Great hall of Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde

The Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde in Wien (), also known as the Wiener Musikverein (German for 'Viennese Music Association'), is an Austrian music organization that was founded in 1812 by

Joseph Sonnleithner Joseph Ferdinand Sonnleithner (3 March 1766 – 25 December 1835) was an Austrian librettist, theater director, archivist and lawyer. He was the son of Christoph Sonnleithner, brother of Ignaz von Sonnleithner and uncle of Franz Grillparzer and L ...

, general secretary of the Court Theatre in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

, Austria.

Overview

Its official charter, drafted in 1814, stated that the purpose of the Gesellschaft was to promote music in all its facets. In early 1818,

Franz Schubert Franz Peter Schubert (; 31 January 179719 November 1828) was an Austrian composer of the late Classical and early Romantic eras. Despite his short lifetime, Schubert left behind a vast ''oeuvre'', including more than 600 secular vocal wo ...

was rejected for membership in the Gesellschaft as a professional musician, something that might have furthered his musical career. The Gesellschaft accomplished its goals by sponsoring concerts, founding the Vienna Conservatory in 1819, founding the

Wiener Singverein The Vienna Singverein (Singverein der Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde in Wien) is the concert choir of the Vienna Musikverein with around 230 members. It is regularly requested by top orchestras and conductors for large and varied projects. Histo ...

in 1858, constructing the Musikverein building in 1870, and by systematically collecting and archiving noteworthy music-history documents. It is now one of the world's leading music archives. The first music director of the Gesellschaft was

Carl Heissler Carl or Karl Heissler (18 January 1823 – 13 November 1878) was an Austrian violinist and violist. Biography He studied with Joseph Hellmesberger, Sr., Matthias Durst and Joseph Böhm at the Academy of the Vienna Music Friends Society. In 1 ...

, who was followed by

Anton Rubinstein Anton Grigoryevich Rubinstein ( rus, Антон Григорьевич Рубинштейн, r=Anton Grigor'evič Rubinštejn; ) was a Russian pianist, composer and conductor who became a pivotal figure in Russian culture when he founded the Sa ...

(appointed in 1871) and Johannes Brahms (appointed in 1872). Other notable music directors include

Wilhelm Furtwängler Gustav Heinrich Ernst Martin Wilhelm Furtwängler ( , , ; 25 January 188630 November 1954) was a German conductor and composer. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest symphonic and operatic conductors of the 20th century. He was a major ...

Herbert von Karajan Herbert von Karajan (; born Heribert Ritter von 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, wit ...

and Gustav Mahler. Membership in the Gesellschaft has included a who's who of notable 19th- and 20th-century musical figures, including composers, conductors and instrumentalists.

External links

Official website

Website of the Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde archives

Johannes Brahms: Life and Letters
– Selected and annotated by Styra Avins. Oxford University Press, 2001, p. 419. 19th century in music Music in Vienna Austrian music history Music organisations based in Austria Organizations established in 1812 {{music-org-stub