The 180th anniversary of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra
From the "Philharmonic Idea" to the "Vienna Voice"
Author: Wang Jiyan (Associate Researcher, Institute of Music, China Academy of Arts)
"The orchestra's performance embodies the soul of Vienna, the world's recognized musical capital. The orchestra itself has become a well-deserved guardian of a great tradition. "This praise of the Vienna Philharmonic orchestra by the older conductor Bruno Walter not only represents the views of many musicians, but also largely expresses the common sentiment of countless listeners. March 28, 2022 marks the 180th anniversary of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, a journey of the 180-year-old art group and a common aspiration of lovers of the Voice of Vienna around the world.
Otto Nicole, oil painting, robert streit based on a lithograph portrait by Joseph Klehubert information picture
I. Footprints of 180 years
"March 28, 1842, was a magical day in the history of Viennese music – and much more than that." Opening the book "A Sound Tradition: A Brief History of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra" by Christophe Wagner-Trenkwitz, the first thing that catches the eye is this line. The day was Easter, and at 12:30 p.m., in the Grand Ballroom of the Palace, the "All Members of the Tennis Opera Orchestra" performed a landmark concert under the direction of the theater's chief conductor, Otto Nicole. The concert schedule includes Beethoven's Symphony No. 7 in A major and Leonora's Third Overture, but in fact it is not Leonora's Third Overture that is performed in concert, but Rather Leonora's First Overture. The choice of repertoire reflects the common quest of musicians – "to promote Beethoven's symphonic musical heritage" (in the words of the writer Hans Weigel).
The year coincided almost exactly 15 years from Beethoven's death and nearly 18 years after the premiere of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony on May 7, 1824. At the time of the concert, described by Beethoven's student Carl Cherny as "long-awaited", Vienna, despite its growing musical life and frequent symphony concerts, had neither a professional concert hall nor a permanent symphony orchestra. When important concerts are held, especially works such as Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, which require a large lineup, it is necessary to add more performers, including amateurs, with the opera orchestra as the main body. Therefore, on the night of the opening of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, the Vienna Koentenermen Theater was marked by both the best professional performers of vienna at the time and the improvised recruitment of amateur performers, a practice that was the norm in the music industry at the time. Pianist Rudolf Buchbinder wrote in My Beethoven: A Life with the Maestro: "The orchestras of the modern concert industry as we know it did not exist in that era [Beethoven's time]. Today the Vienna Philharmonic orchestra or the Staatskapelle dresden stand out from the opera house line-up as regular professional orchestras. ”
The history of the Dresden State Orchestra dates back to 1548, compared to the vienna Philharmonic orchestra, which was founded nearly three centuries later. But the roots of the latter can also be traced back much further. The Austrian music critic Franz Endler pointed out in The History of Vienna Music: "In fact, one can trace the founding of the Vienna Opera House back to the Baroque era. It can be said that the various opera performance groups at that time were the predecessors of the Vienna Opera House, and at that time, with the enthusiastic support and participation of the emperor, the opera performances in Vienna had become large-scale. Although the retrospection of this scale is inevitably somewhat fanciful, the performance of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony has become a consensus for the stimulation of the "Philharmonic Concept" and the birth of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra. In 1833, the German composer and conductor Franz Lachner made an attempt to form an orchestra, and he convened the performers of the Quay Opera Orchestra to give four concerts in succession, each of which played a symphony by Beethoven, a practice that was close to that of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra nine years later. However, the reason why it was only on March 28, 1842, that it was recognized as the official date of the establishment of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra (although the orchestra had not yet been named the "Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra" at that time, and the concert was not later named "Philharmonic Concert") because it was this concert that established the "Philharmonic Concept" that has been adhered to to this day, that is, only the contracted members of the Orchestra of the Vienna State Opera (formerly the Hofternoper) Orchestra can become members of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra; Administrative and financial autonomy; all decisions of the Orchestra are voted on by all members (including the repertoire and conductors of all performances other than opera house performances); and the day-to-day administration of the Orchestra is undertaken by a committee of 12 members elected by vote.
