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The sound of the Vienna Philharmonic
The name "Vienna Philharmonic" is, for music-lovers the world over, inextricably bound with the idea of music-making in Vienna. The connection is universal, even if the notion of it is somewhat vague.
The members of the Vienna Philharmonic consider themselves the direct heirs to that tradition of instrumental music which was, at the end of the 18th century, a true spiritual treasure, not only in Central Europe, but, in a certain sense, all of Europe.
The rise of national schools of composition at the start of the 19th century dictated changes, as well, in the making of musical instruments in the various countries. The works of the French Impressionists and their unique musical expressiveness demanded, not only an altered method of instrumentation, but also a change in the underlying way of thinking about the spirit of music, which throughout the entire European continent, at least up until the French Revolution, had been stamped with the idea of musical rhetoric. In Vienna this changeover never reached fruition. One remained faithful to the ideas of music-making springing from the era of Viennese Classicism, though here, too, the wind instruments developed further.
These Viennese wind- (as well as brass-) instruments differ from those customary in other symphony orchestras in fundamental details:
The CLARINET has a special fingering-system, the BASSOON has essentially the German system, but special fingering-combinations and reeds.
The TRUMPET has a rotary-valve system and, in part, somewhat narrower measurements, which are shared by the TROMBONE and the (Viennese F-)TUBA, which, in addition, has a different fingering- and valve-system.
As an instrument the FLUTE does not differ basically from the internationally used Boehm-Flute, which replaced the wooden flute in Vienna first in the 1920's. But here, as with all the wind instruments in the Viennese Classics, the vibrato is used but sparingly. Up till then, the vibrato was reserved almost exclusively for the strings. It functioned as a form of ornamentation and not as a permanent means of "prettifying" the tone. It is interesting to observe that more and more foreign wind soloists now avoid excessive vibrato in interpreting the Viennese classics. Naturally the vibrato will be used by the Philharmonic musicians when it is called for by the musical style at hand.
The most fundamental difference from international instrumental playing is found in the Viennese (F-)HORN, which has a narrower measurement, longer tubing, and a piston- valve system. These valves have the advantage of providing a tone which is not so sharply defined, as well as possibilities for smoother connections between notes. Moreover, the Viennese horns are made of stronger materials than, for example, the French Horn (Double Horn in both F and Bb).
In the same manner, and found only in Vienna, the VIENNESE OBOE is differentiated from the otherwise internationally used French oboe by having a special measurement, reed, and fingering-system.
Besides those for the flute and, partially, the bassoon, the following tonal distinctions are typical for Viennese instruments:
They are richer in overtones, that is, they have a basically brighter tone.
The Viennese instruments offer a wider dynamic range, making possible greater differences between "loud" and "soft",
and have an enhanced capability of consciously changing tone color.
All these above-named distinctions are not hypotheses, but are based on much more scientifically proven facts, for which we have to thank, first and foremost, the work of Associate Professor Magister Gregor Widholm of the Institute for Viennese Tone- Culture of the Academy for Music and Performing Arts.
But the tonal style of an orchestra is also the result of tradition, combined with the character and disposition of the individual musicians. The roots of the Viennese brass tradition are to be found in Germany. Style-begetter here was Hans Richter, conductor of the premiere of Richard Wagner's "Ring" Tetrology at Bayreuth and confidant of that composer. He led the Philharmonic concerts from 1875 to 1898, and was also hornist and orchestra-member from 1862 to 1866.
Thanks to him, not only did numerous Philharmonic brass instrumentalists participate in the Bayreuth Festivals, but German brass players, most notably trombonists and tuba-players, were engaged time and again in Vienna.
The Viennese PERCUSSION INSTRUMENTS boast the following distinctions: All tuned membraphones are basically made of stretched natural hides in this case, goat hides which, as opposed to synthetics, produce a richer series of overtones.
In the Viennese KETTLEDRUM or TYMPANI (differing from the Dresden system) the hide is pressed against the adjustable kettle. The hand-lever mechanism, unlike those with the foot-mechanism, allows a greater degree of sensitivity in tuning. (In certain cases in contemporary works, pedal-tympani are used.)
