Viennese School Research Articles

The Literary Fragment in the Second Viennese School

This essay examines several works by Schönberg and Webern as deliberately fleeting statements cultivating shared aesthetic connections with literary fragments, and addressing similar issues of form, genre and rhetoric.

“Examining Anew”:

In common with many Viennese thinkers of his time, Arnold Schoenberg was an avid reader of the writings of Karl Kraus. In his day, Kraus was as famous for his recitations of his own works as for the writings themselves, his charismatic renderings producing almost ecstatic responses from audiences. Elias Canetti describes Kraus’ recitations as sites within which the audience was “learning how to hear”.[1] This is both about refining one’s sensitivity to sound and about becoming more sensitive to ideas that are carried upon the acoustic cantilena of the words. The importance of a focus upon listening cannot be over-estimated if one is trying to understand the relationship between Kraus’ style of presentation, the compositions of the Second Viennese School and performances of their works. Schoenberg saw an expression of ‘truth’ in the language of Kraus, an artist for whom what is said and how it is delivered were intimately connected but whose art’s significance lay, as Nicholas Cook has written, “not in the effects it made on the audience […] but in how far the artist, in creating it had attained ‘the origin’”.[2] This seems to echo the often problematic relationship between embodied sound and embedded idea that colours common perceptions of Schoenberg’s music. This article tests these claims through a case study of Schoenberg’s Herzgewächse Op. 20, linking a reassessment of its historicity with aspects of the tension between the musical material and its realisation when uncovered in performance. It suggests that the ‘remaking’ of the voice embedded in the demands written into the soprano soloist’s line becomes a series of ethically-charged encounters between composer, performer (idealised and actual) and, ultimately, audience. These encounters are fraught with hazard, redrawing the boundaries of what constitutes ‘right action’ in terms of creation, enactment and reception. [1] Elias Canetti, The Torch in my Ear, (London: Granta, 1999), 220. [2] Nicholas Cook, “Schenker’s Theory of Music as Ethics”, in Journal of Musicology 7.4. (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1989), 425.

The Emotional Outpour of Character Pieces in the Romantic Period

Romanticism, as a significant period in development of music, refers to the appearance of new deeper and more intimate musical compositions. Previously, absolute music concentrated on the formal structure of the particular piece taking its references from composers such as Bach and the Viennese school composers. In contrast, program music narrates stories or suggests imagery. Notable examples like Vivaldi’s ‘The Four Seasons’ and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 6 ‘Pastoral’ in F, Op. 68 foreshadowed the idea of program music. This paper will focus on the phenomenon of definite character pieces that depict certain moods, as composed by Schumann, Chopin, Rachmaninoff and others, and demonstrating how programmatic works serve the Romantic concern with individuality and emotional profoundness. Inclusion of various character pieces written by major composers, including Schubert, Schumann, Brahms, Mendelssohn, Liszt, Chopin, Rachmaninoff, and Scriabin, will demonstrate how music was used to narrate complex emotional stories and their own experiences.

The Principles and Techniques of Artur Schnabel’s Performance of the Piano Sonatas by Ludwig van Beethoven

The piano sonatas by Ludwig van Beethoven (1770–1827) represent the highest achievement of the First Viennese School in modern piano performance. The complexity and depth of the stage interpretation requires the study of the composer’s music based on its performance specifics. The study of the features of the piano sonata works by Beethoven on the example of performances by Artur Schnabel, one of the most prominent pianists of the twentieth century, will enrich modern knowledge about the style of Beethoven’s piano works. The objectives of the paper are to characterize the genre and stylistic features of Beethoven’s sonata works and to study the performing features of the German composer’s sonatas in Schnabel’s interpretation. Rationalistic approach is not typical for Schnabel’s interpretation of Beethoven’s sonatas. On the contrary, his performance has romantic features in terms of strength and depth of feeling but is classical in terms of the proportionality of expressive means. His performance impresses with its philosophical orientation and epic spirit. What is especially important to him in the musical composition is an individual approach to the intonation of recitatives, cadences, syncopation, and those stylistic components of playing that form an original interpretation of Beethoven’s music. Schnabel embodies Beethoven’s concepts on the basis of integrity, starting from the epic characteristics of Beethoven’s work

