From My Life

The Autobiography of Eduard Hanslick

Tom Moore

• Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
• Year: 2023
• Edition: 1
• eBook ISBN:
  9781538172414
• Topic: Media & Performing Arts
• Subtopic: Classical Music

From My Life, the autobiography of the famed music critic Eduard Hanslick, appeared toward the end of his life, in 1894, when it went through three printings. It was republished in 1911, and again, more recently, in 1987, by Bärenreiter, and in 2011, by Taschenbuch. Born in Prague, Hanslick studied piano with Tomaschek, and though, like other compatriots and contemporaries, he studied law and became a government functionary, he went on to become the most noted and honored music critic in nineteenth-century Vienna, making his mark with his relatively brief disquisition On the Musically Beautiful, first issued in 1854. In the Brahms-Wagner controversy, he was on the side of the former, and was the target of Wagner's vicious anti-semitism, even though he had been among the first to champion Wagner's work in Vienna. His long and informative autobiography has never appeared in complete translation to English or any other language.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Dedication
• Contents
• Translating Hanslick
• Volume 1
• BOOK I: Youth and student years in Prague, 1825–1845.
• Chapter 1: His father’s youth and marriage.
• Chapter 2: The Hanslick family. Death of his father in 1859.
• Chapter 3: His mother and maternal grandfather
• Chapter 4: Intellectual life in Prague before 1848.
• Chapter 5: Years of study in Prague.
• Chapter 6: Early instruction in music. Tomaschek.
• Chapter 7: Completion of studies with Tomaschek. Legal studies.
• Chapter 8: The Prague circle of Davidsbündler. Ambros.
• Chapter 9: Belles lettres in Prague. Ost und West. Musical criticism.
• Chapter 10: Berlioz in Prague.
• Chapter 11: Concert life in Prague. Kittl. Wagner.
• Chapter 12: Dresden. Schumann.
• Book II: Pre-1848 Vienna, and the year of 1848.
• Chapter 1: Move to Vienna. Liszt. Ernst. Gyrowetz. Tiedge. Dessauer. Titl. Gordigiani.
• Chapter 2: Vienna relatives. Middle-class civil servants.
• Chapter 3: Wiener Musikzeitung. Sonntagsblätter.
• Chapter 4: Robert Schumann. Clara Schumann.
• Chapter 5: Meyerbeer. Vesque von Püttlingen.
• Chapter 6: Burgtheater and Hofoper.
• Chapter 7: March uprising.
• Chapter 8: Further memories of 1848.
• Chapter 9: Ferdinand Laurencin.
• Chapter 10: The Fuchslied. Alfred Becher.
• Chapter 11: Taking of Vienna, October 1848.
• Chapter 12: Friedrich Hebbel.
• Chapter 13: 1849. Assignment to position in Klagenfurt.
• Book III: Intermezzo.
• Book IV: Vienna 1852–1862. Finance and education ministries. Literary activity. Companionship. Excursion to Berlin, Düsseldorf, and Leipzig.
• Chapter 1: Bureaucracy. Ministry of Finance
• Chapter 2: Ministry of Education.
• Chapter 3: Vincenz von Ehrhart. Josef von Walter.
• Chapter 4: Visits to important houses. Salomon Hermann Mosenthal.
• Chapter 5: More important houses and families.
• Chapter 6: Julius Hirsch. August Zang.
• Chapter 7: Vom Musikalisch-Schönen.
• Chapter 8: Excursion to Berlin (etc.).
• Book V: Vienna in the 1860s. Private teacher and professor. Musical commissions. Music festivals in Salzburg and Munich. International exposition in London, 1862. Robert Volkmann and A. W. Ambros.
• Chapter 1: Lectures at the University of Vienna.
• Chapter 2: Musical commissions.
• Chapter 3: Travel to Salzburg.
• Chapter 4: Festival in Munich, September 1863.
• Chapter 5: Exposition in London.
• Chapter 6: Volkmann. Ambros.
• Book VI: Richard Wagner and Johannes Brahms, 1862. Italian opera: Adelina Patti, Desirée Artôt, Katinka Friedberg, Maria Wilt. German opera: directors Salvi, Esser, Herbeck, Dessoff. Rubinstein. Military campaign, 1866.
• Chapter 1: Richard Wagner.
• Chapter 2: Johannes Brahms.
• Chapter 3: Italian opera. Desirée Artôt. Marie Wilt.
• Chapter 4: Heinrich Esser. Otto Dessoff. Herbeck. A. Rubinstein.
• Chapter 5: Military campaign of 1866.
• Book VII: International exposition, Paris, 1867. Theodor Billroth.
• Chapter 1: Ambroise Thomas. G. Kastner.
• Chapter 2: French choral societies. Wind band societies. Military music. H. Berlioz
• Chapter 3: Auber. Rossini.
• Chapter 4: Soirée chez Adelina Patti. Thiers and J. Favre. Parties in Paris. Soirées. Szarvady. Offenbach.
• Chapter 5: Offenbach.
• Chapter 6: Théâtre français. Parisian opera.
• Chapter 7: Billroth.
• Book VIII: The Neue Freie Presse . The War of 1870. Viennese world exposition, 1873. The Komische Oper. Paris 1875.
• Chapter 1: The Neue Freie Presse.
• Chapter 2: The War of 1870.
• Chapter 3: Autobiographies.
• Chapter 4: International exposition, Vienna, 1873. Nicolaus Dumba. Engelsberg. Johann Strauss. Strauss and Lanner.
• Chapter 5: The Komische Oper. Minnie Hauck.
• Chapter 6: Emilia Tagliana. Pauline Lucca. Strassburg 1875. Wilhelm Scherer.
• Chapter 7: Wilhelm Scherer. Stephen Heller. Berlioz.
• Chapter 8: Léon Délibes. Gounod. Johann Strauss in Paris. Paladilhe. Alexander Dumas.
• Chapter 9: Sophie Wohlmuth.
• Book IX: Bayreuth 1876. Paris world exposition, 1878. Karlsbad and Marienbad. Wiesbaden and Frankfurt. Bayreuth 1882.
• Chapter 1: Bayreuth 1876.
• Chapter 2: Paris 1878. Liszt. Henri Herz.
• Chapter 3: Technical advances. Carlotta Patti. Ullmann, impresario. G. Roger.
• Chapter 4: Berthold Auerbach. Karlsbad.
• Chapter 5: Heinrich Laube. Simrock. Dvořák. Stettenheim. Spitzer.
• Chapter 6: Wilhelm Jahn.
• Chapter 7: Frankfurt am Main.
• Chapter 8: Parsifal. 1882. The Wagnerians.
• Book X: Crown Prince Rudolf and Archduke Johann. London 1886. Ostende. Bonn. Th. Steinway. Niels Gade and King Oskar II. Music and theater exposition, Vienna, 1892. Mascagni. Verdi in Rome. A conversation about musical criticism.
• Chapter 1: Crown Prince Rudolf. Crown Princess Stephanie. Archduke Johann.
• Chapter 2: Concerts in London, 1886. Opera in London. Theater in London. Music in London. Adelina Patti. Craigh-y-Noß. Sunday celebrations. Theodor Steinway.
• Chapter 3: Niels Gade. King Oskar II of Sweden.
• Chapter 4: Mascagni.
• Chapter 5: Verdi in Rome. Verdi’s Falstaff. Sorrento.
• Chapter 6: Musical criticism.
• About the Authors