by John Suchet
So we come to the more narrowly based books from the world of academia. The most recent is The Legacy of Johann Strauss: Political Influence and Twentieth-Century Identity, by Zoë Alexis Lang (Cambridge University Press, 2014). This is a doctoral study by Professor Lang of the Music Department of the University of Florida, and as its title suggests is more concerned with how Strauss was perceived in the twentieth century than in giving an account of his life. It is strong on the family’s Jewish ancestry and the appropriation of the music by the Nazis – and their attempts to quash that Jewishness.
Johann Strauss: The End of an Era, by Egon Gartenberg (The Pennsylvania State University Press, 1974), is strong on the social history of Vienna, less so on the personal lives of the Strausses. The last third of the book concentrates on operetta in the twentieth century. I confess to having found it a dry read. Like the Kemp, it is available on Amazon second-hand only for cents or pennies.
Camille Crittenden was Associate Director of Institutional Gifts at San Francisco Opera when she wrote Johann Strauss and Vienna: Operetta and the Politics of Popular Culture (Cambridge University Press, 2006), as part of the Cambridge Studies in Opera series. She is, obviously, strong on the operettas and how they fitted in with the social life of Vienna, with barely a mention of the waltzes and polkas, and very little on the lives of the Strausses themselves.
When we come to the history of the Austro-Hungarian empire and the decline and fall of the House of Habsburg, there is a wealth of historical material with copious analysis of the reign of Emperor Franz Josef, though few try to get inside the mind of a man who lived through so many personal traumas. I have not found a single one with more than a passing reference to Johann Strauss the younger.
For a general history of Vienna, I have used Vienna: Legend and Reality, by Ilsa Barea (Secker & Warburg, 1966). Excellent on the history of the city, as you would expect from a native Viennese (née Pollack, she died in 1970), but very little on the Strauss family.
The life of Empress Elisabeth (Sisi) is well documented, though more in pictures than words. I have found two biographies in English, The Reluctant Empress, by Brigitte Hamann (Alfred A. Knopf, 1986), and The Lonely Empress, by Joan Haslip (Phoenix Press, 1965). Two rich books of pictures are Empress Elisabeth of Austria 1837–1898, The Fate of a Woman Under the Yoke of the Imperial Court, by Renate Stephan (Austria Imperial Edition, 1998), and Sissi, The Tragic Empress, by Ludwig Merkle (Stiebner Verlag, 1996).
I found just a single book with any detail on the shadowy life of the emperor’s mistress, Katharina Schratt. It is The Emperor & The Actress, The Love Story of Emperor Franz Josef & Katharina Schratt, by the empress’s biographer Joan Haslip (George Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1982), and I have used it extensively in my account of the relationship.
Particularly good on the difficult, and tragic, life of Crown Prince Rudolf is A Nervous Splendor, Vienna 1888–1889, by Frederic Morton (Little, Brown, 1979), a narrow account of two turbulent years in Vienna, written by a native-born Viennese now resident in the United States.
Finally two (to me) priceless little picture books that I found in Vienna many years ago, each stocked full of photographs of the old city, many of which I have reproduced in this book. They are Wien, Innere Stadt 1850–1860 (Verlag für Photographie, 1995), and Das Wiener Kaffeehaus 1870–1930 (H. Seemann und Chr. Lunzer, 2000).
If a picture is worth a thousand words, this is a very long book indeed.
Index
Page numbers in italics refer to illustrations.
