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The Image of Purity The Racial
Ideology of the Vienna Philharmonic In Historical
Perspective by William Osborne
Due
to the protest evolving because of the Vienna Philharmonic's gender bias, an interest
in the orchestra's ethnic and racial ideologies has also emerged. I provide here a very brief sketch of some
aspects of the orchestra's ethnic and racial beliefs. The theme requires much more space than I
can use here, so I limit myself to some simple documentation. I should also note that the Vienna
Philharmonic's racial ideology is much more difficult to write about than
their gender bias, since it is difficult to document, and since the topic is
extremely volatile and has to be addressed with sensitivity and care. In
addition to the exclusion of women, the Vienna Philharmonic believes that
ethnic uniformity gives it aesthetic superiority. In some cases these views expand beyond questions of ethnicity
and assume the tones of a racial ideology.
The Vienna Philharmonic feels, for example, that it is essential to
exclude people whose physical appearance would identify them as non-
Austrians, since this would damage the visual image of the orchestra and put
in question certain characteristics of Austrian culture. Examples
of this ideology have been documented by Elena Ostleitner, a professor at the
Institute für Musiksoziologie of the Vienna Music Hochschule. She was commissioned by the Austrian
government to examine why there is an apparent shortage of qualified young
candidates for orchestra positions in Austria. Among the many factors contributing to the problem, she noted
that foreign musicians trained in Austria are often denied jobs due to their
race. She
found that, "Even in a renowned orchestra like the Vienna Philharmonic,
it is difficult, if not impossible, to fill vacancies, because the
Philharmonic members say the musicians applying do not fulfill their artistic
requirements, or are visibly of foreign origin."(1) If
foreigners are accepted, an emphasis is placed upon their "visibly"
belonging to a central European racial group. In fact, the Vienna Philharmonic has 6 foreigners among its 149
members, and they all have the appearance of central Europeans.(2) Ostleitner
conducted numerous interviews for her study, and the discussions sometimes
cover attitudes toward Asian musicians in Austria . These views toward Asian musicians provide useful insights,
because many Asians have reached the highest standards of western art music, many
have studied in Vienna, and many still live there. Ostleitner, for example, recorded this statement by a women who
lives in Austria: "I auditioned for an orchestra,
and I led in the point tabulations as long as I played behind a screen. Due to my name it was not apparent that I
am an Asian. But when the screen was
removed, I was rejected without comment.
Friends in the orchestra confirmed my assumption. They do not take foreigners, and if they
do, then only those in which [foreign appearance] is not visible."(3) In
another interview Ostleitner recorded a corroborating attitude, expressed by
a 40 year old male conductor: "The Japanese lack the "inner
glow" ("innere Glut").
But since they have youth orchestras for almost all age groups,
they are often technically solidly in the saddle even in the
younger years."(4) The
view is that Asians have some sort of innate difference in regard to western
art music in spite of their technical accomplishment, and that their physical
appearance would somehow lower the aesthetic image of Austrian
music-making. In an interview with
the West German State Radio, another Viennese sociologist, Roland Girtler,
who is a professor of sociology at the University of Vienna, noted similar
attitudes. He specializes in the
study of isocratic social groups, and has observed the Vienna Philharmonic as
an exclusive men's group. He
describes the orchestra as being similar to a cultic fraternity, and notes
that they exclude foreigners on a racial basis: "What I have noticed that is
interesting, is that the Vienna Philharmonic would also never take a Japanese or
such. If they took one, this also would somehow by appearances put in
question the noble character of Viennese culture. But this is not racist!"(5) Again
it is not merely musical performance, but the racial physiognomy of Asians
that is the critical issue--though Girtler does not view this as racist. By visually putting in question the
"noble character" of the orchestra, the ensemble' s status and the
inherent qualities of Austrian culture would presumably be damaged. In
the same interview with the West German State Radio, members of the Vienna
Philharmonic openly expressed these racial ideologies. Dieter Flury, a solo-flutist in the Vienna
Philharmonic, believes that only central Europeans should be members because
they have qualities that are intrinsically different from other races: "From the beginning we have spoken
of the special Viennese qualities, of the way music is made here. The way we make music here is not only a
technical ability, but also something that has a lot to do with the soul. The
soul does not let itself be separated from the cultural roots that we have
here in central Europe. And it also
doesn't allow itself to be separated from gender. So if one thinks that the world should function by quota
regulations,then it is naturally irritating that we are a group of white
skinned male musicians, that perform exclusively the music of white skinned
male composers. It is a racist and
sexist irritation. I believe one must
put it that way. If one establishes
superficial egalitarianism, one will lose something very significant. Therefore, I am convinced that it is
worthwhile to accept this racist and sexist irritation, because something
produced by a superficial understanding of human rights would not have the
same standards."(6) This
candid statement illustrates the role race plays in the orchestra's beliefs
about music-making. An almost
identical statement was reported in a radio broadcast of the Austria National
Broadcasting Corporation. A public school teacher who had taken his class to
a rehearsal of the Vienna Philharmonic reported that a girl in the class
asked why only men were in the orchestra.
