The Schubertiade Vorarlberg is a music festival in

Vorarlberg Vorarlberg ( ; ; , , or ) is the westernmost States of Austria, state () of Austria. It has the second-smallest geographical area after Vienna and, although it also has the second-smallest population, it is the state with the second-highest popu ...

(

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

). A

Schubertiade A Schubertiade (also spelled Schubertiad) is an event held to celebrate the music of Franz Schubert (1797–1828). Modern Schubertiades also include concert series and festivals, such as the Schubertiade Vorarlberg. History During Schubert's li ...

is an event dedicated to the life and works of the Austrian composer

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 ...

. The Schubertiade Vorarlberg is one the most known Schubertiades in the world.

History

In the decade of 1820, the first

s were held as private house concerts. Franz Schubert played the piano at the first Schubertiads, and the baritones Johann Michael Vogl or later Carl von Schönstein sang his songs. Readings and witty entertainment games, which often had a specific theme, were also part of the evenings. These were a mixture of friendly meetings and a literary-musical salon. The first Vorarlberg Schubertiade took place in

Hohenems Hohenems (High Alemannic German, High Alemannic: ''Ems'') is a town in the Austrian States of Austria, state of Vorarlberg in the Dornbirn (district), Dornbirn district. It lies in the middle of the Austrian part of the Rhine valley. With a populat ...

in 1976 and was organised by

Hermann Prey Hermann Prey ( Berlin, 11 July 1929 – Krailling, 22 July 1998) was a German lyric baritone, who was equally at home in the Lied, operatic and concert repertoires. His American debut was in November 1952, with the Philadelphia Orchestra and ...

. In the first few years, Gerd Nachbauer and Hermann Prey were responsible for the programme.

Today

Nowadays, the Schubertiade is held at venues in Schwarzenberg and

, both in the Austrian state of Vorarlberg. The concerts are usually held between May and October. The Schubertiade is considered the most important Schubert festival in the world, presenting about 80 events and registering between 35,000 and 40,000 visitors per year. The festival features orchestra concerts, lectures, exhibitions and master classes given by singers and instrumentalists. It aims at advancing the careers of young musicians by introducing them to a knowledgeable and supportive audience.

Venue

So far, the Schubertiade Vorarlberg has been held at various venues in the federal state of

and around

Lake Constance Lake Constance (, ) refers to three bodies of water on the Rhine at the northern foot of the Alps: Upper Lake Constance (''Obersee''), Lower Lake Constance (''Untersee''), and a connecting stretch of the Rhine, called the Seerhein (). These ...

. From its beginning in 1976 to 1991, the Hohenems Palace used to be the main location for the Vorarlberg version of the Schubertiade. The Hohenems Palace is known for being the finding place of two manuscripts of the

Nibelungenlied The (, or ; or ), translated as ''The Song of the Nibelungs'', is an epic poetry, epic poem written around 1200 in Middle High German. Its anonymous poet was likely from the region of Passau. The is based on an oral tradition of Germanic hero ...

. When the Hohenems Palace had to be renovated in 1991, the festival moved entirely to the neighbouring town of Feldkirch. From 1994 on, the Feldkirch concerts were complemented by so-called ''Landpartien'', outings inspired by

's travels. The venues for the ''Landpartien'' included the Propstei St. Gerold (a provost's residence in the

Walsertal Kleinwalsertal is a valley in the Austrian province of Vorarlberg and part of the Bregenz district. It includes the municipality of Mittelberg and consists of three villages along the River Breitach. Due to the geographic location in the Allgä ...

), Achberg Castle, Lindau Island (

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

), and Schwarzenberg. Due to the renovation of the

Angelika Kauffmann Maria Anna Angelika Kauffmann ( ; 30 October 1741 – 5 November 1807), usually known in English as Angelica Kauffman, was a Swiss Neoclassical painter who had a successful career in London and Rome. Remembered primarily as a history painter, K ...

hall, Schwarzenberg became the exclusive venue of the Schubertiade Vorarlberg in 2001. In 2005, the festival returned to Hohenems (Markus Sittikus hall), with some concerts still being held in Schwarzenberg.

The Schubertiade Quarter

The Schubertiade Quarter in

consists of several museums that are thematically associated with Franz Schubert, interpreters of classical music and the cultural history of the city: * Franz Schubert Museum * Schubertiade Museum * Elisabeth Schwarzkopf Museum * Hohenems Palace * the Heimann Rosenthal Villa ( Jewish Museum Hohenems) * Stefan Zweig Room in the Legge Museum * Salomon Sulzer Gallery * Markus Sittikus Hall (concert hall) * Nibelungen Museum * Schuhmacher Museum

Gallery

File:Julius Schmid Schubertiade.jpg, "Eine Schubertiade", oil painting by Julius Schmid (1897) File:Moritz von Schwind Schubertiade.jpg, "Schubertiade", sepia drawing by Schubert's friend

Moritz von Schwind image:Moritz von Schwind 2.jpg, 200px, Moritz von Schwind, c. 1860. Moritz von Schwind (21 January 1804 – 8 February 1871) was an Austrian painter, born in Vienna. Schwind's genius was lyrical—he drew inspiration from chivalry, folklore, and t ...

(1868), drawn from memory File:MarkusSittikusSaal.JPG, The building housing the Markus Sittikus hall in

Notes

External links

Official website

{{Authority control Concerts Classical music festivals in Austria Festivals in Vorarlberg Vorarlberg