A few examples of the most commonly used percussion instruments: With the various types of drums the preference is for a cylinder which can swing freely without a stand. The CYMBALS were the invention of Avedis Zildjan of Constantinople, and date from the 19th and early 20th centuries. Since they evolved from clapperless hand-bells, they were, unlike the instruments of today, cast, and not fashioned from rolled plate. All these dissimilarities from other orchestras can be measured and realized with the aid of digital analysis.
It is in the realm of the rightly renowned Viennese string tone that more extensive research is lacking. Nevertheless, there can be no question of a fully homogenous Viennese School of String Instruments, even when a continuous historical development is discernible.
Joseph Boehm (1795-1876) is considered the actual founder of the new Vienna Philharmonic School of Strings, which has two branches:
one of them leading through Jakob Dont (1815-1888), Joseph Joachim (1831-1907), Jakob Gruen (1837-1916), Franz Mairecker* (1879-1950) direct to Walter Barilly* (born 1921) and Willi Boskovsky* (1908-1991) as well as to the great teacher Franz Samohyl (born 1912). At the present time twenty-two of his pupils, among them Rainer Kuechl* and Werner Hink* are engaged by the Philharmonic as violinists and violists.
The second branch extends from Georg Hellmesberger* (1800-1873), Karl Heiáler (1823-1878), Julius Winkler (1855-1938), Arnold Rose* (1863-1946), Ernst Morawec (1894-1980) and Wolfgang Schneiderhan*(born. 1915) to Gerhart Hetzel* (born 1940).
(Those names marked with * were or are concertmasters of the Vienna Philharmonic.)
"The greatest achievement of Hellmesberger, Sr., was the creation of the uniquely beautiful tone of the string sections of the Vienna Philharmonic."
(Quoted from Moser/Nosselt: The History of Violin-Playing. Schneider/Tutzing 1967, Volume II).
When you consider that Boehm was the pupil of Pierre Rodes (1774-1830) and that the latter's teacher was the founder of the new French School of Strings, Giovanni Battista Viotti (1755-1824), and that Boehm's pupil Joachim is regarded as founder of the Russian School of Violin, then you realize how, even without consideration of both of the old Viennese Violin Schools, this connection can likewise be traced back to the itinerant virtuosi of the 19th century.
The secret of the Philharmonic string tone, as formulated by Maser based on remarks by Carl Flesch, would be "... a broad, closed vibrato, along with the ability to produce intensive, but constantly free-swinging tone near the bridge."
It is open to question whether this truly is the case, but here is the opinion of the former orchestra- chairman as expressed in a book which appeared on the occasion of the orchestra's centenniel jubilee:
"From these two stylistic circles and stylistic mixtures the Viennese School of String Instruments developed with its special uniqueness: the softness of the tone, the sensuality of the sound-production, the naturalness in the phrasing are manifestations of a commingling of many races here on the outer limits of the German Realm."
(Wilhelm Jerger: THE VIENNA PHILHARMONIC: INHERITANCE AND MISSION/DIE WIENER PHILHARMONIKER, ERBE UND SENDUNG, 1942 [!])
Although here the violin tradition of the Philharmonic is somewhat more fully handled, the family histories of the other string groups are, of course, also provided. One has only to think of the Krotschalk School of cello-playing or, for the viola, that of the Hellmesberger Quartet's Karl Heissler, whose violin pupils numbered Julius Winkler, Arnold Rose and Franz Schalk.
And the Viennese Double-Bass School at the time of Viennese Classicism, which, through the customary violin-tuning in thirds, enabled each master to contribute to the concert- or chamber music-literature for that instrument.
The traditional theater-placement of the double-basses in a row behind the brass allows the tone of each instrument to sing forth freely, while still retaining the chamber music-like character of the Viennese School of Strings.
Actually, the playing of the Viennese strings, as contrasted with that of the wind instruments, is not all that extraordinary. Rather, the string-players of the Philharmonic are more like members of a medieval guild, pooling their talents and their devotion for the common good.
Together they produce that unique orchestral sound which the great composers of the Viennese Classic, the Viennese Romantic, and the Viennese School must have had in their inner ear when creating their masterpieces.
