Eduard Hanslick
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Hanslick, Eduard Eduard Hanslick Cities an countries Birth name: Eduard Hanslik Eduard Hanslick, born in Prague, studied law in Prague * 11 September 1825 in Prag, Königreich Böhmen, and Leipzig and worked as civil servant in various minist- heutige Tschechische Republik ries in Klagenfurt and Vienna until 1861. Beginning in † 6 August 1904 in Baden nahe Wien, Österreich 1861 he taught as professor for musical aesthetics and the history of music at the University of Vienna. He died Music aesthetician, music historian, music critic, in Baden near Vienna in 1904. musicologist, jurist, civil servant, Hofrat (honorary title Biography for senior civil servants) Law student and civil servant “The autobiographer has to combat a powerful temptati- on: he should spare his readers those things that do not Eduard Hanslick was born in Prague on 11 September, interest them even if for him they are valuable and unfor- 1825. His father, the library official and private scholar gettable. To omit painful battles and sad events is less dif- Josef Adolf Hanslik, was of Czech-Catholic descent. His ficult; it is, I would even say, a commandment of good mother’s parents were Jewish, but she was baptized befo- manners, a natural thoughtfulness. However, so much re being married. They spoke German, and because of that is dear, jovial and good which we experience, the ab- the lack of public schools, Eduard and his two brothers, solute best that life has to offer – friendship between and to some extent his two sisters as well, were instruc- men! I had the good fortune of having excellent friends ted by his father himself in all subjects including piano. in Vienna.” Later he received instruction in piano, theory and compo- (Eduard Hanslick, Aus meinem Leben (From my Life), sition from the Czech composer Wenzel Johann Toma- Berlin 1894. New edition by Peter Wapnewski, Kassel schek. In spite of his musical talent and passion, Hansli- 1987, p.130) ck studied law in Prague and Vienna from 1843 to 1848. He passed doctoral and judicial office exams and for the next 13 years he carried out his function as an official in Profile the fiscal offices of Vienna and Klagenfurt, as well as in With regard to gender issues, it is the variety of close fri- the Ministry of Education in Vienna starting in 1852. endships with men that characterize Eduard Hanslick’s biography and career. This focus also meant the almost total exclusion of women – with the exception of singers Music journalist and music researcher – from all of his professional activities. Among other fac- tors, Hanslick himself attributes his career as music While still in Prague, Hanslick wrote concert reviews, fir- critic and writer, as well as the creation of the first profes- st for the Prague journal “Ost und West” (East and sorship for musical aesthetics and music history at the West), and as a correspondent in Vienna starting in 1846 University of Vienna, to his exceptionally good connecti- – purely as a passion without remuneration. In doing so ons. They were based on longtime friendships with men he made his first contacts to other newspapers and aut- from his days as a student and his career as ministry offi- hors, to editorial journalists and also to musicians – such cial and were deepened by encounters within the context as Robert Schumann – who wrote to him in response to of the Vienna salon culture, travels undertaken together, his articles. In Vienna he worked for Frankel’s “Sonntags- and frequent private music-making constellations which blätter” (Sunday Pages) and for the “Kaiserliche Wiener made almost no concessions to social standing or profes- Zeitung” (Imperial Viennese Newspaper) and eventually sional hierarchies. Hanslick played piano well and pos- he became music editor for the “Wiener Zeitung” (Vien- sessed exceptional talent for communicating, both as ora- nese Newspaper) (1848-53, with an interruption during tor and in conversation. The fact that he was well-known the time he spent in Klagenfurt). From 1853 until 1864 due to his writing on musical aesthetics, his public and he wrote musical reviews for the “Presse” until some of academic lectures, and his work in the feuilleton press the staff founded the “Neue freie Presse” (New Free was another important factor in this network of relati- Press) and took him along with them. onships. – 1 – Hanslick, Eduard Socializing and salons His work as ministry official gave Hanslick no inner satis- faction. “At least it left me with enough free time to conti- In addition to networking through the music feuilleton nue my favorite studies. (…) For this purpose, for press and though making music with musically enthusia- months at a time I fairly regularly went straight from ea- stic colleagues and superiors at the ministries, the social, ting to the court library