Hans Swarowsky. Music, arts and politics in the 20th century

Hans Swarowsky (1899-1975), conductor, teacher, author, translator, and all-rounder - research into his life and into the character and scope of his work and influence. In view of his great range of intellectual and artistic achievements, his work as a teacher of conducting, the effect of which is still felt today, and his consistently unconventional approach to questions of interpretation, Swarowsky has to be viewed as one of the most interesting figures in Austrian musical life during the 20th century. Son of one of the most controversial Viennese industrial magnates, Swarowsky had a meteoric career until 1935, when he succeeded Erich Kleiber at the Berlin Opera. Forbidden to conduct in 1936, he spent four years in exile in Zürich before returning, although under threat himself, to the German Reich in 1940, where he was protected by R. Strauss and C. Krauss. There he established contacts with the resistance and the Allies; in 1944 he was in Cracow where he rescued musicians from a nearby concentration camp. From the beginning of 1945 he was on the run from the Gestapo and was liberated by American troops in May of that year. Since 1945 Swarowsky conducted all over the world and made major contributions both to the Mahler renaissance and to the de-romanticised view of Viennese classical music. In 1946 he founded the school of conducting at the Vienna Academy of Music (his graduates belong to the most famous conductors of present time). As a conductor Swarowsky was decisevely influenced by his close relations with Schönberg, Webern and R. Strauss, and his contacts with Stravinsky, Hindemith, Pfitzner, Einem and Britten. Thus, Swarowsky may serve as an important source for the history of 20th-century music. Swarowsky abhorred personal vanity and showmanship, rather he was deeply engaged in passing on his wide- ranging erudition and his practical knowledge and experience without alteration. His priority was to be a "Diener am Werk" and not a "podium virtuoso", which only increases the significance of his testimony. Swarowsky translated numerous libretti of great operas from Italian into German and co-authored the libretto of "Capriccio". He was involved in preparing new editions of scores and was the author of music-theoretical writings. There are large gaps in our knowledge concerning Swarowsky. Clearing up his biography, activities and heritage would equally contribute to the research on important phenomena in cultural, music and political history. Of specific interest are Swarowsky`s origins, his studies, his political fate in the Nazi period - including his largely unrevealed involvement in the political resistance against the Nazi regime -, his career as a performer, his teaching and concept of conducting and his work as a writer and translator. The aim of the project is 1. to make as complete as possible a documentation of his life and work, 2. to define his position in musical and cultural history with greater precision. The research activities should finally result in a source-based curriculum vitae and a source catalogue, both of which shall serve as starting-point for further research and further publications. Close cooperation is to be maintained between music history and contemporary history. The project will have to handle a huge mass of source material to be found in various archives in Austria and abroad as well as in Swarowsky`s personal estate. In addition, published texts and oral reports of contemporary witnesses, still to be interviewed, will be evaluated. The project will take 3 years. The Lehrkanzel für Musikgeschichte/Abt. 1 at the University of Music would be a suitable point of coordination. A number of the subjects being researched there share common ground with major fields of this research project, namely the history of musical performance and interpretation, the Second Viennese School and Austrian music history since 1945.