Some Remarks on the Tradition of the “„Viennese School of International Law” in the Context of its Historical Evolution

The article is based on some remarks on the tradition of the so-called Viennese School of International Law analysed by its main historical stages of evolution from its beginnings until today. The Viennese School is presently one of the world’s oldest professional schools in international law. It was and is represented by highly reputable scholars with outstanding achievements. Their determination for teaching, research, including an excellent publication record and its international reputation has a special focus on has a multidisciplinary nature. These are the main parameters of this School. The sources of research are fields related to the legal sciences, especially of the history of teaching and research of international law in Vienna, international relations, sociology and, above all, philosophy. Thus, the School has been valued throughout the world by many scholars of other different schools. The community combining contemporary and modern lawyers, followers and supporters of the Viennese School of International Law, has never had the same interests or common beliefs. However, they share a common method of theoretical thinking and common methodological approaches in the field of international law. Therefore, today the main task of dealing with the objective of the Viennese School of International Law is primarily to strive to understand international law as a separate kind of normative order in a multidisciplinary context.

Fingerprints, barcode sequences and quasi-phylogenies-Tools for analysing polyphonic music.

A data flow is presented for visualising the evolution of elementary structures of polyphonic music from early Baroque to late Romantic, using quasi-phylogenies based on fingerprint diagrams and barcode sequence data of 2-tuples of consecutive vertical pitch class sets (pcs). The present methodological study, which sees itself as a proof of concept for a data-driven approach, uses examples of music from the Baroque, the Viennese School and the Romantic era to show that such quasi-phylogenies can be generated from multi-track MIDI (v. 1) files that largely correspond to the eras and the chronology of compositions and composers. The method presented is considered to have the potential to support the analysis of a wide range of musicological questions. In the context of collaborative work on quasi-phylogenies of polyphonic music, a public data archive could be established that provides multi-track MIDI files with contextual data.

Traditions of German Expressionism in the Cinematography of the Second Half of the 20th – Early 21st Centuries

The subject of this study is the influence of the traditions of German expressionism on modern cinema, primarily the horror genre. The relevance of this work is due to the need to study the genesis of modern trends in one of the most popular types of art and its popular genres in the context of cultural history in terms of allusions and reminiscences, traditions and innovation. In order to prove that the traditions of expressionism are clearly traced to this day and promise to be quite productive in the long run, as well as to trace the nature of their presence in the history of the film industry, in line with the culturological approach, the method of comparative historical and historical situational analysis, as well as content analysis was mainly used regarding cinematography of the period under consideration. The scientific novelty of the work lies in the very prism of the study and its object — the films of 2021–2022 were considered in terms of traditions of expressionist aesthetics; in addition, the article presents a slightly different view on the masterpieces that have become classics of the cinema of the 20th century. As a result, it was revealed that the expressionist concept of man and the world is strong in the artistic world of cinema art of this period. The methods of German filmmakers of the beginning of the previous century were continued in a somewhat modified form at the level of the play of light and shadow, framing, the figurative system itself (vampires, homunculi, ghosts), mechanistic acting, sinister paraphernalia, and deceitful details. The common denominator of foreign and domestic films of all the genres and subgenres considered in the article was the use of a special musical setting — music that originates from the new Viennese school (in other words, musical expressionism), which also confirms the theory put forward.

Spatial differences in childhood and adolescent obesity according to sex and migrant status in Vienna, Austria


 
 Background The marked spatial differences in the prevalence of childhood overweight/obesity rates within cities are mainly due to environmental characteristics of individual intracity areas. This is the first analysis of spatial differences in the prevalence of overweight/obesity among children in the Austrian capital Vienna.
 
 
 Subjects and methods In the medical-record-based study, the weight status of 1611 Viennese school children of lower socioeconomic backgrounds at the ages of six, ten, and 15 years from 46 randomly selected public secondary schools were included. Medical data have been obtained at schools by trained members of the Medical school authority. Besides effects of sex and background of migration, associations between weight status and the natural as well as social environments of the residential and school districts were analyzed. Since the 23 political districts of Vienna differ markedly in socioeconomic and environmental characteristics, a comparison between the districts was carried out.
 
