The Wiener Männergesang-Verein ("Vienna Men's Choral Society" or "Vienna Male Voice Choir") is a men's choir in

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

, Austria, founded in 1843. The choir has regularly appeared with the

Vienna Philharmonic Vienna Philharmonic (VPO; ) is an orchestra that was founded in 1842 and is considered to be one of the finest in the world. The Vienna Philharmonic is based at the Musikverein in Vienna, Austria. Its members are selected from the orchestra of ...

, and has performed worldwide. Notable composers, particularly

Johann Strauss II Johann Baptist Strauss II (; ; 25 October 1825 – 3 June 1899), also known as Johann Strauss Jr., the Younger or the Son (), was an List of Austrian composers, Austrian composer of light music, particularly dance music and operettas as well ...

, have composed music for the choir.

History

The choir was founded by August Schmidt, on 6 October 1843 in the inn "Zum goldenen Löwen" ("The Golden Lion"). He was a journalist and founder of the ''Allgemeine Wiener Musik-Zeitung''. The choir's first concert took place on 17 December of that year."Wiener Männergesang-Verein"
''Oesterreichisches Musiklexikon Online''. Retrieved 4 February 2021.
Wiener Männergesang-Verein. Retrieved 4 February 2022. The first concert tour was to

Würzburg Würzburg (; Main-Franconian: ) is, after Nuremberg and Fürth, the Franconia#Towns and cities, third-largest city in Franconia located in the north of Bavaria. Würzburg is the administrative seat of the Regierungsbezirk Lower Franconia. It sp ...

in 1845, further tours in Europe followed. In 1849 the first annual concert with the

took place. From 1872, concerts were held in the ''Großer Musikvereinssaal'' (Great Hall) of the

Musikverein The ( or ; ), commonly shortened to , is a concert hall in Vienna, Austria, which is located in the Innere Stadt district. The building opened in 1870 and is the home of the Vienna Philharmonic orchestra. The acoustics of the building's 'Grea ...

, opened in 1870. " The Blue Danube", originally for men's choir and orchestra, was written by

for the choir and was first performed on 15 February 1867. Strauss wrote further pieces for the choir, including '' Wein, Weib und Gesang'' and '' Neu Wien''. The choir placed stone tablets on Schubert's birthplace and on the house where he died, in 1858 and 1869 respectively. In 1862 the choir set up a fund to erect a statue of

Franz Schubert Franz Peter Schubert (; ; 31 January 179719 November 1828) was an Austrian composer of the late Classical period (music), Classical and early Romantic music, Romantic eras. Despite his short life, Schubert left behind a List of compositions ...

in Vienna; the Schubert Monument, created by the sculptor Carl Kundmann, was unveiled in the Stadtpark on 15 May 1872. In 1893, to celebrate 50 years since its founding, the choir performed ''

Helgoland Heligoland (; , ; Heligolandic Frisian: , , Mooring Frisian: , ) is a small archipelago in the North Sea. The islands were historically possessions of Denmark, then became possessions of the United Kingdom from 1807 to 1890. Since 1890, the ...

'', a cantata written by

Anton Bruckner Joseph Anton Bruckner (; ; 4 September 182411 October 1896) was an Austrian composer and organist best known for his Symphonies by Anton Bruckner, symphonies and sacred music, which includes List of masses by Anton Bruckner, Masses, Te Deum (Br ...

for the occasion.

Twentieth century

The choir travelled to Egypt in 1905, the first of several trips outside Europe; in 1991 it travelled to the far east for the first time, to Japan, Taiwan and Hong Kong. In 1958 the choir performed at

Expo 58 Expo 58, also known as the 1958 Brussels World's Fair (; ), was a world's fair held on the Heysel/Heizel Plateau in Brussels, Belgium, from 17 April to 19 October 1958. It was the first major world's fair registered under the Bureau Internati ...

in Brussels with the Vienna Philharmonic, conducted by

Herbert von Karajan Herbert von Karajan (; born ''Heribert Adolf Ernst Karajan''; 5 April 1908 – 16 July 1989) was an Austrian conductor. He was principal conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic for 34 years. During the Nazi era, he debuted at the Salzburg Festival, ...

