A Variety of Austrian Arts

The artistic achievements and wealth of Austria include its monumental architectures, as well as its wide variations of cultural events, such as dramas, folk lore, and festivals. Going over the literary history of Austria, its first ever profound masterpiece was “The Lay of the Nibelungs” from year 1200. Popular comedy writers are Johann Nestroy and Ferdinand Raimund, while the famous modern day writer of Austrian is none other than Peter Handke. When it comes to music, the great periods of Austrian melodies was the classical era of Vienna, wherein it was the center of world reknowed musicians and composers like Franz Schubert, Mozart, and Beethoven. Vienna is also known as the land of Austrian institutions for music like the Vienna State Opera. Finally, the Austrian art of painting is highlighted with the Jugendstil movement, which was established by Gustav Klimt, that successfully grew in Vienna. There are also other renowned 20th century Austrian artists, like Oskar Kokoschka and Egon Schile.

Austrian folk dancing is mostly associated with Schuhplattler, Landler, Polka or Waltz. But there are other known dances like Zwiefacher, Kontratanze, and Sprachinseltanze. I also found out that folk dances here are generally known as Folkloretanze as in “folklore dances.” However, the Austrian type of folk dance is known as Volkstanz. Austrians have this figure dancing, which is a kind of dance where they perform different figures. By doing so, they create a certain tune. Also, they have round dancing that includes the waltz, the polka, Zwiefacher etc. As compared to standard ballroom dancing, waltz and polka are slightly different from folk dancing. Sprachinseltanze are dances by German-speaking minorities living outside Austria, which literally means “language island dances.”

Undeniably, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was a prolific and highly influential composer of Classical music. He is among the most enduringly popular of European composers, and many of his works are part of the standard concert repertory. However, there are few things that I knew about him except that he was born in Austria. It should also be noted that Mozart has acquired some competence in many languages during his travels. He was much taken by the sound of Benjamin Franklin’s glass armonica, and made two works for it. This man who is an institution when it comes to music is celebrating his 250th birthday this year and as expected, there will be a worldwide celebration that will include performances of all of his operas in Salzburg and Prague.

There are more about Austrain arts and culture. What I have mentioned is just a simple peek at the diversity of its art, including painting, literature, dance, and music. Indeed, Austria is known all over the world for its rich cultural history and abundant artistic life.

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