and there I read scores and half-public daily routine also offered plenty of opportuni- books until the chime rang for us to leave. Scores mostly ties for men to make, deepen and cultivate friendships. from old operas, which always interested me the most. “This small society was in the habit of coming together at The books were mostly on the aesthetics and history of the same restaurant not far from the ministry for lunch music. Heavens, what all did I read and extract there! I after office hours. In the evening our circle expanded sig- had to depend on myself for these studies. There was no nificantly in the dining hall of the hotel ‘Ungarische Kro- one to whom I could turn for advice” (ibid., p.150). ne’ (Hungarian Crown’). Not only did almost all Tirole- The result of these studies is the work “The Beautiful in ans of importance – especially the Reichstag members – Music”, which was published in Leipzig in 1854 by the pu- go there as friends of Ehrhart and Walther, but musici- blishing house of Rudolf Weigel on the letter of recom- ans and writers often went there to see me. They knew it mendation of “Rudolf von Eitelberger, who was very fa- would be more convenient to talk to me in the evenings vorably disposed toward me, and had published several at the ‘Ungarische Krone’ than at the Ministry of Educati- of my essays as editor of the ‘Literaturblattes der Wiener on or at my small apartment. There was many a jovial, Zeitung’” [Literature Pages of the Viennese Newspaper] stimulating evening spent there and often the big table (ibid., p.151). And even though Hanslick held no doctora- was not sufficient for the unexpected additions. We saw te in a philosophical discipline (but rather in law), the excellent men at our table; I will name them randomly as philosophical faculty subsequently and without hesitati- they occur to me: Billroth, Brahms, Nicolaus Bumba, Am- on accepted the work as postdoctoral lecture qualificati- bros, the singers Sontheim and Niemann, Dingelstedt, on. In addition to his duties at the Ministry of Education, Gounod (after the premiere of ‚Romeo and Juliet‘), Mo- Hanslick was now also able to give lectures on the histo- senthal, Herbeck, Dessoff, Max Maria Weber, the govern- ry and aesthetics of music as private lecturer at the Uni- or of Styria Baron Kübek, Graf Albrecht Wickenburg, the versity of Vienna – at first without being paid – as long provincial governor Graf Belrupt from Bregenz, the pro- as the lecture hours did not conflict with his office hours. fessors Wildauer, Adam, Wolf, Hlasiwetz, von Lützow, The lectures, which took place daily between 5:00 and Josef Bayer, the Africa traveler Miani and more” (Hansli- 6:00 pm, enjoyed great interest. Not only did students ck, 1987, pp. 132-133). from all faculties come to listen, but also state officials, Further encounters – in this case also with women – ca- barristers, doctors and artists. Because of the great de- me about through the Viennese salons: “The women we- mand, including from women, who were not admitted to re the attraction, of course. Not only in Vienna has it be- these university lectures, Hanslick organized another lec- en observed that in the families of large Jewish bankers ture series on the history of music in a public hall. “My the women and daughters are finely educated, of char- lectures were the first ones on music in Vienna, and the- ming behavior and receptive to all things beautiful, while refore more or less the beginning of the popular-scienti- most of the men have trained their minds solely for the fic type of lecture that soon thereafter became the fashi- stock market and only use it there” (ibid., p.134). The on.” (ibid., p.175). Hanslick nonetheless ended this series husbands “did not bother them,” the wives were admired after three cycles, although even three ministers (Graf and idolized; the intellectuals and artists, however, used Leo Thun, Graf Wickenburg and Schmerling) attended the social setting above all to socialize with each other, his last events. The huge success of his lectures and pre- chat, perform literary and musical works, and to get im- sentations prompted the Minister of Education, Graf Leo pulses, inspiration or assignments – and, more often Thun – both a member of his audience and his professio- than not, to heartily polemicize against the upper social nal superior – to grant Hanslick the title and status of as- classes to which their hosts belonged. sociate professor. To create a salaried professorship in music at the university required the intervention of for- mer colleagues and superiors at the highest levels of va- Music author and professor rious ministries – all of which were both influential and – 2 – Hanslick, Eduard interested in music, as well as being Hanslick’s chamber more from a region that was only familiar with Judaism music partners or occasional travel companions.