This "Philharmonic concept", which dominates all aspects of the artistic activities of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, according to Endler, "gives the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra advantages and privileges that other large orchestras do not have", the most important of which is that, as a truly private institution, the acts and activities of the orchestra are not interfered with by the outside world, within the scope of the law. But "ideas" and practice are not without gaps, and in the orchestra's 180-year history, there have inevitably been lows. After 11 "Philharmonic Concerts" in 5 years from 1842 to 1847, the orchestra fell silent and even on the verge of dissolution. From 1854 to 1857, Karl Eckert, the permanent conductor of the Vienna Hof Oper, conducted a small number of concerts. In 1860, after Eckert was promoted to the director of the Court Opera House, he conducted four sets of "concerts with joint tickets", and since then, the orchestra's performances have continued uninterrupted. Because of this, Nicolai is regarded as the founder of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, and Ekelt also earns the respect of the orchestra as a figure who "reborn" the orchestra.
The "Golden Age" of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra began in 1870 with the inauguration of the Vienna Friends of Music Association Building, and it was the "Musikverein", the most important part of this magnificent building, that allowed the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra to realize its sonic potential, and the sound experience of both the orchestra and the audience changed so much that Helsberg, who had been the president of the orchestra, exclaimed that "this orchestra existed before the Hall of the Friends of Music Association".
Although the "Philharmonic Idea" has long been popular, and the Philharmonic Concert has become the most artistic standard and well-known performance in Vienna and around the world, it was not until 1891, at the concert celebrating the 100th anniversary of Mozart's death, that the orchestra began to officially use the name of the group we are familiar with and accustomed to today, the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra.
During world war II, the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, like many art institutions, had a difficult time. Jewish artists at the State Opera house were fired by the Nazis, and conductor Furtwängler, in order to protect orchestral players, proposed a list of musicians of Jewish descent and marriage to Jews, which was later called the "Furtwengler List", which was far less famous than the "Schindler List", but the care and warmth revealed in it were equally admirable. As a commemoration of the 180th anniversary of the ensemble, the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra celebrates history in a unique way – commemorating the members of the orchestra and their families who were victims of the Nazi period with 17 memorial stones, which were placed in front of the stage during the orchestra's rehearsal at the Musikverein on February 17 this year, and will be permanently laid out in the former homes of the victims in Vienna.
The famous etching of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra's performance in the Musikverein, by Ferdinand Schmutze in 1923
II. "Groups Without Leaders"
In his Tales of the Music of Vienna, Endler argues that the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, as an autonomous body, cannot really go its own way, an important reason is that the members of the orchestra are from the State Opera, so it is inevitable that they are subject to the director of the opera house and the music director or principal conductor.
In the first 60 years of the vienna philharmonic orchestra's history, with the exception of Georg Hermesberg, who temporarily replaced Nicole, who could not take the stage due to illness, and Siegfried Wagner, the son of composer Richard Wagner, who was a guest conductor, the orchestra's concerts were conducted by the conductor and music director of the Palace Opera, and the orchestra itself did not have the position of music director or principal or permanent conductor, which is different from the practice of most symphony orchestras around the world. Beginning in 1903, the orchestra gradually began to invite more guest conductors, but until 1933, a regular conductor (usually the music director, director or principal conductor of the opera house) was responsible for conducting the orchestra's year-round concert series.
From 1933 onwards, there was no longer a permanent conductor, and each concert was conducted by the orchestra as an invited guest conductor. This means that all conductors working with the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra are invited guests of the orchestra, not artistic or administrative leaders. Wolfgang Schuster, a member of the percussion vocal department who had been in charge of media liaison with the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, said in a 2000 interview: "Karajan once said of the Berlin Philharmonic: I created my instrument. We [the Vienna Philharmonic] don't want to be anyone's instrument, we want to express our own personality while enjoying the changing styles of 12 or 14 of the world's best conductors. ”
Such a system undoubtedly gave the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra more independent spirit and dignity than any other orchestra, and in the words of the orchestra members, it was impossible for people on the podium to give orders here. But this also sometimes inevitably raises problems with cooperation.