Werner Resel, the orchestra's chairman, answered that the "Vienna
Philharmonic is an orchestra of white men playing music by white men for
white people".(7) These
are some blatant examples of how racial ideologies are expressed in the
Vienna Philharmonic. But it should be
noted that very often subtleties of language make racism difficult to
identify. Since racial ideology is
strongly stigmatized in much of the international community, it is often
expressed through a sort of coded language (and not just in German). Statements can thus be made whose
implications are difficult to determine.
Anti-Semites in central Europe, for example, will refer to Jewish
people as "no-nationals" based on a racist belief that they are
wanderers who never really "belong" to a particular country. Or discussions will turn to unnamed groups
who destroy the "ethical uniformity" of society with the clear and
unspoken implication that this would result from the "non-Christian
influences" of Jewish religious groups.
This kind of code language is a central part of the neo-nazi and anti-
Semitic literature that is widely available in newsstands throughout Germany
and Austria.(8) These methods are often used by orchestra musicians as well,
and can be problematic for scholars studying racial and ethnic ideologies in
orchestras. When put under a critical
eye, the Vienna Philharmonic will sometimes change the tone of its statements
and give less than convincing explanations about why there is not a single
woman, or a single member of a "visible" racial minority in the
orchestra. Due
to the Vienna Philharmonic's long history of racial and ethnic ideology, it
was easily appropriated and transformed into one of the most active
orchestras for the support of National Socialism. In 1938 Austria was made part of Germany through the "Anschluss,"
which was euphorically greeted by a wide spectrum of Austrian society. A program was set in motion to
"Aryanize" Austrian culture.
As a result, Wilhelm Jerger, who was a contrabassist in the orchestra
and a Lieutenant in the SS, became the chairman of the Vienna Philharmonic. Forty-seven
percent of the Vienna Philharmonic's members belonged to the Nazi party, and
many were members well before 1938 when it was still illegal in Austria to be
a party member.(9) Six members of the orchestra were Jewish and died in the
concentration camps, and another eleven were able to save their lives by
timely immigration. Nine additional
members were found to be of "mixed race" or "contaminated by
kinship" ("Versippte") and reduced to secondary status
within the orchestra.(10) Since 47% of the members belonged to the National
Socialist Party, and since 26 "non-Aryans" were either murdered,
exiled or reduced in status, the strongly fascist tendencies of what remained
of the orchestra are clear. The
orchestra's many activities in the service of National Socialism began only
days after the Anschluss. They
began with a trip to Berlin to perform a concert under the direction of
Furtwaengler especially for Hitler.
The Anschluss euphoria continued when they performed the Meistersinger
von Nürmberg, again with Furtwaengler, at the Nürmberg Party Days in
1938. Hitler was so taken with their
performance and their show of devotion that he promised the orchestra his personal
protection and concern.(11) The Vienna Philharmonic was asked to be a yearly
fixture at the Nürmberg party rallies(12).
They thus became part of the central paradigm of National Socialist
cultural ritual. In
this capacity and many others, the orchestra became one of the most important
propaganda instruments for the Party.
For example, they made many tours of the occupied areas where it was
considered most essential to "Germanize" the conquered
peoples. These tours included cities
such as Krakow, Copenhagen, Den Haag, Amsterdam, Paris, and Dijon. The
Vienna Philharmonic's centennial fell in 1942 and was commemorated with a
book entitled Erbe und Sendung (Inheritance and Mission) by
Wilhelm Jerger. The book very clearly
documents the ideologies of the orchestra and how ideally suited they were to
appropriation by National Socialism.