 
 Results Especially high overweight and obesity rates were found for the socially disadvantaged areas of the 10th, 12th, and 15th political district of Vienna. Children living and attending schools in better-off districts had lower rates of overweight and obesity, despite their low social status. The most important factors influencing overweight and obesity were parameters of the social environment and characteristics of the residential area of the children. Significant associations between the body mass index and unemployment rates, average monthly income, the educational level of the district population, the proportion of migrants in the district, and sociodemographic cluster areas could be observed. This was equally true for girls and boys, as well as children with or without a migrant background.
 
 
 Conclusion In general, socially disadvantaged, inner-city areas showed extremely high prevalence rates of obesity.
 

Performing-based and pedagogical principles of the activity in professional piano schools

The article describes the activities that leading European and Ukrainian piano schools provide. The focus is on the basic methodological principles that underpin teaching in such institutions. Some peculiarities related to the ways how regional piano schools were organized in Ukraine are analyzed. The significant influence of the Viennese school on the development of pianism is stated. The peculiarities that characterize M. Clementi’s practices, who represented the London school as well as teaching practice of the representatives of the French piano school are described. The emphasis is placed on the methodological achievements of pianists in piano schools according to epochs. The importance of piano techniques and its impact on training a professional pianist is studied. The classification of piano techniques according to three types has been clarified. They are as follows: classical techniques, which are characterized by small finger technique, with an active finger stroke, maximum accuracy of finger movement from the «bone» and free hand on the wrist; romantic techniques, which involve the development of sensations in finger pads, using the weight of the whole hand – its complete release, «legato» connected and melodious finger; expressionist techniques, in which the technique of the shoulder girdle is important, combining the techniques of the first two types with the addition of pianist’s own techniques, where there is a noticeable support at the bottom of the key with a slightly fixed hand. There are two types of piano techniques that are small and large. Textured layouts are typical of small techniques: scales, positional groups, decorations (melismata), warbles, repetitions, all kinds of arpeggios, various figurations, and double thirds. Large techniques include chords, octaves (including broken ones) and other double notes (quintuplets, sextuplets), tremolo, and leaps (skips). The main directions in the Ukrainian piano school development are outlined. They are: democratic principles and their observance; comprehensive development of personality; application of a creative approach to the personal development of students; combination of achievements of national and world artistic culture; the use of national musical heritage; influence of different arts on the personality development; manifestation of students’ creative potential in learning, development of musical perception and mastering of historical and theoretical knowledge; promotion of national and world artistic culture.

Music Theatre by Arnold Schoenberg and Alban Berg and its influence on the Ukrainian theatre in 1910-1920th

In general, despite the grandiose epochal historical upheavals in Europe at the beginning of the 20th century, nevertheless, music theatre found itself in quite favorable conditions with a flexible cultural policy, with an inherent openness to new national phenomena. The circumstances were other in Ukrainian music and theatre art. This is especially noticeable where the policy of ideological centrism and the totalitarian control dominated too much in music with the imposing on composers such the creative method as socialist realism. So every experienced researcher is well aware of the standpoint of the aesthetics of socialist realism in the mid-20th century with ideological accusations of the ideas of bourgeois music culture of Western Europe. Thus, until recently, it was not possible to consider in details the issue of international contiguities between Ukrainian music Avant-garde of the 1900s and European musical theatre in Expressionism trends due to ideological restrictions in scientific research. The relevance of the study. In contemporary musicologists thinking there remains the problem of an insufficient of overcoming the inertia of post-socialist ideological dogmas in as consequences from the previous period of Ukrainian music historiography. The problem of the lack of deep study and reassessment of the music-art processes taking place in the Ukrainian music Avant-garde theatre at the turn of the XIX-XX centuries continues to exist. The purpose of the paper is desire to grow the researching interest to international contiguities between traditions of Ukrainian music-and-drama theatre, in particular, thanks to Borys Lyatoshinskiy’s art creativity, and European music expressionism by A. Schoenberg and A. Berg. It examines the influence of the musical-theoretical views of representatives of the New (Second) Viennese School (Arnold Schoenberg, Alban Berg) on Ukrainian drama theatre (“Berezil” by Les' Kurbas) through the music activities of Borys Lyatoshinskiy as the representative of Ukrainian Avant-garde of the first quarter of the 1900s. The research methodology included: methods of biographical analysis (in the case of studying the creativity of personalities such as Arnold Schoenberg, Borys Lyatoshinskiy, Les' Kurbas), comparative studies (in analysis between the intercultural national Ukrainian music theatre and traditions expressionism by New-Viennese), and critical thinking methods (in the reassessment of the meanings of the aesthetics standpoints of previous era).