A
Abbado, Claudio 262
Adam, Adolphe 31
Adler, Guido 223
Albert, Prince 74, 158
Alexander II, Tsar 100
Amon, Franz 50–52, 81, 83
Auber, Daniel 31, 61
B
Bad Ischl 124, 192–193, 194, 197, 201
Barenboim, Daniel 262, 263
Beethoven, Ludwig van 5, 7, 32, 65, 96, 100, 133, 134, 184, 191, 208, 222, 236, 259
Berlioz, Hector 31–32, 73, 77, 104, 259
Biedermeier era 6–7, 46, 108
Blumenthal, Oskar 223
Bonaparte, Napoleon 5, 236
Boskovsky, Willi 262, 264
Boston 123, 124, 126, 127, 129, 129
Brahms, Johannes 5, 139, 149, 191–196, 195, 208, 212, 213, 222, 224, 234, 237, 259
Britain 35, 40, 41, 43 161–162
Bruckner, Anton 5, 149, 208, 224, 237
Buccleuch and Sutherland, Duke of 41
Bülow, Hans von 237
Byron, Lord 35
C
Cadogan, Countess of 41
cafés 14–20, 245
Cambridge:
Duchess of 75
Duke of 41
Caspar, Mizzi 176–177
Chalupetzky, Henriette see Strauss, Jetty
Cherubini, Luigi 31
Chicago 228
Chopin, Frédéric 23
Cocks, Robert 40–41
D
Danube, river ix, 2, 4, 7, 13, 18, 23, 45, 77, 259
Decsey, Ernst 64
Devonshire, Duke of 41
Dickens, Charles 40
Disraeli, Benjamin 71
Dittrich, Angelika ‘Lili’ 145, 145–147, 149, 150, 152, 155, 159, 191
Dommayer’s Casino 54–56, 59, 60–61, 55, 63, 64, 65, 188, 189
Drechsler, Joseph 60, 219
E
Elisabeth of Bavaria 108, 109, 166– 175, 177, 181, 193, 200, 201–206, 242, 254, 254
England 36, 38, 42, 43, 74, 116, 227
Ernst II of Saxe-Coburg, Duke 158–159
F
Fahrbach, Philipp 83
First World War ix, 72, 152, 178, 254
France 41, 201, 208
Franz Ferdinand, Archduke 178, 241–243
Franz Josef, Emperor 8, 72, 83, 85, 108, 166, 169–172, 174, 175–177, 181, 184–186, 185, 190, 193, 198, 205, 206, 230, 239, 240–241, 244, 249, 254, 254
Freud, Sigmund 239
G
Genée, Richard 141
Geneva 201, 202, 204
Germany 9, 24, 25, 26, 31, 53, 73–75, 85, 127, 136, 137, 160, 201, 227, 244, 249, 254, 258
Gilbert and Sullivan 132, 208
Gilmore, Patrick Sarsfield 123, 136
Girardi, Alexander 137, 149, 191
Gloucester, Duchess of 75
Goebbels, Joseph 250–251
Goldmark, Karl 192
Grant, President Ulysses S. 128
H
Haffner, Karl 141
Hanslick, Eduard 136, 213
Haslinger, Tobias 40
Haydn, Joseph 5
Hellsberg, Dr Clemens 224
Henri of Orléans, Prince 201–202
Hietzing 54, 56, 61, 115, 127, 134, 142, 144, 145–147, 188, 189, 255
Horne, Marilyn 139
Hungary 53, 73, 80, 136, 211
J
Jacob, Heinrich Eduard 186, 233
Johann Strauss Orchestra 74, 81, 83, 86, 88, 92, 94–96, 100, 120, 124, 161, 164, 229–230, 249, 264–265
K
Karajan, Herbert von 262
Kelly, Michael 9
Kemp, Peter 113
Kleiber, Carlos 262
Klenkhart, Maria Magdalena see Strauss, Maria Magdalena
Klimt, Gustav 237–238
Kneisel, Rudolf 149
Kolschitzky, Georg Franz 17, 18–20
Kollmann, A. 213
Kremser, Eduard 220
L
Lanner, Joseph 12–14, 13, 23, 28, 53, 65, 76, 77, 220, 263
Lederer, Dr 218
Lehár, Franz 234, 245
Lehnbach, Franz von 147, 148, 218
Leopold, Emperor 19
Lind, Jenny 104
Lindau, Paul 185
Liszt, Franz 95, 237
London:
35, 38, 40–41, 71, 74, 77, 115, 128, 134, 140, 175, 227, 249, 255, 258
Covent Garden 39, 139
Exeter Hall 74, 106
/> Queen’s Concert Rooms 38
Vauxhall Pavilion 95
Loos, Adolf 239
Louis XIV 32, 240
Louis-Philippe, King 32
Luccheni, Luigi 201–206
Lueger, Karl 221
M
Maazel, Lorin 262, 264
Mahler, Gustav 5, 139, 208, 213, 221, 224, 237, 261
Mailer, Franz 196–197
Maria Theresa, Empress 177, 261
Mary, Queen 255
Maximilian, Archduke 182
Mayerling 177–179, 187, 241
Mecklenburg-Strelitz, Duchess of 75
