January 4, 2004

Wonderful Vienna, the colourful city of great master composers Mozart, Schubert and Beethoven, shines brightly this winter season

VIENNA, Wien, Vienne, Wennen, Beha or Becs — whatever you call it, in any language, it spells the fabled and pulsating capital of Austria.

It is the colourful city of the great master composers Mozart, Schubert and Beethoven, of the traditional coffeehouses, the romantic Blue Danube and historical Lipizzaner Horses. This Christmas Vienna was, as usual, decked in the Christmas spirit, a time of contemplation, joy and love the world over. Traditional Christmas markets have been set up in various parts of the metropolis, offering a variety of exquisite handmade decoration items for the festival such as candles, buntings, handicrafts, jewellry and toys etc. The Viennese, young and old alike, stroll through these fascinating markets all day, that are open from nine in the morning to nine in the night.

At the Rathausplatz, near the Parliament, the Christmas market known as “The Magic of Advent on Rathausplatz”, was the place to be. It consisted of some 150 small wooden stalls and the festive illuminations on the trees of Rathauspark. A Christmas workshop, exclusively for children, was organized where they were taught to make handicrafts and small presents, as well as cookie baking. In front of Schonbrunn Palace — the former summer residence of the Habsburgs — an exhibition titled Christmas Around the World featured typically decorated Christmas trees from various European countries, together with description of their particular Christmas customs and traditions. The royal attire and atmosphere gave special significance to the exhibition.

Despite the snowfalls, the city’s temperature hovers around seven to ten Celsius. But it is windy and sometimes with light showers of rain. The shopping malls in the city centre, at Kamtnerstrasse and around the Karlsplatz and Stephansplatz, had been alive with Christmas lights and decorated trees. In other parts of the old serene city one could see preparations in full swing for huge Christmas decorations. The romance and music is in the air everywhere.

Visitors from all over Europe come to Vienna for various reasons, as winter is the greatest season to visit. The Japanese outnumber visitors from any single country and even hotels not only provide information written or printed in Japanese, but even Japanese buffet breakfast every morning.

Vienna, the centre of European art, music and culture, boasts of more than 75 museums, mostly art museums. Among these are the Museum of Fine Arts and Natural History Museum, the twin imperial museums built two-and-a-half centuries ago in the Kaiser Forum on the new Ring Boulevard. The Natural History Museum held a special exhibition about the Iceman and the world he lived in. The mummy, given the name Oetzi, is more than 5,000 years old which was found in a glacier in the Oetztaler Alps in 1991, with well preserved body as well as his articles made of leather, textile and vegetable material. The find is certainly unique in archaeology.

Vienna nurtured and inspired some of the greatest European composers and conductors, from Joseph Haydn to Franz Schubert and from Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to Ludwig von Beethoven. They are immortalized, as various museums present the life, times and music of the genius in a befitting manner. The Schubert Museum is located in his birthplace, Haydn Museum in the house where Haydn died, and Beethoven Museum is housed in the home of the artist.

This is the best time for an art lover to visit Vienna. There are various exhibitions of contemporary and modern arts that are of great interest and attraction even for a person like me, not an art connoisseur. The Museum of Fine Arts, ranking amongst the ten most prestigious museums of the world, holds the exhibition of some forty oil paintings of Francis Bacon (1909-1992) titled Francis Bacon and the Tradition of Art which will remain open until 18th January 2004. One of the great painters of the 20th century, Francis Bacon was born in Dublin in 1909, but he lived and worked in London until his death in 1992. His paintings brought him international recognition at the very start of his career. The first ever exhibition in Austria devoted to Bacon alone is in progress. It is not a retrospective but positions Bacon’s work in a network of connections with the old masters and to the work of other artists of the 20th century. About 40 works of other painters including that of Rembrandt, Velazquez and Picasso are mounted in the gallery reflecting on famous sources of Bacon’s inspirations. It maybe of interest to avid art lovers that to commemorate the 30th death anniversary of Pablo Picasso, an exhibition is going on in Paris that will continue till 19th January next year.

Albertina Museum, known for exhibitions of international art from the Renaissance to the present day, commemorates the 475th anniversary of the death of Albrecht Durer (1471-1528) recognized as the most important Renaissance artist north of the Alps. This is the major exhibition of Albrecht Durer works, which consists of 200 graphics including his masterpieces Hare and Praying Hands. In all there are 16 paintings, 140 watercolours, and various pencil drawings, copperplate engravings and woodcuts. Albertina Museum itself is the possessor of a Durer collection of extraordinary class comprising 140 works whereas other exhibits are on loan from the museums world over. The spectacular exhibition provides an excellent insight into Durer’s creative phases and his principal theme.

Another significant event is the exhibition presenting Oriental Journey-Painting and Exoticism in the late 19th Century. As the title suggests, paintings inspired by journeys in the Orient are focus of the exhibition. The art works of three notable painters, like Leopold Carl Muller who had long stays in Egypt during 1873-1886, are displayed depicting picturesque markets, suggestive portraits of girls and other features of the oriental life. The exhibition would continue until mid-April.

There are countless music and theatre events in the city. At the Theatre an der Wien, it is the smash-hit musical-tragedy Elisabeth which is the life story of Austria’s famous Empress, Sisi. It is the most successful German-language musical of all times. Over four million spectators have attended the theatre in Hungary, Germany and Japan in the recent past. The international contemporary musical festival, Wien Modern, is devoted to the composers Gyorgy Ligeti and Jani Christou, and consists of as many as over 40 events and performances until Christmas. The festival features new music from Poland, Czech Republic, Hungary, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia and Bulgaria. And then, there is ABBAMANIA — a perfect revival of the concerts given by ABBA in the 1970s and 80s, with a fantastic ensemble from London’s West End. And Shakespeare’s Hamlet is being staged. Austria’s famous piano manufacturer Bosendorfer marked its 175th anniversary with two exhibitions documenting its history, with pianos dating from the founding of the company to present day. An evening at the opera or theatre remained a dream for me however, due to high cost of tickets, notwithstanding the long queues of visitors and extreme weather conditions.

It is a lifetime experience to visit a Viennese coffeehouse, famous all over the world. For many years these were, and still remain, meeting point of personalities from politics, art, literature and culture having inspired painters, composers and writers to their famous works. Coffeehouse provides creative atmosphere, comfortable surroundings and excellent ambience, and offers incredible selection of coffee. I could, however, enjoy only a limited coffee specialty out of the menu. Some of these are Schwarzer-large or small, black coffee without milk, Brauner — black coffee with milk, Einspanner — black coffee with whipped cream, in a glass, Fiaker-black coffee with rum, Mokka-black coffee with cognac, Kleinner Mokka — small black coffee, Grober Mokka — large black coffee, Kapuziner — small cup of coffee with a drop of cream, Picollo — black coffee in a small cup served with or without whipped cream, and Melange — large cup of coffee with milk and whipped cream. The latest English book published in Vienna Three Thousand Coffees in Vienna is the talk of the town, particularly with the expatriates. Written by Colleen Di Franco, an American personality of show business, it is a collection of stories about his life experiences after settling down in Austria.

Vienna, the old imperial city, is now a modern art centre, which is manifested in presenting a variety of cultural programmes every year through holding dozens of extraordinary art exhibitions and hundreds of outstanding musical events. It certainly is an unforgettable experience to visit this winter the world capital of music, as sometimes it is called.

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