Music

Loved, Ridiculed, Worshipped. Richard Wagner and the Viennese

From 22 Nov 2012 to 09 Feb 2013

23 Nov-10 Feb. The Austrian National Library celebrates the upcoming 200th anniversary of German composer Richard Wagner’s birth on 22 May 1813, with an exhibition in its State Hall dedicated to the decidedly mixed relationship between the Viennese and Wagner (1813-1883).

The exhibition explores Vienna's reception of Wagner’s revolutionary musical style, ranging from support to rejection, jubilation to ridicule.

A native of Leipzig in eastern Germany, Wagner first came to Vienna in 1832, and later in 1848, although neither visit saw him perform his work in the Austrian capital.

It wasn't until Tannhäuser" in 1857 that a Wagner opera was presented in Vienna, and a highlight of the exhibition in the National Library is the autograph of its overture.

Tues-Sun 10.00-18.00. Thurs 10.00-21.00. Mon closed.