Vienna

We arrived in Vienna in snow heavy enough to stop the train, fortunately for us, in Vienna. We made it to our hotel without difficulty. High on our list of things to do in Vienna was to experience the Vienna Opera House. Our hotel was nearly across the street from it. The only performance available during our three night stay was the Verkungene Fest/Josephs Legende ballet choreographed by John Neumier, so that is what we saw, trudging through the snow the evening we arrived.

Wiener Staatsoper (Vienna Opera House)

So we had our "night at the Opera" (well, ballet). Here is the web site's sampling of the performance:

The opera house opened in 1869 to Mozart’s Don Giovanni in the presence of Emperor Franz Joseph I. Its heyday was under the direction of Gustav Mahler from 1897 to 1907. During 1938-1945 under the Nazis, many works were not allowed to be performed. Many performers were pursued and killed.  Much of the opera house was destroyed by Allied bombing during WWII.

     Undoubtedly, the opera house has been well restored, but the glory days are gone. The performance we saw was first rate, yet paled in comparison to the ballet I had seen at New York's Lincoln Center when Rudolph Nureyev was still dancing, and Mihail Barishnakov career was taking off. We had a very pleasant evening, and did not slip on the ice even once.

Schloss Belvedere (Belvedere Palace)

The history of The Belvedere dates back to the late 18th century and the ruling Habsburg dynasty. During the 19th century, it served various roles both as a palatial home, and home to renowned art collections. In 1896, Emperor Franz Joseph I decided that upper Belvedere should serve as residence to his nephew Franz Ferdinand, better known as Archduke Ferdinand of Austria, heir to the throne. The assassination of Archduke Ferdinand triggered WW I, and the subsequent collapse of the Habsburg Monarchy in 1918.

    After WW I in November 1918, the art historian Franz Haberditzl submitted a request that the Belvedere be given to the state. The request was granted, and the palace was nationalized. Considerable damage occurred during WW II. The palaces reopened in 1953 and has served as a world-class museum ever since.

Perhaps the most celebrated member of the Belvedere collection today is The Kiss by Gustav Klimt. The painting is spectacular. The lighting is spectacular. The setting is spectacular.

There is so much there. We were both swept away by another work, the 1935 painting by Max Oppenheimer called The Philharmonic.  

Oppenheimer was an accomplished musician as well as artist. His understanding of musical nuance enabled him to capture the moment of crescendo so vividly, one almost hears the score. Gustav Mahler is conducting.

Gustav Mahler conducting

Max Oppenheimer fled Austria and emigrated to the United States in 1938 to escape Nazi persecution.

IMPRESSIONISM

A reproduction of this Van Gogh painting was in the living room of Jessica's childhood home on Van Ness Avenue in Los Angeles.  She finally discovered the original at The Belvedere.

Vincent van Gogh, The Plains of Auvers (1890)

FIN DE SIÈCLE AND VIENNESE SECESSION

Gustav Klimt, Avenue to Schloss Kammer (1912)    

Gustav Klimt, Cottage Garden with Sunflowers (1906)    

EXPRESSIONISM

Egon Schiele, Portrait of the publisher Eduard Kosmack (1910)

Egon Schiele, The Family (1918)

Egon Schiele, The Embrace (1917)

Restaurant Steirereck

     While in Vienna, we indulged in a pre-Valentine’s Day splurge at Steirereck, named as one of the 50 best restaurants in the world.  We have not eaten at all the restaurants in the world, but after a sumptuous dinner at Steirereck, we concur that “Chef Heinz Reitbauer pushes the boundaries of Austrian cuisine in thrilling ways at his beautiful restaurant in Vienna’s central park.”  Who knew that strange ingredients like calamansi, tench, salsify, bergamot, puntarella, yacon root and marinated reinanke could taste so good?

Kunsthistoriches Museum

     The Kunsthistoriches Museum was built during the reign of Emperor Franz Joseph to house the extensive collection of the House of Hapsburg.  Built on the Ringstrasse, it opened in 1891.

Top of the staircase

Ceiling paintings by Gustav Klimt

The museum has a wonderful collection of Pieter Bruegel the Elder.

Pieter Bruegel, Winter Landscape

Leopold Museum

     Located in the Museum Quarter, the Leopold Museum houses the largest collection of the works by Austrian expressionist painter Egon Schiele and has many examples of Succession and Austrian art nouveau paintings, furniture and arts and crafts.

Egon Schiele, self-portrait

Egon Schiele, Wally, 1916, 

Gustav Klimt, Life and Death, 1916