CULTURE
THE 10 BEST AUSTRIAN COMPOSERS
From Mozart To Mahler
WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART
MOZART Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart is one of the world’s most recognisable composers and an Austrian superstar of the classical era. The prodigy originally hailed from the city of Salzburg, where his legacy continues to live on today – the home in which he was born is now an extensive museum. He died in his homeland aged just 35, having written more than 600 works. There are countless conspiracies about his death, including one version theorising that he was poisoned by rivals.
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Often heralded as the ‘capital of classical music’, Austria is a honeypot for those who consider themselves connoisseurs in concertos and masters of Mozart. This city is a wonderful place for enthusiasts to delight in the numerous concerts available, or those who want an introduction to opera and discover the joys of immersing themselves in a dramatic symphony. Here’s our guide to the country’s top composers.
SCHUBERT Second to Mozart, Schubert is probably Austria’s most prolific composer, having created over 600 secular vocal works in his short lifetime (he died aged just 31). Sadly, as is the case with many artists, his work was not fully appreciated by the wider public until after his death. However, he was highly respected in elite circles in Vienna and is now considered one of the top composers of the classical era. In Vienna’s Stadtpark, there is a statue of the composer, and he has a park named after him in Währing.
STRAUSS Johann Strauss II, not to be confused with his father Johann Strauss I, is one of Austria’s betterknownmusicalgeniuses.BorninVienna in 1825, he became one of the country’s most prolificcomposers,writingover500works.He was especially respected for his 150 waltzes that earned him the nickname ‘theWaltz King’. You can listen to seven of his best here. SCHOENBERG A far cry from the conservative compositions of Amadeus Mozart, Schoenberg (1874 – 1951)
