Before the era of World Wars in the 20th century, Vienna was renowned as a city of cultural magnificence. Maintaining a centralized monarchy for a longer period of time than that of London or Paris, Vienna had the authority to make decisions quickly, and these various decisions, regarding construction or spending of money usually catered to the aristocracy. The result was Vienna’s evolution into a cultural center focused on the arts and music especially. During the 18th century Vienna was a destination for any aspiring composer. The grandeur of its opera houses and the Emperor’s general fondness for music were reasons to attract singers, musicians and composers to Vienna.

Karl VI of the Habsburg Dynasty, also known as the “musical emperor” was extremely helpful to the cause of music and its success in Vienna. As the Hapsburg Empire expanded east, Karl VI became increasingly worried about his inability to produce a male heir. This fact combined with his desire to solidify Austria’s economic stability made it necessary that he establish the Pragmatic Sanction which would make it legal for his lands to pass to his daughter Maria Theresa. With these pressures ever present Karl VI naturally found escape in the distraction of the arts and music in particular. He devoted much of his time to attending operas and spent much of his funds on expanding the musical centers in Vienna, which preceded the Baroque style of later popular opera houses. He died in 1740 before most of Vienna’s great composers were even born, but he was highly responsible for Vienna’s reputation as a musical haven.

Undoubtedly, a great musical center will attract great musicians. This was certainly the case in Vienna. Many of the most well known composers of the 18th and 19th centuries spent most of their time in Austria’s musical capital. Vienna’s most famous traditional composers include Haydn and Mozart. Their success in Vienna only increased Vienna’s renown among musicians all over Europe.

The first of Vienna’s most successful composers was Joseph Haydn, born in 1732, a native of Austria. As a young boy, Haydn attended Saint Stephen’s Cathedral Choir School, one of the many institutions made available under Karl VI’s reign. He received a basic education in the musical arts until the age of 17 when he began work as a freelance musician. Under Karl VI’s example, it had become popular for members of the aristocracy as well as for members of the royal family to hire their own composers. If a musician worked hard enough to develop a good reputation it was likely they would be hired to entertain members of the aristocracy. As Haydn had hoped, in 1792 he was appointed Kapellmeister to Prince Pál Antal Esterházy. Under this title Haydn was able to sell his music to publishers and receive commissions. His resulting income allowed him to pursue more personal projects. He is attributed with “transforming instrumental expression in the 18th century through his directness and bold experimentation” with the notes. It seems unlikely Haydn could have achieved such a successful career anywhere other than Vienna. The work he produced there had a significant influence future composers as well as Mozart who later became one of his good friends and surpassed the fame of Haydn.

The music ability of the young genius Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart found no better place to flourish than in Vienna. Born in Salzburg in 1756, Mozart had proven himself a musical genius by the age of six where he was already performing frequently on the violin organ and clavier for the royal courts. He was successful as a young child and wrote many symphonies under his father’s care, but his career did not reach full force until he moved to Vienna in 1782, ten years before Haydn was to become Kapellmeister. His work as a freelance musician there reached the ears of Haydn, who immediately extended his positive opinion of his music. Moments like these were typical of Vienna and one of the reasons why the capital continued to attract people to its streets. In addition to the many opportunities to find work as a musician, one had the chance to network with established composers and become inspired by the work of others. This is exactly what happened to Mozart. His work was outstanding but once he became exposed to the likes of Haydn he achieved true greatness. His philosophy on music which explains “music must never offend the ear; it must please the hearer” is reminiscent of Haydn’s fame for music that never made “the listener weary.” Mozart stayed in Vienna until his ambiguous death in 1791. Unfortunately the price of Vienna’s lavish lifestyle left Mozart in poor financial standing despite his famous reputation.

Vienna’s rich cultural history ultimately set the city up for disaster during World War I and II. The extermination of the Jews and purging of the arts in the 20th century posed a difficult transition for Vienna. In the past when it had been characterized as a center for the imagination and creativity of the human mind, in the 20th century it was seen as nothing more than a Nazis sympathizer stronghold. Years of cultural success had been forgotten and destroyed by the horrors of World War II especially. Today however, Vienna is slowly beginning to reclaim its more glorious history of the 18th century. Opera houses remain the main attraction in Vienna and music stands out as one of their greatest achievements. No other city can as easily claim this musical superiority.