There are countless conductors who have won the heartfelt love of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, including Nikolai, who is regarded as the founder of the orchestra, although he was one of the least enthusiastic about the "Philharmonic Idea" at the beginning, and he did not work with the orchestra for a long time, but the composer and conductor who was not a native of Vienna always enjoyed a special place in the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, and the orchestra's concert series named after Nikolai was always highly valued by the orchestra. Nicolai's opera overture of the same name, based on Shakespeare's The Merry Ladies of Windsor, is the orchestra's favorite piece of music, appearing in the concert repertoire almost every major year for the orchestra and Nicolai. In 1992, the 150th anniversary of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, Carlos Kleber's New Year's Concert with the overture to "Windsor's Merry Ladies" as the opening song of the whole concert; in 2010, the 200th anniversary of Nicolai's birth, the second half of the New Year's Concert conducted by George Prett opened with this overture; in 2017, the 175th anniversary of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, gustav Dudamel's New Year's Concert repertoire did not appear in the "Windsor's Merry Girls" overture, But there is the beautiful chorus "The Moon Rises" in the third act of this opera.
Hans Richter's two periods as conductor are cherished and remembered by the orchestra as a golden age of art, while Mahler's brief period as conductor is controversial. Although Mahler had no shortage of supporters in the orchestra, including Arnold Rozer, the orchestra's principal who would later become his brother-in-law, and, during Mahler's trip to the Paris World's Fair with the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra in June 1900, the orchestra was in financial difficulties, and it was Mahler who planned the funds for the orchestra to solve its problems. Mahler and the orchestra are also recognized for their interpretation of classic works, especially Beethoven's music. For example, Mahler's Symphony No. 5 in C minor, played by Mahler with the orchestra on November 5, 1899, won critical acclaim, and Robert Hirschfeldt commented in the Vienna Evening Post, writing: "Fate no longer 'knocks', it knocks the door to the ground." However, due to Mahler's strict artistic requirements and the way he got along with the orchestra's musicians, his relationship with the orchestra became increasingly strained, resulting in Mahler no longer being the conductor of the Philharmonic concert after just over two years. Mahler's words have been doing unto the orchestra for many years as a result of the tradition they have always prided themselves on– "The traditions you speak of are often just perfunctory."
More than half a century later, when The Hungarian George Salty, who had not yet become a master conductor, collaborated with the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra to record Wagner's masterpiece The Ring of the Nibelungen for Deca Records, he felt what Mahler meant. In his memoirs, he wrote that during the recording of the third act of the second "Valkyrie", "The Valkyrie's Ride", "the brass group played the main motive carelessly, playing the point-eighth note too short and the sixteenth note too long." And the attitude of the brass players is: what it is blown into is what it looks like." When Salty insisted that they play accurately, he was met with resistance from the performers. Salty on the podium clearly felt the orchestra's attitude, that is, "we know more than you." When encountering a situation where the conductor and the orchestra do not understand and process the music in the same way, the orchestra's performers immediately determine that the fault lies in the conductor. In 1972, when recording Mozart's opera "The Magic Flute", a member of the first violin department suddenly got up during the performance, said "I will not do this work", and whisked his sleeve away. All Salty could do was continue to command as if nothing had happened. Salty continues: "All I've heard about some conductors is willful and conceited, but I don't know that some orchestra members can also hurt conductors. In Salty's mind, his favorite street in Vienna for some years was the way to the airport – finally it was time to leave!
Italian conductor Carlo Maria Giulini, who has worked with the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, found that when he conducts the world's top orchestras, the orchestra's performers have a tendency to turn on "auto-run mode". And this pattern can be encountered even by a highly respected conductor like Furtwängler. Wagner-Trenkwitz tells the reader in A Sound Tradition: A Brief History of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra that one night, the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra was playing Johann Strauss's Emperor's Round Dance under the direction of Furtwängler, and the orchestral players decided to add a little more "swaying" to the familiar round dance rather than completely following the conductor's beat. When someone in the orchestra asked Furtwängler how he felt about the performance after the concert, the master replied, "Great! I'm in the direction you play. ”
After a number of collaborations with the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra by some of the world's top conductors, including Carl Boehm, Karajan, Bernstein, Kleber, Maazel, Muti, and others, Wagner-Trenkirkwitz wrote in his book A Sound Tradition: A Brief History of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, "Does the Philharmonic Orchestra Need a Conductor?" "Section! And we read that long before Furtwängler's "conduct according to your performances", when Wagner conducted his "Ron green" in the orchestra pit of the Vienna Court Opera in 1876, he confirmed the "superfluousness" of the conductor with his "inaction". In the finale of the Ottrud and Elsa duo, Wagner places the baton in his hand on the score table, no longer conducting, and smiling as the orchestra in front of him "runs automatically."
