Music...music...music! Vienna IS the capital of music - and we've got lots of evidence in this post here!
Our first stop - Beethoven's residence. His music can be divided (roughly) into three periods - early, middle and late...and each period has its unique style. Being a crazy Beethoven fan, I like his music from all three periods - as they're beautiful in their own ways. I've played a number of his sonatas too, and of course, was working on analysing them last year too. I'd like to play more Beethoven in the near future! Some of my favourites include 'Sonata in A-flat Op.110 No.31', 'Sonata in E-flat Op.81a Les Adieux', 'Symphony No.9 in D minor Chorale', 'Symphony No.7 in A major', 'Grosse Fugue', 'Emperor Concerto'...there're just so many to list! Of course, if I'd to list my favourite of these...it'll be Emperor Concerto - 2nd movement. I never get tired of listening to Beethoven's masterpieces! And I never get tired of listening to Maestro Daniel Barenboim (conductor of the New Years' Day concert 2014)'s interpretation of Beethoven's piano sonatas.
But first - time to visit Beethoven's residence in Vienna! Here it is - tucked away in one of the buildings opposite the Universitat Wien. It's quite conspicuous actually - the Beethoven shop is a dead giveaway.
Of course, there was a plaque that wrote something about Beethoven on the side facade...and that meant we were in the right place! Time to go up to Beethoven's apartment...
Mandatory pic of the maestro himself...and this is one of my favourite pics of all. I have 2 Beethoven t-shirts too...and now I also have a cardholder with Beethoven's face on it. Yes - I AM a Beethoven fanatic! Anyway - here're the artefacts in the apartment...including music scores and samples of his amazing works! I really wanna get a copy of Fidelio now...
Best part of the music sampling? The recordings were done by Wiener Philharmoniker...and for some of these, the conductor was none other than Maestro Herbert von Karajan! My favourite conductor EVER!
After visiting Beethoven's apartment (and buying a Beethoven cardholder like I mentioned earlier), we headed off to another landmark - the Strauss statue in the public park in Vienna.
Passed by this beautiful monument just as we were walking to the car.
And here we are - the public park in Vienna where the Strauss statue was situated. There was a concert hall not too far away from the public park - and Strauss waltzes were performed frequently in there.
WOOHOO! One more tick off the Bucket List for me! I went up close to the Strauss statue...and got lots and lots of pictures of it!
Just a side note - Johann Strauss II is often regarded as the Waltz King - simply because his waltzes are so beautiful, and that waltzes are his forte. Some of these include the Blue Danube Waltz, Tales from the Vienna Woods, Emperor Waltz, Wine, Women and Song...and many more. Of course, he wrote some operettas, and his most famous operette is Die Fledermaus (literally translated to 'The Bat'). Dame Joan Sutherland (my favourite soprano of all time) has performed the title role in Die Fledermaus. I've got some favourite arias from Die Fledermaus too...but I think the Overture is the most awesome of the lot.
I also acquired a figurine of Johann Strauss II at the end of my trip - a replica of the beautiful gold statue that I saw in the park.
As I waltzed out the park, head full of music by Johann Strauss II, I remembered that there was ANOTHER landmark I had to see no matter what - a Beethoven statue right in the heart of the city!
And here it is! Beethoven depicted as a middle-aged man (this was in the 1800s when he was almost completely deaf)...and yes I took lots of pics of this beautiful statue. Gosh it felt SO GOOD standing under the statue of my favourite composer!
Oh yes - I should also mention - there're a number of musicians' plaques around the city - mainly because these musicians have come to Vienna, or have stayed in Vienna at some point in their lives, and have contributed extensively to the music scene here.
Passed by the Wiener Konzert Haus...unfortunately there weren't any concerts available until Christmas or after, so I didn't get to catch any concert by Wiener Philharmoniker. I'm sure I'll get to do so sometime in the future though! That's definitely one thing I gotta do soon!
Last destination - Universitat Wien - the oldest and perhaps the most reputable university in Vienna. There're a number of campuses around Vienna, but this one is the oldest, most beautiful...and mainly for philosophy students. The Universitat Wien itself was established in March 1365, by Duke Randolph IV, and is associated with 15 Nobel laureates - including Erwin Schrodinger, Hans Fischer and Victor Franz Hess. Other notable scholars include Sigmund Freud, Anton Bruckner, Viktor Frankl and Rudolf von Scherer.
Speaking of Sigmund Freud, I DID visit the Freud museum in Vienna and saw lots of artefacts that Freud used! All the information I acquired about psychoanalysis came flooding back, and I even bought a comic on psychoanalysis. Being a psychology student - visiting the Freud museum was certainly an experience!
Anyway...here're some pics of the Main Hall of the Universitat Wien...absolutely stunning both on the outside and the inside.
And check out the grand staircase! Gosh I was so awed by this part of the campus...and wanted to stay here longer...but we had to go off to another destination. Ah wells! I think I'll be back here in the Universitat Wien someday as a visitor again...it's definitely worth exploring!
Found this courtyard just as we were leaving the Grand Staircase area...so beautiful!!
And I guess that's it for now! More stuff coming up for sure...do stay tuned! Meanwhile, back to my readings...and coincidentally I'm reading on music in relation to clinical psychology!