ecbinvienna

This morning I learned in the most pleasant way possible that Antonio Vivaldi died in Vienna. There is a very nice Vivaldi monument in the park around the Votiv Church.

Vivaldi Monument

This morning I noticed something that is not there every day.

Vivaldi Monument with rose

And this is a close-up of the rose …

The rose

In case you can’t read the heart-shaped tag it simply says “Antonio Vivaldi, 28 July 1741.” At first I thought the rose was to celebrate his birthday but when I got home I checked my music dictionary and found out that he was buried in Vienna on that day.

Wonderful to be remembered–and so beautifully–after well over 250 years!

Tags: anniversaries, music

Linden blossoms

Schubert’s song about linden trees may be more famous, but it is the 100th anniversary of Mahler’s death this year so I quote Mahler (or, more precisely, Friedrich Rückert, but Mahler set the poem to music).

The linden trees are in blossom in Vienna already, their distinctive fragrance sweetening the air. They’re early this year, but then it’s been that kind of spring. At the end of March suddenly everything came out at the same time so that forsythia and lilacs, chestnut trees and daffodils were all jostling for attention at once. Now it’s the elderflowers, cherries (not the blossoms, the fruit!), and the linden trees all out together in slightly disorienting array.

Musical addenda

Thomas Hampson singing Mahler’s “Ich atmet’ einen Lindenduft”. Hampson has been singing a lot in Vienna the last few weeks so his name is rather hanging in the air.

Hermann Prey singing Schubert’s “Der Lindenbaum”. I’ve never been that much of a Fischer-Dieskau fan. I’ve always had a soft spot for Prey’s human vulnerability. And I had the great, great privilege of hearing him sing “Die Winterreise”  in the Golden Hall of the Musikverein in Vienna, a year or so before his death. He stood and sang the cycle as if it were an old, intimate friend, which I suppose it was. Absolutely extraordinary.

Tags: anniversaries, music