Wiener Staatsoper Music Project

In Vienna, we were lucky enough to go to an opera at the Wiener Staatsoper, which is the Vienna State Opera House! It was a very neat experience going to an opera in a building like this! I can definitely say this was a first! I felt “fancy” being in the building.

 I won’t go into a lot of detail about information on music of the Wiener Staatsoper because we already did this for a class presentation in the spring. During our trip, we were given a guided tour of the Staatsoper. So my focus of this blog is present more information on Karajan, who was a famous conductor. I will be sharing information I was able to attain while in Vienna through either the tour guide of my own pair of eyes.

 From my research in the spring, I learned that Karajan worked for the Staatsoper around the time of WWII. It is known that Karajan was a member of the Nazi party and said it was essential for his career. But in reality, it actually temporarily hurt his career.

After learning about Karajan’s ties with the Nazis, yet knowing he was a well-respected conductor, I was interested to see how the Staatsoper presented him, if they did at all.

As we arrived early for the tour, I walked around the outside of the Staatsoper. The area outside is named the “Karajan Platz.” I saw 2 signs making the Karajan Platz. This is the area where tickets are sold outside. Once we began the tour, I asked the tour guide when the outside area was named after Karajan. She said it was fairly recently—when they installed the LCD screen outside the opera house.

 As we went through the tour, I was a little nervous to ask the tour guide about Karajan’s ties with the Nazis. The music group for the Staatsoper project had discussed how we don’t know how the guide would react to a question like this. But, I asked it in a fairly neutral way and she was able to answer. I told her we had learned from prior research that Karajan might be associated with the Nazi part and asked her if that affected his image then or today. She replied back by saying there were letters and other documentations that showed Karajan’s affiliation with the Nazis. She said it doesn’t negatively affect his image too much—he is still seen as a great composer. Some older people may remember him in more negative ways because they have a better remembrance that he had ties with the Nazis. But overall, the tour guide said he is known as a great conductor. He didn’t change a lot about the opera like Mueller did, but he was a very great conductor.

 Karajan was also represented in an important room of the Staatsoper. The room’s primary goal is to display important and famous composers who had an influence on opera and worked for the Staatsoper in Vienna. There was a statue head of Karajan displayed.

 

 So from seeing the Staatsoper building (and the surroundings) and going through the guided tour, I get the impression that regardless of Karajan’s ties with the Nazis, he is still looked up to as an important and great conductor. The tour guide even joked around how he was the first to lift a red sports car on the stage in the Staatsoper. I was under the impression, though, that they don’t talk about the Nazis ties much. Our tour guide wasn’t planning on mentioning anything about the ties with the Nazis. I was glad she discussed it a little, though, when I asked.

Music in Central Europe

Overview of Music in Central Europe

·         Music is more respected and of higher importance than it is in the United States. An example of this is how operas in Europe are state funded, making them affordable for any person whether they have a high or low income.

·         Any form of art is more respected

·         The arts, including music, are huge tourist attractions

·         The arts increase the value of the city

·         American music is played everywhere, including in stores and restaurants. This is because Central Europe doesn’t have a huge music producing industry like the United States does

·         Both Kultur and kultur music use many of the same instruments. They just use them to create different sounds.

Berlin, Germany

·         Both Kultur and kultur music

·         Examples of Kultur: the orchestra concert we went to! The city also has other major forms of “fancier” music such as opera and other sorts of concerts.

·         Examples of kultur: musicians playing the in streets

·         Kultur seems to be more important in Berlin

Leipzig, Germany

·         VERY important musical city

·         Huge focus on Kultur

·         Bach and other important artists worked here

·         Saw orchestra and opera buildings (Kultur)

·         Monuments and churches preserved to remember Bach and other important composers and musicians

·         There was also kultur music—mostly located near the city center

Dresden, Germany

·         Both Kultur and kultur

·         In my experience, I saw more kultur music being played

·         Saw accordion players near the city center multiple times both during the day and at night

·         Unique, local music in Kusthof Passage. There was a device attached to the outside of a building that makes noise when it rains.

·         The locals really make the city what it is by their music

Prague, Czech Republic

·         Both Kultur and kultur

·         We went to a ballet (Kultur)

·         Kultur music was played in both the Old Town and New Town part of the city, especially in the main town square by the clock tower

Brno, Czech Republic

·         Music seemed to not be as dominant here, probably because it’s a smaller city than the others

Vienna, Austria

·         Both Kultur and kultur

·         Kultur is VERY important here

·         The non-street music really promotes the city, it makes the city more respected and more desirable

·         We went to an opera. If a city has an opera house, it immediately becomes “fancier.”