In June 1990, with the help of Daimler-Benz-AG, the Vienna Philharmonic hosted an international Symposium under the title "SOUND AND COMPOSER".
The members of the Vienna Philharmonic consider themselves the direct heirs to that tradition of instrumental music which was, at the end of the 18th century, a true spiritual treasure, not only in Central Europe, but, in a certain sense, all of Europe.
The rise of national schools of composition at the start of the 19th century dictated changes, as well, in the making of musical instruments in the various countries. The works of the French Impressionists and their unique musical expressiveness demanded, not only an altered method of instrumentation, but also a change in the underlying way of thinking about the spirit of music, which throughout the entire European continent, at least up until the French Revolution, had been stamped with the idea of musical rhetoric. In Vienna this changeover never reached fruition. One remained faithful to the ideas of music-making springing from the era of Viennese Classicism, though here, too, the wind instruments developed further.
These Viennese wind- (as well as brass-) instruments differ from those customary in other symphony orchestras in fundamental details:
The CLARINET has a special fingering-system, the BASSOON has essentially the German system, but special fingering-combinations and reeds.
The TRUMPET has a rotary-valve system and, in part, somewhat narrower measurements, which are shared by the TROMBONE and the (Viennese F-)TUBA, which, in addition, has a different fingering- and valve-system.
As an instrument the FLUTE does not differ basically from the internationally used Boehm-Flute, which replaced the wooden flute in Vienna first in the 1920's. But here, as with all the wind instruments in the Viennese Classics, the vibrato is used but sparingly. Up till then, the vibrato was reserved almost exclusively for the strings. It functioned as a form of ornamentation and not as a permanent means of "prettifying" the tone. It is interesting to observe that more and more foreign wind soloists now avoid excessive vibrato in interpreting the Viennese classics. Naturally the vibrato will be used by the Philharmonic musicians when it is called for by the musical style at hand.
The most fundamental difference from international instrumental playing is found in the Viennese (F-)HORN, which has a narrower measurement, longer tubing, and a piston- valve system. These valves have the advantage of providing a tone which is not so sharply defined, as well as possibilities for smoother connections between notes. Moreover, the Viennese horns are made of stronger materials than, for example, the French Horn (Double Horn in both F and Bb).
In the same manner, and found only in Vienna, the VIENNESE OBOE is differentiated from the otherwise internationally used French oboe by having a special measurement, reed, and fingering-system.
Besides those for the flute and, partially, the bassoon, the following tonal distinctions are typical for Viennese instruments:
They are richer in overtones, that is, they have a basically brighter tone.
The Viennese instruments offer a wider dynamic range, making possible greater differences between "loud" and "soft",
and have an enhanced capability of consciously changing tone color.
All these above-named distinctions are not hypotheses, but are based on much more scientifically proven facts, for which we have to thank, first and foremost, the work of Associate Professor Magister Gregor Widholm of the Institute for Viennese Tone- Culture of the Academy for Music and Performing Arts.
But the tonal style of an orchestra is also the result of tradition, combined with the character and disposition of the individual musicians. The roots of the Viennese brass tradition are to be found in Germany. Style-begetter here was Hans Richter, conductor of the premiere of Richard Wagner's "Ring" Tetrology at Bayreuth and confidant of that composer. He led the Philharmonic concerts from 1875 to 1898, and was also hornist and orchestra-member from 1862 to 1866.
Thanks to him, not only did numerous Philharmonic brass instrumentalists participate in the Bayreuth Festivals, but German brass players, most notably trombonists and tuba-players, were engaged time and again in Vienna.
The Viennese PERCUSSION INSTRUMENTS boast the following distinctions: All tuned membraphones are basically made of stretched natural hides in this case, goat hides which, as opposed to synthetics, produce a richer series of overtones.
In the Viennese KETTLEDRUM or TYMPANI (differing from the Dresden system) the hide is pressed against the adjustable kettle. The hand-lever mechanism, unlike those with the foot-mechanism, allows a greater degree of sensitivity in tuning. (In certain cases in contemporary works, pedal-tympani are used.)