«Сложная простота»: от метафоры к понятию

The artistic culture of the 20th century is characterized by complex processes that have affected the aesthetics, philosophy of art and technology of creating works of art. The search for common patterns that unite different types of contemporary art is an urgent problem. The notion of “complex simplicity” is increasingly common in the cultural sphere as a generalized view of various artistic phenomena. The purpose of the article is to determine the conceptual status of “complex simplicity” and the specifics of its manifestations in the artistic culture of the 20th century. In the first half of the 20th century Prokofiev declared “new simplicity” as an alternative to the intentional complication of the musical language. Similar phenomena emerged in foreign musical culture: the anti-romantic orientation “Les Six”, the rational ideas of the “Second Viennese School”, the harmony and simplicity of neoclassicism. The fundamental difference of creative positions has been outlined: the desire for simplicity “in general” (as accessibility, primitivism) - and the desire for simplicity of the new quality, combined with the complexity of internal organization. In the painting the idea of a simple form was elevated to the level of a complex aesthetic concept - a new philosophy of color and form (Rayonism, Suprematism, etc.). The idea of “emptiness and simplicity” and the slogan “Less is more” (Ludwig Mies van der Rohe) dominated in architecture and interior design. The following factors actualized the interest in “complex simplicity”: 1) the complexity of the internal organization was an opportunity for the Creator not to fall into primitivism and simplification. So the masters separate themselves from the amateurism generated by the mass culture of the 20th century; 2) quality of simplicity allowed to protect the person from event and information oversaturation of modern life; 3) socio-cultural situation and artistic ideology of socialist realism has become an important factor in the domestic art. “Complex simplicity” in contemporary art is represented by two options: either an artistic text has a complex idea and content with simplicity of form and perception; or a simple concept is combined with a complex structure. This problem is actively manifested itself in the 20th century due to the increased attention to the communicative functions of culture and its texts. “Complex simplicity” implements the most important principles of postmodernism: it gives the opportunity to speak a professional and complex language in the “era of lost simplicity” (U. Eco), allows the recipient of any level of training to perceive the literary text as far as possible (pluralism of meanings). “Complex simplicity” can be considered as a property of the text of culture that characterizes its communicative functions. Despite the metaphorical nature of “complex simplicity”, it can become a full-fledged concept due to the specificity of the terminological apparatus of cultural science

In search of logotherapy.

In his authoritative and extraordinarily influential book Man's Search for Meaning, psychiatrist Viktor Frankl proposed that any individual's life task is to find meaning, that meaning cannot be obtained without suffering, and that suffering allows meaning to be identified. He also articulated his therapeutic model-logotherapy, the so-called third Viennese school of psychotherapy. This article contemplates why logotherapy currently has seemingly little salience and suggests that the most likely reasons reflect some components being taken over by other therapies and by tenets of positive psychology articulated in recent decades.

Rhythmic Processes in Schoenberg's Pierrot lunaire

ABSTRACTAnalysts have given renewed attention to rhythm in Schoenberg's atonal music; simultaneously, scholars of rhythm and metre have given increasing consideration to listeners’ changing perceptions of metrical structure in real time, as well as the cognition of metrical ambiguity. The present article joins these two threads of research, applying analytical techniques developed by Christopher Hasty (1997) to Pierrot lunaire. Hasty's approach suits Pierrot because it allows for evanescence and vagueness in the perception of rhythmic and metric qualities. The article describes several types of processes of rhythmic change in Pierrot: contraction and expansion of projective functions, hypermetrical formation and dispersion and metrical promotion and demotion. The resulting analytical model and typology can serve as a point of departure for analysing works in various corpora in addition to those of the Second Viennese School.