·         The architecture matches the music of the city. They are both “elegant.”

·         There was also street music. But, many tourists come to Vienna for the known non-street music (Kultur).

Budapest, Hungary

·         Both Kultur and kultur

·         From my experience, the locals seemed to truly embrace their street music (kultur)

·         We went to a Hungarian Folk concert (kultur). We all loved this!

·         Music seems more “real.” It isn’t fancied up.

·         Hungarian Folk concert had dancers, violin players, clarinet player, bass player, xylophone player, clapping, whistling, etc. Had some of the same instruments that were in the opera, ballet, and orchestra concert. Yet, the instruments made an entirely different sound.

·         Just like Vienna, the opera house brings in money to the city
Krakow, Poland

·         Both Kultur and kultur

·         kultur seemed to be embraced more

·         We went to a jazz concert

·         We went to a Klezmer concert

·         Klezmer and jazz use some different instruments, but both use instruments that are used in bigger performances such as opera, ballet, and orchestra

·         The Klezmer concert had 3 instruments-violin, accordion, bass. Many of the street music we have seen around Europe also consists of accordions and sometimes even violins

·         Jazz music here was just as jazz music is in the United States

·         Preserve their cultural music
 

Summary of Academic and Personal Growth

What an absolutely amazing, unique, once-in-a-lifetime experience! I cannot believe how fast this month went!

During the spring semester before the trip, we all had a class together to prepare for the trip. After taking the class, I wasn’t sure how all us students would connect. We didn’t all talk much during the class. I talked a little bit to the people sitting around me, but it wasn’t much of a conversation. I was still excited for the trip, but I didn’t have high expectations for making great connections with other students.

Well, I was completely wrong. It’s amazing how close you get to people when you are with them literally 24/7. You are with them all day going to museums, looking at monuments, figuring out what to do during our free time, eating, waiting for trams, sitting for hours on trains, singing and dancing to random songs, laughing, trying on funny clothes, trying weird new foods, figuring out how to communicate with there is a language barrier, having deep conversations, making a list of funny things, staying together in the same hot hostel every night, finding new things, pillow talk, etc. I am so glad I was wrong—I was too quick to judge. Obviously I didn’t become best friends with all 18 other people on the trip, but I did become close with a few. I am so thankful for meeting everyone, though. Even if I don’t keep in touch with every person from the trip in the future, every single person made some sort of positive impact on me. There are a few girls I became close with, though, so I am looking forward to our friendships continuing on outside of Europe! Both the students and professors on this trip really experiences Europe TOGETHER. We saw new sites and experiences new things, which is awesome in itself! But the relationships we formed made it even better!

I am a social work major, so the educational disciplines included on the trip (geography, music, and architecture) weren’t necessarily directly related to my interests. But, I ended up loving the educational pieces of the trip (history too!).

At the beginning of the trip, I wasn’t thrilled learning about the music and architecture of Central Europe. I loved learning about the history, which is rather tragic, of Central Europe and the geography aspect fit well into that. The music and architecture seemed so unimportant when we were learning about WWII, the Holocaust, communism, etc. They seemed so little compared to the bigger picture.

Towards the end of the trip, all the educational pieces started coming together for me. Yes, the history was and is very, very important to learn about. I realized, though, that the history has made the music and architecture what it is today, and what it has been in the past. The politics and everything that was going on in the area had such a huge influence on the architecture, music, and geography. Those disciplines expressed and still do express the trouble the area went through. But they now also express what the people of Central Europe have overcome. I am so impressed with how well the cities we went to seem to be doing, especially after all the murders, bombings, and control that happened.

At the end of the trip, I was actually happy the disciplines on the trip were geography, music, and architecture. Learning about those disciplines really helped me better understand the culture and history of Central Europe. They also helped me compare Central Europe to the United States, which helped me even better understand the area. The only thing I would have found more beneficial was if there was a history professor along. I know in the past there has always been one along and they weren’t able to find one for this year, but I really think it is essential to the trip. We did learn a lot about the history of the area through museums, etc. The professors explained a lot too, but a lot of it was in relation to their specific discipline. This was fine, but I really think there needs to be a history professor with to better explain the bigger picture and go into more detail about the history of the area in the future. After all, the history helps better understand the other disciplines on the trip too! But, I’m still happy the way the educational pieces of the trip went for us!

