Nations Apart: Turbulent times

Burns and Mozart both lived in times of huge turbulence - late 18^th century. Burns 1759 - 1776. Mozart 1756 - 1791.

Robert Burns retold and recharged the great tales and songs of the Scottish nation in such unique ways. 
I visited Vienna last year where the genius musicians Strauss and Mozart told the tales of central Europe, Austria (population 8m) and of the great Danube river.

The poet Bob Dylan lived through the turbulent times of the Cold war and the civil rights marches. 

In Paris in the 18^th century Impressionism painters expressed the great creative out pouring and flair, to see in new ways. 

Italy’s Renaissance (14^th century to 17th) took two dimensional art not only to three dimensions but to stratospheric new heights and told of Italy’s great struggles and love of beauty.  

All these highly unique stories matter …

Searching for the Hidden Vienna

From the moment you arrive this is a city that sings and echoes its personality – from the colourful graffiti, to Mozart’s music notes and image, perfect cakes and the stories everywhere.

Many composers lived here – Hadyn, Schubert, Strauss, Beethoven and of course Mozart. We were pleased to attend Mozart’s Marriage of Figaro. Opera expresses a big emotional dynamic range – plaintive pleading, soft caressing, comic timing, absurdity and questioning, heady emotions, collective joy, contemplative heartbreak….

This is a small country of 8m who have fought for their survival at the heart of Europe. A crossroads place with Russia on one side, Hungary and Germany on the other. Austria at one time was the centre for the Habsburg empire. One senses today the European Project is alive and well here

There is the well-known tourist Vienna –the tour buses, the horse drawn carriages, the coffee houses, the imperial palaces. There are glittering rooftops, ordered cycle ways, the walks in the old quarter and of course luscious and light cakes! Of The Sisi museum stories and the moving images of Empress Elizabeth and of her tragedy, the reluctant princess. 

This is a city for music lovers, bookshops and art. People are very polite, well mannered, positive and hardworking with a good attitude to life. You find answers here – perhaps.

Then there is underneath the real Vienna – of a warm, proud and friendly people – proud of the heritage of their city and it’s history.  We took the first class underground system to the Schonbrunn Palace on the sunny Saturday, but found it packed out with bus loads of tourists. So instead we headed back to the Vienna old quarters.  

At the St Stephendom at the heart of old Vienna, inside the light seems to play tricks as it dances on the very tall dark columns and lays soft shiny highlights on the gold statures. We search for the quieter cobbled by ways behind the dramatic light and shade of the cathedral and find a small coffee shop near Mozarthaus to stop and enjoy the moment. We discovered the Vienna Peace museum and the Austrian Journalists Club (OJC) – The Vienna International Press centre.  

St Stephans

Mozarthaus

**ART

In Vienna’s 1900s Liberalism battled absolute power.-

The Succession Movement. ARTISTS – Klimt, Kolo Muer, Otto Wagner – all died 1918.

There was also the artists Max Licberman, Eduard Munch, A Rodin.

There were many posters of Austrian painter Schiele’s work.

Egon Schiele (1890 – 1918) – Symbolism to Expressionism “There are only a few, very new new artists. Chosen ones. The new artist must absolutely be himself; he must be a create; he needs to have the base on which he builds inside him immediately and by himself, without using that which has been handed down from the past. Only then is he a new artist.”

Vienna Museum Windows for Peace

Places to visit -

*Hofburg Palace and Imperial Palace

MozartHaus

St Stephansdom,

Scots Quarter

Schonbrunn
Vienna State Opera