The Sound of Habsburg

From the late 18th century onwards, the Habsburg Monarchy was on the decline internationally, and internally was riven by conflict. But time and again, the Habsburgs rallied together, survived the assaults of Napoleon, a sovereign debt crisis, the revolution of 1848, as well as the defeats to Italy and Prussia. Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven were instrumental in holding the empire together. »Habsburg Pop« reached the masses and became a global export. The Habsburg Empire hummed, sang, danced, drummed, and only went under when its great musical means failed in the Great War.

Written in engaging language that will appeal to a broader audience, this accessibility is augmented by an innovative new approach to music writing. Each chapter contains five to ten musical examples that can be downloaded via QR codes as an accompaniment to the reading experience. The book is broken up into ten chapters that each focus on a particular composer and their relationship to a key transformation in the history of the Habsburg Empire. For example, how Mozart helped create the figure of the freelance (and financially precarious) artist, and what Beethoven can tell us about the revolutionary potential of music.

Music is one of the motors of history, and Philipp Ther uses it as a historical source. Described by the critic and essayist Gustav Seibt as a »sociohistorical prose artist«, in this work, Ther takes a look at the close relationship between power and music and shows how waltzes, polkas, and the precursors of Austro Pop held the state together. But while the Habsburg Monarchy met its end in 1918 – as Ther explains in this lilting, moving, and ultimately tragic book – it lives on in the music it gave birth to.