Beethoven’s Footsteps

The path in 19th District that leads to Beethoven’s place of inspiration - Photo: Jonathan Sherry

There is no feeling quite so moving as experiencing history. To be in a place, in a moment, in a feeling, that had cradled a spark that has affected us all can be beyond measure.

In Vienna, some may venture to see where Freud did his research, where Mozart played his music, or see the places from which the Hapsburgs ruled their Empire. But, on a beautiful Saturday morning, I discovered a corner of Vienna unknown to many.

Along with an interested group and a fellow music lover, I found a piece of Beethoven’s Vienna, along with the scenery and sounds that inspired the composition of his 6th Symphony, The Pastorale.

On this morning, the sun was peeking out from behind the leaves, reflecting off the ripples in the stream by which Beethoven sat composing the Pastoral. We were taken from the streets of town by the 37 tram to Hohe Warte in the 19th District, starting in the chilly summer morning, through a park that featured a memorial Beethoven statue, and then walked into the woods, in moments leaving all sense of the city behind.

This is a location that is inspiring even to those who may not know its musical history.

Throughout the entire walk, the conversations of those around me lent to my own feeling of the atmosphere. Wondering from the groupthink, I was able appreciated the beauty of nature, much as Beethoven did.

As our group leader Prentiss Dunn told us, Beethoven was extremely passionate about the nature surrounding Vienna, and it’s not hard to see why. The chilly morning had turned into a sunny and pleasant midday, and the group was slowly shedding the outer layers of coats and sweaters, as well as shedding our outer layers of silence to truly converse with one another.

A woman from Australia shared her hatred of mosquitoes, and her amazement of the lack thereof in Vienna, while her husband was content to sip upon his pint of dark beer and merely nod his head in agreement.

Two art students from the United States expressed their interest in the subject of Beethoven, but admitted that they had come on this walk merely to get a look at the beautiful Wienerwald.

My friend made the remark that the path we were following was exactly the one followed by Beethoven himself, and that this certainly deserved some recognition by those who were unaware of this fact. I silently agreed, and reserved my judgment for a later time.

For the morning, I was content merely to enjoy a beautiful Viennese day, and to quietly hum Beethoven’s 6th in my head.