Хоровая музыка в творчестве Ханса Вернера Хенце

The choral music of Hans Werner Henze (1926–2012) holds a special place not only in the composer’s overall legacy, but also in the history of Western European music of the second half of the 20th century. Having analyzed the scores of musical works composed by Henze during the course of over half a century, the author of the article presents a complex characterization of the content-based and technical sides of the composer’s choral music. Generalizations are given about the periodization of the compositions pertaining to the present genre sphere, their idea-related basis, which determines the choice of literary sources, and classification is presented of the textural and articulation techniques most characteristic for Henze’s choral writing. Giving due attention to the organic combination in Henze’s music of traditional principles of textural and timbral organization with elements of the newest techniques of vocal writing, the author demonstrates a unique approach for Henze’s Darmstadt surroundings (Luigi Nono, Karlheinz Stockhausen) towards the creation of choral music which provides for both the preservation of its age-old tradition and the further development of this historically ancient genre. The techniques used by Henze not only reflect the general tendencies of evolution of choral music in the third quarter of the 20th century, but in a number of cases forestall them. On the basis of this kind of study of the specific features of choral writing in the oratorio “Das Flos der ‘Medusa’” the author rests upon the particularities of Henze’s conception of “musica impura,” substantiating its influence not only on the technical compositional, but also on the idealaesthetic component of one of the most original compositions in world choral musical literature of the previous century. Special attention is paid to the experiments characteristic of Henze in combining in one composition singing, speech and speech-like singing (Sprechgesang), which following the composers of the Second Viennese School he began incorporating back in the 1940s – being one of the first composers in his generation to do so in his music. Keywords: Hans Werner Henze, Luigi Nono, Karlheinz Stockhausen, choral music, postwar avant-garde, music and text, texture, timbre.

Жан Барраке: путь к сериализму и эстетические взгляды первой половины 1950-х годов

The article examines the aesthetical views of French composer Jean Barraqué during the period of the formation and development of the principles of serialism. The roles of Schoenberg and Beethoven in the formation of the master’s artistic worldview are singled out. The path towards the new conception of sonar thinking for Barraqué were determined by Olivier Messiaen’s music analysis courses, the familiarization with the books of René Leibowitz devoted to the serial technique created by the representatives of the Second Viennese School, as well as artistic contacts with the leading composers – Pierre Boulez, Karel Goeyvaerts and Michel Fano. On the basis of an overview of Barraqué’s articles from the 1950s the key musical figures (Webern, Berg, Schoenberg, Messiaen and Stravinsky) and issues that interested the composer during the researched period of time are disclosed, and a comparison is made between the composer’s utterances with the discourse of Boulez. Notice is drawn to the fact that the questions of serial technology proper were of little interest to Barraqué. His attention was focused on the historical needs of musical practice and its ontological essence. The composer attributed special significance to the concept of musical dialectics, considering it to be defining for the concept of serialism. Barraqué’s familiarization in the mid-1950s with Hermann Broch’s novel “The Death of Virgil” stipulated the further development of his music. The center of the composer’s interests turned out to be questions related to the nature of art and artistic creativity, the true expression of which were served by the oppositions between life and death, creation and destruction. In the article’s conclusion the connection between Barraqué’s viewpoints with the romantic aesthetics is demonstrated. Keywords: Jean Barraqué, integral serialism, musical dialectics, Anton Webern, Arnold Schoenberg, Alban Berg, Olivier Messiaen, Pierre Boulez, Igor Stravinsky, Hermann Broch.

Semantics of the timbre of classical guitar in works for ensemble by composers of the Second Viennese School

Semantics of the timbre of classical guitar in works for ensemble by composers of the Second Viennese School

The reception of Dr Ludwik Jekels' "apostolic activity" to promote psychoanalysis in Poland before the outbreak of World War I. Part 1.

