborate ceiling ornamentation and columns, particularly in Mozart’s bedroom, the Camesina room, where the beautiful workmanship is highlighted with gold leaf. In one room, a wall has been stripped down to reveal the many layers of paint that have been applied in the past 250 years, all the way back to the paint of Mozart’s day. Similarly, the Mozarthaus exhibits display the many layers of the complicated and brilliant composer.
Period furnishings, painstakingly researched through a detailed inventory of Mozart’s estate, recreate the family’s domestic environment. Discover where they kept their pet bird, StarlâÂ?¦where the 3 servants sleptâÂ?¦and where Mozart’s wife Constanze entertained her friends or played with her children. See the billiard room where Mozart relaxed with his contemporaries, and the room where he wrote and rehearsed his now famous musical creations. In a letter to his father, Leopold, Mozart described this period in his life: ” I assure you that this is a magnificent placeâÂ?¦and the best place in the world for my profession.”
The 2nd floor exhibits are devoted to Mozart, the opera composer, and to three of his most famous works Don Giovanni, Cosi fan tutte, and The Marriage of Figaro. The displays showcase Mozart’s musical environment in the context of 18th century Vienna and his musical peers, culminating with the opulent Magic Flute Room.
The 3rd floor features an audio-visual presentation designed to give visitors a first-hand glimpse of life as Mozart knew it, personally and socially, in the Vienna of his time. Part of the exhibit centers around his patrons and clients, personal friends, and fellow composers, while another section examines Mozart’s dedication to the freemason movement and his non-conformist, sometimes scandalous, behavior.
The brick cellar of Domgasse 5 will be used as a multi-purpose event room for concerts, workshops, and special programs. On the ground floor is a coffeehouse, with a museum shop housed in the adjacent building.
Vienna’s 250th Birthday Celebration also includes a rare glimpse of the original Requiem manuscript in Mozart’s own hand at the Austrian National Library (Ã?¶sterreichische Nationalbibliothek). Commissioned by Count Franz Walsegg-Stuppach, who often took composing credit for works he ordered, the Requiem was intended as a memorial to the Count’s late wife, but Mozart failed to complete the score before his death. His widow, Constanze commissioned first Josef Eybler and later Franz Xaver SÃ?¼Ã?Â?mayr to complete the mass. On Dec. 14, 1793, Count Walsegg-Stuppach conducted its first performance in the church of Neukloster Abbey. The two volumes of the original manuscript are among the most priceless treasures of the library, and will be returned to the vault on January 29th. The sheer baroque beauty of the library’s State Hall make it well worth a visit on its own, but to actually see a score penned by Mozart is like standing over the great composer’s shoulder.
To complete the weekend, make a reservation for lunch or dinner at Vienna’s oldest Inn, the Greichenbeisl. Dating back to the 1500’s, the ancient building has Roman foundations and a tower that was once part of Vienna’s city walls, complete with pock-marks from attacks by the Turks. The first written historical mentions of the Inn note it as Zum Gelben Adler (The Yellow Eagle), and its current name, Greichenbeisl (the Greek’s Inn), is a reflection of the increasing trade that Vienna had with the Orient through Greek and Levantine traders. Although the tavern’s name has changed many times over the years, the ambience remains that of a local pub where not only Mozart, but also Beethoven, Wagner, Strauss, Shubert and Brahms once exchanged ideas over a pint and a meal. The most famous room in the Inn is called the Mark Twain Zimmer, featuring a “wall of fame” signed by the aforementioned composers, as well as famous visitors through the years from Twain himself to pop culture icons like Johnny Cash. With its authentic Austrian “everyday” cuisine, and its cozy old-world charm, this historic Viennese inn will give you yet another glimpse of life in Mozart’s time.
In addition to the grand opening of Mozarthaus and a last chance to see the original manuscripts of the Requiem, Vienna’s celebratory weekend will kick-off a year-long cultural celebration of Mozart’s life and work with special performances of his operas and symphonies, as well as films, readings and themed city walks.
Walking in Mozart’s shoes is about as close to time travel as you will ever get, and a stroll through time in 18th century Vienna is not to be missed.
IF YOU GO;
For more information on Vienna’s special Mozart celebration:
www.mozarthausvienna.at 43 (1) 505 31 00
MozartHaus Free Jan. 27-29, 2006
Ticket prices after Jan. 29th: 9 euros adult ($10.66 U.S.)
Daily 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.
www.vienna.info (Vienna Tourist Board) 43 (1) 211 14 364
www.griechenbeisl.at (Griechenbeisl Inn) 43 (1) 533 19 77
GETTING THERE:
Austrian Air City Steal Packages from Washington Dulles or New York’s JFK begin at $569 for roundtrip air and 3 nights hotel, with a luxury hotel option beginning at $759. Call Austrian Vacations at 800-790-4682 or see www.austrianair-vacations.com (a Star Alliance partner) Go-today.com also has a great package for roundtrip air and 6 nights hotel starting at $559 from JFK and Newark with add-on surcharges of $30 from Boston, and $80 from Washington or Baltimore. Check the website at www.go-today.com for
