SOLO PIANO MUSIC IN VIENNA FROM HAYDN TO WEBERN

Abstract

For centuries, Vienna has always had a reputation of being a musical city. Even when national and regional styles of composition developed in various European countries, one cannot doubt that Vienna remained an important musical city. However, the history of music in Vienna is based mostly on studies of composers who were either born in Vienna or visited and lived there for significant periods of time: Joseph Haydn (1732-1809), Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791), Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827), Franz Schubert (1797-1828), Robert Schumann (1810-1856), Johannes Brahms (1833-1897), Alban Berg (1885-1935), Anton Webern (1883-1945), and so on. In order to fully understand the history of music in Vienna, a broader approach, which includes political and cultural development, is required. The purpose of this project is to explore piano literature of Vienna from the late eighteenth century to the early twentieth century, and to demonstrate the unique expression in the piano literature of Viennese composers, as well as to discuss how social conditions changed over two centuries, and how composers responded to those changes through their piano compositions.

I have recorded approximately two hours of solo piano music, which were recorded by Antonino D’Urzo of Opusrite Productions at the Dekelboum Concert Hall, University of Maryland. The recordings are available in the Digital Repository at the University of Maryland, and the CDs are available through the Library System at the University of Maryland.