During the trip, I also grew as an individual. I choose to go on the trip initially not knowing anyone. A lot of my relatives would ask me if I was going with a group of friends before I left and seemed surprised that I wasn’t. I’m so glad I went without knowing anyone, though. Because of this, I was completely open-minded to meeting new people and gaining new experiences. I got to know fellow travelers in such a unique way—it had to be because this was such a unique experience!

Since coming to college, I have grown a lot. But on this trip, I proved to myself that I have indeed grown as an individual. In high school, I was fairly “quiet” and I rarely raised my hand and spoke in class. Even in college, I do raise my hand sometimes, but not nearly as often as I should. In big classes, I hardly ever do. On this trip, I would raise my hand to answer or ask questions. I wasn’t afraid to approach a professor and ask a question regarding something we just learned about. So for me, this is a huge step up from how I was in high school. I have grown more confident in myself and don’t care so much about asking a “stupid” question or being wrong. That is how you learn! This experience just helped me realize that even more. Of course, this experience made it so much easier to “talk” in class. We all got to know both the professors and other peers so much better than a normal classroom.

Throughout the trip, I started realizing how different all of our personalities were. I think people tend to gravitate towards those who are most similar to themselves when it comes to who your friends are. On this trip, though, I realized how well I got along with people regardless of how similar/dissimilar we were. This trip also helped me realize you should never hold back who you really are. Why hide your personality and thoughts when there are so many beneficial things that come out of sharing them with people? I think years from now when I look back on this trip, I am still going to remember the personalities of the people on this trip. Personalities are what make people unique! Differences allow you to learn from those around you! I learned on the trip that I "cater" to different personalities. I also learned how much I love learning about people! I loved learning about people's lives that were with on the trip, but also learning about the lives of the people that inhabit Central Europe.

One of the reasons I choose to study abroad was to gain a broader world view. Since coming to college especially, I have been so focused on learning about the injustices in the United States. Before studying abroad, I had never been out of the country. So, this was a very big trip for me! I can definitely say my work view expanded! I now see that people in different areas of the works do indeed live differently than I do. They have differences in their traditions, their way of living, their food, the way they travel to and from places, different languages, different housing, different climate, values, etc. HISTORY is a huge difference! The history of Central Europe goes way, way back. The history of the area has truly shaped the way it is today. After this trip, I realized just how young the United States as we know it is. We are a baby compared to most countries in the world.

A huge eye-opener for me was learning about the injustices in Central Europe. This topic really interests me—I have taken multiple classes, etc. learning about racism, sexism, etc. in the United States. Part of me was very un-patriotic. I thought the United States was so messed up and had so many problems. Obviously I knew other countries had problems, especially underdeveloped countries. But, it was very eye-opening that Central Europe has many of the same problems that exist in the United States. For example, we learned in Brno that the Roma people were basically segregated (not by law) and were in this on-going cycle that these barriers were preventing them from getting out of. I think this is similar to what is happening in the United States with racial minorities. There is still segregation (again, not by law) and a cycle going on that keeps racism alive in today’s society. Before the trip, I never really thought of other countries in this way. I guess I assumed the United States was like this because people came from other countries to create a “boiling pot” of cultures, races, etc. But other countries have multiple “groups” of people, some of which aren’t treated as equals.

All 5 countries we went to have differences from the United States. But, they also have many similarities. We are all people living in an industrialized society! We enjoy doing the same things and have the same basic needs and emotions. We are all human beings!

Overall, this last month was truly the best month of my life! I’ve gained both academic and personal growth from this trip, as well as a wonderful group of friends. Above in this blog post, I discussed ways in which I have grown and things that I have learned. But, I think there is more. As I go about my daily life back in the United States, I am going to start realizing more and more ways that I have grown or how I see things differently after this experience.

I am definitely going to miss this. I am so, so thankful I had the opportunity to participate in the Central European Travel Seminar. It's hard to even wrap my mind around how it was possibly to do this! I am just so, so glad I did! I have really learned from this that when you have opportunities in front of you, it's up to you to take them! They aren't given to you, but working for them is completely worth it. I am going to cherish this month of my life until the day I die! It was truly a blessing I wish everyone could experience!