. A notable event between the two world wars was the 10th German Singers' Festival, organised in 1928 in Vienna by the choir. There were about 9000 choral societies and 140,000 singers. In 1914 the choir gave its 1000th public concert; in 1929 the 1500th concert took place, at the

Vienna State Opera The Vienna State Opera (, ) is a historic opera house and opera company based in Vienna, Austria. The 1,709-seat Renaissance Revival venue was the first major building on the Vienna Ring Road. It was built from 1861 to 1869 following plans by ...

; in 1954 it gave its 2000th public concert. In 1975 the choir appeared with the Vienna Philharmonic at the Vienna New Year's Concert.

Repertoire

The repertoire extends from the Baroque period to the present day. The focus is on music for men's choir of the Romantic period, the Viennese Biedermeier and the world of opera. There may be piano or orchestral accompaniment, and soloists may take part.

Museum

The choir has a museum in the Musikverein building. The collection of music manuscripts includes the original manuscripts of compositions by Johann Strauss II,

Richard Wagner Wilhelm Richard Wagner ( ; ; 22 May 181313 February 1883) was a German composer, theatre director, essayist, and conductor who is chiefly known for his operas (or, as some of his mature works were later known, "music dramas"). Unlike most o ...

, Anton Bruckner and others which were dedicated to the choir, in particular the manuscript of Strauss's "The Blue Danube". There are letters and memorabilia relating to various events. There are paintings by Julius Schmid and Christian Attersee, and a banner designed by

Theophil Hansen Baron Theophil Edvard von Hansen (; original Danish name: Theophilus Hansen, ; 13 July 1813 – 17 February 1891) was a Danish architect who later became an Austrian citizen. He became particularly well known for his buildings and structures in ...

, a gift from Emperor

Franz Joseph I Franz Joseph I or Francis Joseph I ( ; ; 18 August 1830 – 21 November 1916) was Emperor of Austria, King of Hungary, and the ruler of the Grand title of the emperor of Austria, other states of the Habsburg monarchy from 1848 until his death ...

in 1861. Items from the collection are sometimes loaned to exhibitions for special occasions. Tours of the museum can be made on request.

Musical directors

The following are among the musical directors of the choir:"Die Historie unserer Chormeister"
Wiener Männergesang-Verein. Retrieved 4 February 2022. * Anton M. Storch (1843–1851) * (1843–1854) * (1854–1856) * Hans Schläger (1854–1861) *

Johann von Herbeck Johann Ritter von Herbeck (25 December 1831 – 28 October 1877) was an Austrian conductor and composer, best known for leading the premiere of Franz Schubert's "Unfinished" Symphony. Life and career He was practically a self-educated musician, ...

(1856–1866) * Franz Mair (1861–1862) * (1869–1910) *

Richard Heuberger Richard Franz Joseph Heuberger (18 June 1850 in Graz, Austria – 28 October 1914 in Vienna, Austria) was an Austrian composer of operas and operettas, a music critic, and teacher. Heuberger was born in Graz, the son of a bandage manufacturer ...

(1902–1909) * Viktor Keldorfer (1910–1921) * (1913–1934) * Ferdinand Grossmann (1927–1953) * Karl Etti (1948–1973) *

Norbert Balatsch Norbert Balatsch (; 10 March 1928 – 6 May 2020) was an Austrian conductor, especially known as a choral conductor, who began as a baritone choir singer. He was the long-term choir director of both the Vienna State Opera and the Bayreuth Fe ...

(1953–1975) * (1973–1976) * (1976–1987) * (1990–2003) * (from 2005)

References

External links

Wiener Männergesang-Verein
Official website {{Authority control Boys' and men's choirs Choirs in Vienna Musical groups established in 1843 1843 establishments in the Austrian Empire