Commemorating Musicians in Vienna
Abstract
In an attempt to demonstrate the scale, scope and orientation of Viennese commemorations of its musicians, this chapter examines funerals and graves, anniversary festivities and physical monuments, demonstrating how the city positions itself at the front and centre of commemorative activities. It focuses on Viennese fascination with death, the funerals and reburials of Beethoven, Strauss Sr, Strauss Jr and Schubert, anniversary celebrations for Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven and Schubert in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, and statues erected of the city’s great musicians, often in controversial circumstances.
Fields of Study & Subjects
Memory
Trauma
and Commemoration
Musicology and Musical Analysis
Death
Funerary Practices
and Mourning
Publication details
- Journal / source
- Cambridge University Press eBooks
- Pages
- 26–43
- Publication date
- 12 February 2026
- Language
- EN
- Document type
- Book chapter