Mehta, Zubin 262
Mendelssohn, Felix 5, 104, 208
Metternich, Klemens von 5–6, 7, 9, 45, 66, 68, 71, 75, 85, 108, 182
Meyerbeer, Giacomo 31, 61, 98
Middleton, Bay 169
Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus 5, 9, 65, 123, 139, 263
Muti, Riccardo 262
N
Netherlands 227, 249, 265
New Orleans 228
New York 123, 124, 126, 128, 197, 228, 229
Nicolai, Otto 263
Nikolai the First, Tsar 83
Nothnagel, Dr Hermann 219–220
O
Offenbach, Jacques 132–133, 150, 208
P
Paganini, Niccolò 33–34
Pamer, Michael 10, 12, 23
Paris 9, 20, 31, 33, 34, 35, 41, 44, 66, 72, 73, 77, 112, 118, 132, 136, 139, 140, 142, 201, 258, 261
Pavarotti, Luciano 139
Pavlovsk 94–96, 98, 100, 101, 103, 104, 106, 113, 115, 120, 133, 134, 260
Princip, Gavrilo 242, 246
Pruckmayer, Karoline Josefa 91, 122–123
Puccini, Giacomo 140, 149
R
Radetzky von Radetz, Johann Josef Wenzel 70, 76
Rieu, André 265
Rothschild, Mrs Lionel de 41
Rubinstein, Anton 237
Rudolf, Crown Prince 172–181, 173, 180, 205, 241, 254
Russia 94–96, 97–106, 113, 196, 227, 243
S
Salzburg:
86, 192, 213
Festival 255
San Francisco 228
Sarajevo 178, 242, 243
Schiele, Egon 238
Schnitzler, Arthur 239
Schratt, Katharina 170, 171–172, 188–189, 192, 193, 204, 240, 253–256
Schubert, Franz 5, 7, 139, 185, 198, 208, 222
Schumann, Clara 95
Schumann, Robert 5, 95, 102, 208, 234
Secession 238–240
Second World War 83, 249, 252, 253
Serbia 240, 242, 243
Simrock, Fritz 184
Sisi see Elisabeth of Bavaria
Smetana, Bedřich 2
Smirnitzky, Olga 101–104, 103
Sobieski, King Jan 18–19
Sousa, John Philip 234
Sperl 22, 23, 91, 92
St Petersburg 94, 98, 102
Starhemberg, Count 18
Steiner, Franz 151–152
Steiner, Max 136, 151
Stéphanie, Princess 175–176, 177
Straus, Oskar 234
Strauss, Adèle 152, 154–156, 157, 159, 190–192, 197, 218–221, 223, 252, 265
Strauss Alice 197, 252–253
Strauss, Anna 14, 28–29, 48, 50, 51, 56, 60–61, 77, 86–88, 91, 96, 104, 106, 121, 164
Strauss, Anna (sister of Johann Strauss the Younger) 22
Strauss, Clementina 77
Strauss, Eduard: 22, 77, 86, 95–96, 115, 120, 122, 144, 159–164, 163, 197, 209, 211, 213, 214, 224, 226–234
death of 234
destroys the work of Josef 233
‘Ausser Rand und Band’ 160
‘Bahn Frei!’ 160
‘Mit Dampf’ 160
‘Ohne Bremse’ 160
Strauss, Eduard (son of Josef Strauss) 258–259
Strauss, Franz 9
Strauss, Jetty: 74, 104–106, 105, 113–118, 122, 124, 126, 127, 129, 133, 134, 136, 142, 144–147, 149, 155, 189
death of 142, 144
Strauss, Johann (nephew of Johann Strauss the Younger) 226, 230–231, 249, 248
Strauss, Johann Michael 250–252
Strauss, Johann Wilhelm 29–30
Strauss, Josef: 22, 48–49, 72, 86–96, 93, 106, 113, 115, 117, 120–123, 159–161, 164, 196, 214, 226, 232–233, 249, 258, 261
death 123
ill health 120
‘Die Ersten und Letzten’ 92, 94
‘Dorfschwalben aus Österreich’ 94
‘Dynamiden-Walzer’ 261
‘Mein Lebenslauf ist Lieb’ und Lust’ 120
‘Musikalisches Feuilleton’ 122
‘Sphären-Klänge’ 94
Strauss, Maria Magdalena 77, 164, 228
Strauss, Richard 224, 261, 261
Strauss the Elder, Johann: ix, 10, 11, 13, 22, 28, 51, 53, 55, 56, 59, 60, 62, 64, 65, 70–74, 76, 76–77, 78, 80, 83–87, 90, 98, 154, 160, 164, 220, 251, 258, 264
divorce from Anna 56
‘Lorelei-Rhein-Klänge’ 54, 64
‘Radetzky March’ 70–71, 73, 77, 263–264
Strauss, Therese 22