As the song by Lee Ann Womack goes (here are some parts of the lyrics that apply to taking the rick of going on this amazing adventure!)
"I hope you never lose your sense of wonder,
You get your fill to eat but always keep that hunger,
May you never take one single breath for granted,"....

"I hope you dance"...

"I hope you never fear those mountains in the distance,
Never settle for the path of least resistance
Livin' might mean takin' chances but they're worth takin',"....

"Time is a wheel in constant motion always rolling us along
Tell me who wants to look back on their years and wonder where those years have gone"

Okay, this whole post is a lot of rambing....but I don't care! It just shows how much I loved this trip and I want to have artifacts to remember it!

 I really like a certain quote and this section of it applies, also!
"Seek out new voices, strange sights, and ideas foreign to your own. Such things are rides for the soul."

 

Krakow, Poland

Krakow was my favorite city on the trip! I am Polish, so I may have had some bias going into it...but I think I still would have like it as much as I did! One aspect of geography I find interesting about Krakow relates to human geography. Poland went through a lot of hardships during WWII, including Krakow. Krakow in itself was controlled by two different parties at two different times. First, the Nazis controlled Krakow and set up a Jewish ghetto. They then sent people to Auschwitz. Later on after WWII, the communists took control of Krakow. We went to the Nowa Huta, which is a part of Krakow that the communists built a steel mill for the working class. The communists wanted an area for the working class, hence this area that houses 200,000 people. The communists lost some money making steel because the land around did not naturally produce it (they got it from Russia). It worked for the communists, though, and made a large working class population. After everything Krakow has been through, it really seems as if they have been able to pull through. Krakow really seems to embrace their culture, even if it once was taken away. Jordan and I ran into an example of this when we were walking down the street one day. We came across a recently married couple and their were kids dancing and singing around them (I’m assuming it was a traditional wedding dance).



A church the Solidarity, an organized labor union, fought to put up during communism control

Auschwitz was definitely the hardest, most emotionally draining day on the trip. But, it was also my favorite academic experience in Krakow. There was talk amongst our group of how it doesn’t seem right that Auschwitz was made into a museum after everything that has happened. I absolutely see this view, but I also see the good in turning it into a museum. The museum educates people on all the horrible things that happened. Education is key in preventing something as horrible as the Holocaust from ever happening again. There was actually a quote inside Auschwitz that related to this—“The one who does not remember history is bound to live through it again.”-George Santayana. So I of course understand why on the surface turning it into a tourist attraction and museum can be seen as a bad thing, but I think it is more of a good thing. It reminds people of not only the horribleness of the Holocaust, but it also gives honor to the millions of innocent victims whose lives were unfairly lost due to unimaginable murder.

 

Going through Auschwitz (the work camp) and Auschwitz-Birkenau (the death camp) was definitely hard and emotionally draining. But, I am so glad we went. I don’t want to be ignorant of what has happened. I’m not going to go into grave detail of how I felt and what I saw...I did that in my journal. But to put the number of people’s lives who were lost in Auschwitz into perspective, 9/11 would have to happen every single day for 5 years straight for the number of people who were killed to even out. If we were to take a minute of silence for the victims of the Holocaust, we would be silent for 3 years.

 

My favorite extra-curricular activity in Krakow was walking around the Old Town Square with some friends from our group and looking through the Renaissance Clock Tower, which has many stands selling unique Polish items. It was cool to browse around and pick up on what the Polish culture was all about. I noticed Amber was popular to sell for jewelry...we learned they get the Amber from the Baltic Sea and make it in Poland.

One day, Jordan and I decided to just sit on the bench in the park close to the Old Town Square. This was also a great experience. We sat in silence and took in our surroundings, noticing and discussing differences and similarities.

I also really enjoyed watching the Klezmer music band at Klezmer-Hois. Klezmer music has Jewish roots and it is beautiful music! There was a violin player, a bass player, and an accordion player. Like when we were in Hungary, I really enjoy watching the performances that are have so much culture in them. I like these intimate, fun performances much more than the fancier performances we went to on the trip, though I see the importance in both. I even bought the band’s cd so I will be able to show the music to others!

I would recommend to future students to eat at Number 7 Restaurant, right by the Old Town Square. The food was good and the staff was so nice! We stupidly decided to eat outside without thinking it was cold and looked like it was going to rain. After 5 minutes of sitting there, a waiter came out and brought us blankets. Later when it started raining, our waitress moved all of our things inside and made us up a table there.