Vienna
This statue of Beethoven was erected at the Beethovenplatz, near the Konzerthaus, at Vienna.
It was commissioned by the Vienna “Friends of Music” just after the Beethoven’s centenary.
It was unveiled on May 1st 1880. Since then it has been moved due to the clearing of the base of the Danube.
The sculptor Caspar Clemens von Zumbush created this statue in bronze.
Anton Dietrich (1799-1872) created two busts of Beethoven.
The first was made in 1821. This bust is kept at the History Museum of Vienna.
The second was comissioned by the Opera of Vienna (the “Wiener Staatsoper”) and was sculpted in 1867. The plastic model can be found in the great hall at the Musikvereinin Vienna.
He also sculpted, for the Opera of Vienna, a bust of Schubert.
This bust of Beethoven, or perhaps a copy, can be found a the Beethovenhaus in Bonn…
This frieze was realised for the fifteenth exhibition of the Pavillon de la Sécession which was held from April 15th to June 27th 1902. The frieze’s theme was inspried by Wagners’ interpretation of Beethoven’s ninth symphony.
Gustav Klimt was born on July 14th 1862 in the suburbs of Vienna. After having studied at the school of decoratif arts in Vienna, he founded the company of artists and started to receive comissions. From 1888, Klimt was a successful artist. For example, he won a gold medal at the Universal Exposition at Paris, a gold medal at the International Exposition at Rome in 1911. Breaking away from more classical artists, he participated in the founding of the Pavillon de la Sécession, at Vienna, of which he became the first president. Gustav Klimt died at the age of 55 year, on February 6th 1918.
The freize measures 34.14 metres long, and is made up of three sections: the central section measures 6.30 metres and the two panels on the left and right each measure 13.92 metres.
The freize is housed at the Pavillon de la Sécession, at Vienna.
Here are some pictures…
The Josefstadt theatre was built in 1788 and is still active.
It was reconstructed in 1822. For this occasion, Beethoven composed his “Consecration of the House”, opus 124, which he conducted himself for the opening ceremony…
The Kinsky Palace, built between 1713 and 1716.
Prince Kinsky, was one of Beethoven’s three patrons, along with the Archduke Rudolph and Prince Lobkowitz, from 1809…
The Pallavicini Palace, built in 1783-1784, was a meeting place for aristocratical music lovers.
Beethoven could often be found here…
There are several houses in which Beethoven lived . Some have since been demolished, but the town of Vienna holds in high regard the places where Beethoven stayed, even for a short time.
A fine example of this is the house in which Beethoven died, the Schwarzspanierhaus (House of the Black-Robed Spaniards), now destroyed, is remembered with this plaque…
“At around five o’ clock it started to pour with rain. At the same time a flash of lightening lit up the room (in front of the house, the ground was covered with snow). At this Beethoven opened his eyes wide and raised his right hand…
When his hand fell back down onto the bed his eyes were half closed. My right hand held his head, my left pressed his chest. No breath passed his lips, his heart had stopped beating…”
Account of Beethoven’s death, by Anselm Hüttenbrenner, at Vienna, March 26th 1827
The church of the Holy Trinity- Dreifaltigkeitskirche – in which began Beethoven’s funeral ceremonies on March 29th 1827.
On the afternoon of Thursday March 29th 1827, between 10,000 and 30,000 people united in front of the Schwarzspanierhaus for the funeral of Ludwig van Beethoven.