Wagner-Trenkirkwitz, A Sound Tradition: A Brief History of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, profile picture
III. The Secret of Sound Effects
The Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra's most distinctive artistic style is the world-famous "Viennese Sound", or "Wiener Klang", which is highly recognizable for classical music lovers familiar with the sound of orchestras and has been praised by countless conductors.
Zubin Mehta wrote in his autobiography that "I love the full, soft sound of Viennese music," referring to the sound of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra. The study of the reasons why the "Voice of Vienna" is an attractive academic subject, and the Vienna Timbre Style by Gregor Widerholm of the Vienna University of Music and Performing Arts is one of the important results of this research. The vienna philharmonic orchestra's strings, woodwinds, brasses, and especially the distinctive "Viennese horn" and timpani drums are deeply studied as the constituent elements of the "Vienna Sound". It also includes the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra,000 standard pitches that differ from those of orchestras around the world, i.e. the A4, which is played by the oboe to fix the entire orchestra, is 443 Hz, while other orchestras are usually 440 Hz. There is also the orchestra's vocal layout on the stage, especially at the familiar Golden Hall New Year's Concert, where the double bass chamber is lined up behind the orchestra in a row facing the conductor and the audience. There is also a view that the "Sound of Vienna" is closely related to the resonant sound effects of the Musikverein.
But all this seems to be difficult to convincingly explain the secrets of the "Vienna Voice". The arrangement of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra is not static even in the Musikverein, and the double bass is sometimes located on the right side of the stage like many orchestras. And when the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra performs outside the Musikverein, the "Vienna Sound" still has its distinctiveness. For this writer, the earliest feeling was on the evening of May 28, 1998, at the Royal Festival Hall on the south bank of the River Thames, Seiji Ozawa conducted the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra to perform Brahms First Symphony and Stravinsky's "Spring Festival". Sitting at G33 in row 65 on the 2nd floor, I strongly felt that even in this hall that has been criticized by Londoners as a dry sound effect, the "Voice of Vienna" still has a huge charm! Two days later, critic Brian Hunt's comments in the Daily Telegraph resonated with me like never before: "No conductor can make the Vienna Philharmonic orchestra play like itself and like any other orchestra... The timbre of the various instruments does not lose its splendor at all, and at the same time it merges resoundingly into one. ”
"The Sound of Vienna" is not only a unique embodiment of the music of the German and Austrian composers (especially Beethoven, Schubert, Brahms, Bruckner, Mahler, Richard Strauss), but also always brings a unique experience when playing music from all over the world, such as Hachatullian conducting the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra to play his popular "Sabre Dance", that rough wind is transmitted through the "Viennese Voice", there is a wonderful sense of cultural integration. And works such as Schubert's Army March, which are regarded as popular pieces, and the performances of the older generation of conductor Hans Knappez bush in 1960, which conducted the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra at an unusually wide and calm pace, have a grace and nobility and an exciting beauty that is not found in any other performance.
Of course, the most widely known embodiment of the "Voice of Vienna" is the "King of The Round Dance" Johann Strauss and his father and brother and Lanner, Hermesberg, Zirrerer, Lehrer and other composers of dance music or relaxed music, the annual Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra New Year Concert in more than 90 countries around the world live or broadcast, not only enough to prove the charm of the "Voice of Vienna", but also let people believe: classical music is not the high and low in the minds of many people, the beautiful "Vienna Sound" It will make the music more beautiful and more intimate.
Guangming Daily (2022.03.31 13th edition)
Source: Guangming Network - Guangming Daily