A few examples of the most commonly used percussion instruments: With the various types of drums the preference is for a cylinder which can swing freely without a stand. The CYMBALS were the invention of Avedis Zildjan of Constantinople, and date from the 19th and early 20th centuries. Since they evolved from clapperless hand-bells, they were, unlike the instruments of today, cast, and not fashioned from rolled plate. All these dissimilarities from other orchestras can be measured and realized with the aid of digital analysis.
It is in the realm of the rightly renowned Viennese string tone that more extensive research is lacking. Nevertheless, there can be no question of a fully homogenous Viennese School of String Instruments, even when a continuous historical development is discernible.
Joseph Boehm (1795-1876) is considered the actual founder of the new Vienna Philharmonic School of Strings, which has two branches:
one of them leading through Jakob Dont (1815-1888), Joseph Joachim (1831-1907), Jakob Gruen (1837-1916), Franz Mairecker* (1879-1950) direct to Walter Barilly* (born 1921) and Willi Boskovsky* (1908-1991) as well as to the great teacher Franz Samohyl (born 1912). At the present time twenty-two of his pupils, among them Rainer Kuechl* and Werner Hink* are engaged by the Philharmonic as violinists and violists.
The second branch extends from Georg Hellmesberger* (1800-1873), Karl Heiáler (1823-1878), Julius Winkler (1855-1938), Arnold Rose* (1863-1946), Ernst Morawec (1894-1980) and Wolfgang Schneiderhan*(born. 1915) to Gerhart Hetzel* (born 1940).
(Those names marked with * were or are concertmasters of the Vienna Philharmonic.)
"The greatest achievement of Hellmesberger, Sr., was the creation of the uniquely beautiful tone of the string sections of the Vienna Philharmonic."
(Quoted from Moser/Nosselt: The History of Violin-Playing. Schneider/Tutzing 1967, Volume II).
When you consider that Boehm was the pupil of Pierre Rodes (1774-1830) and that the latter's teacher was the founder of the new French School of Strings, Giovanni Battista Viotti (1755-1824), and that Boehm's pupil Joachim is regarded as founder of the Russian School of Violin, then you realize how, even without consideration of both of the old Viennese Violin Schools, this connection can likewise be traced back to the itinerant virtuosi of the 19th century.
The secret of the Philharmonic string tone, as formulated by Maser based on remarks by Carl Flesch, would be "... a broad, closed vibrato, along with the ability to produce intensive, but constantly free-swinging tone near the bridge."
It is open to question whether this truly is the case, but here is the opinion of the former orchestra- chairman as expressed in a book which appeared on the occasion of the orchestra's centenniel jubilee:
"From these two stylistic circles and stylistic mixtures the Viennese School of String Instruments developed with its special uniqueness: the softness of the tone, the sensuality of the sound-production, the naturalness in the phrasing are manifestations of a commingling of many races here on the outer limits of the German Realm."
(Wilhelm Jerger: THE VIENNA PHILHARMONIC: INHERITANCE AND MISSION/DIE WIENER PHILHARMONIKER, ERBE UND SENDUNG, 1942 [!])
Although here the violin tradition of the Philharmonic is somewhat more fully handled, the family histories of the other string groups are, of course, also provided. One has only to think of the Krotschalk School of cello-playing or, for the viola, that of the Hellmesberger Quartet's Karl Heissler, whose violin pupils numbered Julius Winkler, Arnold Rose and Franz Schalk.
And the Viennese Double-Bass School at the time of Viennese Classicism, which, through the customary violin-tuning in thirds, enabled each master to contribute to the concert- or chamber music-literature for that instrument.
The traditional theater-placement of the double-basses in a row behind the brass allows the tone of each instrument to sing forth freely, while still retaining the chamber music-like character of the Viennese School of Strings.
Actually, the playing of the Viennese strings, as contrasted with that of the wind instruments, is not all that extraordinary. Rather, the string-players of the Philharmonic are more like members of a medieval guild, pooling their talents and their devotion for the common good.
Together they produce that unique orchestral sound which the great composers of the Viennese Classic, the Viennese Romantic, and the Viennese School must have had in their inner ear when creating their masterpieces.
In June 1990, with the help of Daimler-Benz-AG, the Vienna Philharmonic hosted an international Symposium under the title "SOUND AND COMPOSER".
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