vol. 30: si je t’écris ce soir de vienne
j’aimerais bien que tu comprennes
Je marche, je rêve dans Vienne Sur trois temps de valse lointaine Il semble que les ombres Tournent et se confondent Qu'ils étaient beaux les soirs de Vienne
Grüß Gott aus Wien, alles! My head has been positively too swimming with immersion in my little Vienna fin-de-siècle research bubble to write until now. BUT I will say how lovely it has been to be back in this stunning city that feels like home.
I was telling my friend the other day that Vienna is the one city (apart from Toronto, of course) of which I could actually give someone a tour. And even so, I’ve learned so much in the past two weeks of being here that I didn’t know before. I’m staying with a wonderful friend who’s a German-American social worker (that I stayed with when I was last here three years ago) in the fifth district. She’s been teaching me about some of Vienna’s 20th-century social history that I didn’t know about, like the Red Vienna period. The fifth is quite an interesting area not far from the city centre and the wonderful Naschmarkt. It may be a bit less gentrified and hip than say, the seventh, but its immigrant population and blocks of social housing built in the 1970s bring richness to its streets.
My days have been filled with research adventures to bring the story of my doctoral dissertation topic, the mezzo-soprano Emmy Heim (1885-1954), to life. I’ve had appointments at the Österreichische National Bibliothek, the Israelitische Kultusgemeinde (the Jewish records of Vienna), the Musikverein archives, the Jewish Museum, and the Albertina Museum. In between all of those, I’ve been soaking up the Secession-era art of Gustav Klimt and Oskar Kokoschka, sneaking off to the Staatsoper and Linz and the Vienna Volksoper for adventures with one of my dear mentors (who brought me to Vienna in the first place back in 2019!), and even took myself on a bucket-list solo adventure to Budapest this week. Oh, and I’ve been keeping up with my classical music writing job while trying to practise, learn, and memorize the 25 lieder by Schubert, Beethoven, Berg, Liszt, Webern, and Schumann I’ll be singing for some of the world’s great masters of the German lied next month. (Oh my god my life sounds ridiculous when I put it like this.)
A wealth of riches!!!! It’s simply too much!! Ok, a few pictures.
And in books and breakfast fashion…. A little reading list for those who want a taste of my Vienna:
The Hare with Amber Eyes - Edmund de Waal. My number one book rec. for anyone coming to Vienna. De Waal paints the scene of fin-de-siècle Vienna life with such a light, vibrant touch (making the scenes of the Nazi occupation all the more jarring). HIGHLY recommend (and then you can go check out the Ephrussi palace on the Ringstraße).
The Lady in Gold - Anne-Marie O’Conner. This book does something similar to Edmund de Waal’s but by telling the story of Klimt’s painting of Adele Bloch-Bauer. It’s not quite as readable as de Waal’s but still chock full of interesting historical details (and is also quite a poignant movie starring Helen Mirren and Ryan Reynolds).
The Magician - Colm Toibin. Okay, not quite fair of me to recommend this as I haven’t finished it but I am a huge Colm Toibin fan (just finished his sequel to Brooklyn—Long Island—which I really loved). My dad enjoyed this book about Thomas Mann, who was part of the café scene in Vienna.
Leopoldstadt - Tom Stoppard. Another one I haven’t had the chance to read *or see* yet but it’s a new play set in Vienna’s second district, where I first lived upon moving to Vienna in 2019.
Anddddd the classics by Stefan Zweig, Franz Kafka, Paul Celan, Siegmund Freud (of course). While you’re at it, listen to some Richard Strauss, Gustav Mahler, Schubert, Mozart, Beethoven, Brahms, and (if you must), Johann Strauss II (the Austrians love him). I’ve been reading some less fun things like Hitler’s Vienna by Brigitte Hamann (only during the day because this city’s more recent history can very easily become overwhelming), which is giving me an interesting perspective on the underside of the early 20th-century in Vienna.
I’ll leave you with one of the most touching songs about Vienna by one of my favourite chansonnières - the 1960s-era songstress Barbara (a French-Jewish WWII one-time hideaway herself…):