The paper sets out to present Dr Ludwk Jekels' activity for the development of psychoanalysis in Poland between 1909 and 1914. Ludwik Jekels was the first Polish psychoanalyst and the first translator of Sigmund Freud's works into Polish. Throughout numerous years he gained his psychoanalytic skills in the classical Viennese school of psychoanalysis while attending lectures conducted by Freud himself. The article analyses a number of previously unknown and unpublished historical sources (e.g., Ludwik Jekels' memories and correspondence as well as daily newspapers and scientific journals). The research allowed the current knowledge of Dr Jekels' activity and achievements in his early career as a psychoanalyst to be significantly complemented. The first part of the paper presents briefly Dr Jekels' professional development and the causes why he gained interest in psychoanalysis. A little-known period of psychoanalytic activity prior to his first public presentations in Krakow and Warsaw in 1909 was reconstructed. The article includes a detailed review of Jekels' first lectures on psychoanalysis, including one which has been completely unknown to the historians of medicine. The varied reactions of the Polish neurologists and psychiatrists' to Jekels' promoting activity and psychoanalysis itself were critically assessed.

Viktor Emil Frankl

Viktor Emil Frankl was an Austrian Neurologist and Psychiatrist. He worked from the frame work of existential therapy. During world war II, he was under Nazi captivity, it is this experience that shaped his work and development of Logotherapy. It is considered the “Third Viennese school of Psychotherapy” with Freud’s psychoanalysis as first and Adler’s individual psychology as second Viennese school of psychotherapy. After the camps were liberated, in 1946, he published his world famous book – ‘Man’s Search for Meaning’ outlining his experiences in the concentration camp as well as the basic tenets and techniques of logotherapy. Frankl became one of the key figures in existential therapy and a prominent source of inspiration for humanistic psychologists. Keywords: Viktor Frankl, Logotherapy, Existential therapy.

The concept of structuralism in the context of historical development of art and design

The article discusses theoretical foundations for the emergence and formation of structuralism in Western European art criticism in the 1930-1940s, namely, the theory of representatives of the Viennese school. It considers the main concepts and terms of the concept of structuralism formed by theorists of that time in the context of the development of art history. An attempt to project the ideas of structuralism into the sphere of design is made with the involvement of the research by French theorists Claude Levi-Strauss and Roland Barthes. As a result, the main theoretical provisions of structuralism as a modeling activity and a structural person as a creator of meanings were correlated with the design field and the professional duties of a designer. Considering certain structuralism ideas in the works of French researchers in the context of the modern process of creating an industrial product, the concept of structuralism was supplemented and its certain predictability for the development of design in general was revealed.

NOVELTY IN ARCHITECTURE AS A FACTOR OF ITS DESIGN: A CONSERVATIVE VIEW

The purposeful attitude towards novelty is a relatively young phenomenon. The attitude to the New as an independent value was shaped initially in the Renaissance (or in the late Middle Ages); it lies in the same channel with the theory of progress. The phenomenon of fashion was gradually formed under its influence and involved into its orbit almost all aspects of life, including art and architecture, one or another degree. The endless need for renewal is defined as one of the main features of modernity as a paradigm (‘modern’ as new, contemporary). What is fashion as a cultural phenomenon, and why did it acquire such great importance precisely in the Modern Times – the epoch of architectural ‘styles’? When does tradition become fashion? How are novelty and freedom, the two main values of the modern paradigm, related? How does the general attitude towards novelty affect the criteria for the aesthetic assessment of contemporary architecture? The category of fashion only recently has become a subject of philosophical reflection, while not affecting the sphere of architecture. In this article, the phenomenon of the New in architecture is considered from the point of philosophical traditionalism. Another starting point of reasoning is the method of the Viennese school of art history, formulated in the phrase “History of art as the history of the spirit”. The religious and philosophical context reveals a fundamentally different approach to the phenomena of novelty and freedom in tradition and modernity and deepens the understanding of the revolution that was carried out in modern architecture. Thus, it helps to substantiate S.O. Khan-Magomedov's idea of two superstyles and refutes the generally accepted point of view, according to which modern architecture directly inherits and evolutionarily develops the achievements of tradition. Taking this idea as a whole, we consider it more broadly – in the sphere of traditional and modern architecture.