Famous Austrians IX: Falco

Seriously, this man was a genius, and (after Mozart) probably the most famous Austrian musician. Here is a sample of his music:

Falco, born Johann Hölzel in Vienna in 1957, was a 1980's pop/rock icon, and is most noted in the USA for his 1985 hit "Rock Me Amadeus" (and its Simpsons parody "Dr. Zaius") though he had plenty of other fabulous songs. Unfortunately, his talent and popularity was not really extended beyond the German-speaking world, mostly because of language barriers.

Similar to Mozart, Falco was considered a child musical prodigy, after he tried out for the Vienna Music Academy at age five. He reportedly had perfect pitch. He began classical musical training in Vienna as a teenager, but the dropped out to pursue a rock career.

Falco died tragically young in a car crash in the Dominican Republic in 1998. And very unfortunately, unlike Tupac, Falco's posthumous CD releases are few and far between. However, his music is still immortalized in Austria - every time I go to Zielpunkt, I hear "Der Kommissar" over the store radio.

Famous Austrians III: Johannes Brahms

Not actually Austrian, but close enough for my purposes :)

Johannes Brahms

Brahms was born in Hamburg, spent his professional life in Vienna, famous for his Hungarian Dances, the Zigeunerlieder and the Lullaby mothers around the world sing to get their children to sleep. A leading romantic composer, and might I say, damn good-looking in his youth!

However, he was a bit of a grump, not unlike his idol Beethoven. He loved nature and animals, was BFFs with Strauss,  thought Franz Liszt was too big for his britches, contested that Wagner was a big blow-hard (truer words were never spoken!) and never married, although he had an odd relationship with Clara Schumann (wife of composer Robert Schumann), several affairs and one engagement to Agathe von Siebold. He was incredibly famous during his lifetime, sold oodles of music and became very wealthy, supporting up-and-coming music students as a patron. Frei aber einsam - free but lonely - is not only one of his compositions, but also possibly the way he felt toward the end of his life.

Which Classical Composer is Most Attractive?

If you are able, please vote in the "most attractive Classical composer" survey on this blog. I am seriously interested in what you think! If you don't say anything, Franz Liszt will win - and do you really want him to gloat? Again?

Ludwig van Beethoven

Niccolo Piccinni

Franz Liszt

Franz Schubert

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Josef Haydn

...and a Happy New Year!

Musical Bears in the Frankfurt Airport 

Happy New Year, everyone!

They say that the best thing about traveling is coming home - reconnecting with people you truly care about and love - and knowing that you have a place you belong, where you can kick off your shoes and recoup.

What I've gathered from my time home is a renewed appreciation for my family and friends. With both Sam and me home, we've got a full house, plus a visit from the ever-charming Callie to complete my holiday season. I am so lucky to be able to be surrounded by my favorite people in the world for a brief two weeks. Sam is planning on studying in Australia next year, which means Grandma will never be able to keep us straight - which one is in Austria and which one is in Australia? I'll have to let her know in a postcard I'm the one without the kangaroos.

One of the first things I did when I got into Green Bay, after Mom's beautiful but failed attempt to have a meal at the Serbian restaurant in Milwaukee -closed for Serbian Christmas the 26th - on the way up from Chicago (we ended up at Applebee's), was to watch the PBS Newshour, pig out on Christmas cookies (made by Sam) and crash from jet lag. The next day, I went out for Thai at the Bangkok Garden (Green Bay's sole Thai restaurant) where I had the red curry lunch special with one of my oldest friends from high school, Emma B., and her former roommate Brittany. It was nice, and I can honestly say it didn't seem like time had skipped a beat from this summer.

Emma, Jenni and me in B&N

Later, Emma and I went to Barnes and Noble, where I saw Zoe (the Yarn Whisperer :)) and Jennifer, Emma's BFF and another high school friend, currently doing PhD work in Texas and, like me, in town for the holidays.

The next day, we picked up Callie in Wausau.

For New Year's Eve, my parents' friends Nancy and Henning came over and we had a great time just chatting and enjoying each others' company.

portrait of Mozart on Kugel

It is here that Callie decided to take a here-to-fore unexpressed interest in Mozart. Perhaps it was the Mozart Kugeln I brought back from Austria (absolutely delicious chocolate-covered marzipan balls - probably my favorite candy), maybe it was the champagne going to her head. But suddenly, she turns to me and says, "Isn't Mozart cute?" Or similar. Out of all of the classical composers, she decides, he is the best looking, which leads us to do Google photo search of all of the classical composers we can think of.

Untouched, "accepted" portrait of Mozart

Now, granted, just by looking at these two portraits, you can tell there's a bit of false advertising here (most likely to sell more Kugeln). The idealized portrait of Mozart prompted Callie's newfound rapture over 18th century composers - their portraits, at least. And, well, I don't blame her. The guy on the Kugel (1) is pretty cute, even if he never existed. And the real Mozart (2) is, unfortunately, a disappointing, less attractive version (even if this is inconsequential because he died a couple of centuries ago, it definitely merits comparison a la the Man Scale). I'd give exhibit (1) a 7 or 8 the 10-point scale Callie and I devised senior year (and then put on our dorm room door in Ormsby), and exhibit (2) a 4 or 5 (sorry, Mozart). I guess that goes to prove, marketing is king - and "sex" sells (let's not think about that one too hard). I wonder where Mozart would rank on the list of celebrities who make more dead than alive? Or, is his image no longer under copyright privilege? Well, anyway...Mozart was still a genius and nerdy crushes are nothing new in this crowd.

It is with anticipation and joy I welcome in the new year. I have no guaranteed plans for 2011, but my hope is that it will be good. Another year on God's green earth? Yes. Better than 2010? Maybe. An opportunity for new and exciting adventures? Obviously. Here's to another year!