Strauss the Younger, Johann: ix, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 10, 12, 14, 23, 24–26, 29–36, 38–40, 42–46, 48–55, 58, 59–66, 63, 71, 72, 74–75, 78, 80–81, 83–91, 94, 95, 98–106, 105, 112–118, 121–128, 124, 130, 133–137, 141, 142, 144, 147, 148, 149, 150–152, 154–160, 157, 162, 164, 182, 184–186, 188, 189–198, 195, 208– 214, 216–220, 217, 222–224, 222, 226, 233, 236, 237, 240, 245–246, 249, 250, 252, 253, 258–260, 262–265
death of 228
divorce from Lili 156
fear of death 124, 144, 197, 219
funeral 221
hypochondria 196, 209
ill health 84–85, 209
Jewish ancestry of 28, 250–252
physical appearance 126
will 164
‘Alice-Polka’ 74
‘Artist’s Life’ 130
Aschenbrödel 214, 218
‘1001 Nights’ 130
‘Bauern-Polka’ 100
Blinde Kuh 141, 149
‘Bluette, Polka française’ 114
‘Burschen-Lieder’ 72
‘By the Beautiful Blue Danube’ x, 2, 117, 118, 129, 159, 192, 206, 221, 224, 259, 263–264
‘Carnavals-Botschafter’ 114
‘Champagner-Polka’ 100
Das Spitzentuch der Königin 150
Der lustige Krieg 150, 152
Der Zigeunerbaron 135, 141, 189, 197, 208
‘Die Gunstwerber’ 62–64
Die Fledermaus 5, 135, 137, 139–142, 147, 150, 151, 208, 214, 216, 219, 245, 261
Die Göttin der Vernunft 212
Die lustige Witwe 246
‘Die lustigen Weiber von Wien’ 134
Die Sinngedichte 63
Don Quichotte 134
Eine Nacht in Venedig 141, 151, 155, 208
Erinnerung an Berlin 25
Erinnerung an Pesth 25
‘Freiheits-Lieder’ 72
Freuden Grüsse (Motto: Überall gut – in der Heimath am besten) 45
Fürstin Ninetta 209
‘Geschichten aus dem Wienerwald’ 116, 159, 206, 262
‘Gold and Silver Waltz’ 246
Hommage á la Reine d’Angleterre 41
Indigo und die vierzig Räuber 135–136
Jabuka 211–212
‘Kaiser Franz Josef I Rettungs-Jubel-Marsch’ 85
‘Kaiser-Jubiläum Jubelwalzer’ 188
‘Kaiser-Walzer’ 184–185, 188, 206
‘Krönungs-Marsch’ 100
La Tzigane 139
‘Neues Leben’ 158
‘New Vienna’ 130
‘Pizzicato-Polka’ 100, 121, 130
‘Revolutions-Marsch’ 71
Ritter Pásmán 209–210
Romulus 134
‘Rosen aus dem Süden’ 150, 206
‘Tritsch-Tratsch’ 101
Waldmeister 212
>
‘Wein, Weib und Gesang!’ 116, 206, 260
Wiener Blut 158, 159, 206
Streim, Anna see Strauss, Anna
Suppé, Franz von 61, 237, 263
Sutherland, Dame Joan 139
Switzerland 202, 204, 253, 258
Sztáray, Countess 202
T
Tchaikovsky, Pyotr Ilyich 213, 259
Telemann, Georg Philipp 116
Todesco, Moritz 105, 145
Trampusch, Emilie Sophie Anna 29, 48, 75, 77
Trampusch, Johann 29–30
Treffz, Jetty see Strauss, Jetty
U
United States 43, 25, 129, 130, 134, 136, 139, 227, 228, 230
V
Valerie, Archduchess 180, 201, 204, 254
Verdi, Giuseppe 98, 124, 206, 208, 210
Vetsera, Mary 176, 177–179
Victoria, Queen 35, 41, 42, 45, 74, 78, 158, 161–162, 162, 240
Vienna: 2–6, 9, 13, 14, 17, 18–20, 22, 24, 25, 28, 30, 32, 34, 36, 41, 43, 44, 45, 48, 53, 53, 55, 60, 64–66, 68–73, 75, 77, 80, 84, 85, 94–96, 98, 100–104, 106, 108, 110–112, 114, 115, 118, 120–123, 127–129, 132, 133, 136, 137, 140–141, 145, 146, 149, 150, 152, 159, 161, 162, 166, 172–174, 176, 177, 181, 182, 186, 188, 189, 192, 197–198, 204, 206, 216, 220–222, 224, 227, 230, 231, 234, 236, 237–240, 243–246, 250, 251, 253–256, 259, 260, 261, 263, 265
Bastei 18, 61, 110–111, 166
Battle of 252
Congress of 6
Court Opera 52, 60, 137, 139, 209, 212, 213, 214, 219, 221
Glacis 18
Musikverein 224, 262–263
Philharmonic Orchestra 100, 224, 262, 265
Sperl 22, 23, 91, 92
State Opera 139, 189
Theater an der Wien 133–136, 149, 150–152, 211–212, 214, 221, 238
University of 219, 223, 226
Vogt, Johann Nepomuk 64
W
Wagner, Cosima 260
Wagner, Richard 5, 22, 139, 206, 208, 210, 213, 224, 237, 249, 260–261