For example, the book includes the genealogies of several prominent
father and son generations that filled the ranks of the Philharmonic, and
every "non-Aryan" in the tables has a special asterisk by his
name. Jerger explains that the Aryan
stock of these Philharmonic families was so "tough" that the purity
of their "blood" wasn't notably damaged by what racists refer to as
dysgenic influences: "And here it is demonstrated, that
in spite of manifold influences of blood from elsewhere, this Mind [Geist]
continues to implant itself with great toughness through the ancestral
lineage, and that it is often very sharply imprinted. It is understandable, that such an inheritance
must beget outstanding musicians, who in their stylistic education and in
their experience of orchestral playing are already extraordinarily schooled.
This is Mind from Old Mind, which helps tradition and inheritance, an
overcoming investment [überkommene Anlage] to a special development
and fulfillment."(13) Schooling
is acknowledged as important, but only in the context of a special
"blood" inheritance which transmits "Mind". This follows the "Blood and Soil"
ideologies of National Socialism with its belief that
cultural traits
are genetically inherited. And it
seems uncomfortably close to the orchestra's recent
comments about the special qualities of the "central European
soul", their attitude toward Asians, and music-making revolving
around white people. In
1898 Gustav Mahler became the General Music Director of the Vienna Philharmonic,
replacing Hans Richter who had led the orchestra for the previous
23 years. (The Vienna Philharmonic
refers to the Richter years as its golden age.) Mahler's tenure was
troubled in part by a continual pattern of anti-Semitic
harassment and he left the orchestra after three years. Jerger, using his own words and quoting
those of Max Kalbeck, draws a comparison of Richter and Mahler that reveals
the anti-Semitic attitudes Mahler confronted: "A completely different type of
personality entered with Mahler, 'as there' -- to speak with Max
Kalbeck's vivid words -- 'instead of the tall blond bearded Hun, who
placed himself wide and calm before the orchestra like an unshakeable, solidly
walled tower, there was a gifted shape [begabte Gestalt]
balancing over the podium, thin, nervous, and with extraordinarily gangly
limbs.' In fact, a greater contrast was really not possible. There the patriarchal Hans Richter in his
stolidity and goodness, and his extremely hearty and
collegial solidarity with the orchestra, and here Gustav
Mahler, oriented to the new objectivity [neue Sachlichkeit] -- nervous, hasty, scatty,
intellectualish [sic] – the music a pure matter of his over bred
intellect."(14) Unfortunately
there is not space here to analyze the language (intellectualish, over bred,
new objectivity, gangly limbs, scatty vs. blond, tall, stolid, wide,
calm, solidarity) and how it expresses the hallucinogenic ideologies of
anti-Semiticism and National Socialist aesthetics. The transparent sub text is one of
chauvinistic masculinity and genetic superiority. Jerger's
book vividly illustrates how national cultural identity in western
art music can be intertwined with sexism, racism and chauvinistic ethnocentricity. Though the Vienna Philharmonic is clearly
no longer fascist, much of the characteristic language used in
Jerger's book about the "central European soul", the
"physiognomy of the orchestra", "emotional unity",
"masculinity", "ethnicity", etc. was evidenced long before
the Anschluss, and is still used to this day when the orchestra speaks
about itself. The
special regard the National Socialists had for the Vienna Philharmonic stands
in stark contrast to the plans the Nazis had for the rest of Vienna. It was Hitler's goal to destroy Austria's
independent national identity by reducing its capital Vienna
to provincial status and making his home town of Linz the new cultural center
of Austria. For example, the
"Reichs Bruckner Orchestra" of Linz was founded by the National Socialists
in 1942 and immediately became the only other orchestra in the Reich
with a status equal to the Berlin and Vienna Philharmonic’s. After
the war the de-Nazification of the Vienna Philharmonic was conducted in
a disinterested, half-hearted and careless manner. The reasoning was that due to the war there
were not adequate replacements for the many National Socialists in the
orchestra, and that due to its special qualities the Vienna
Philharmonic deserved special treatment.(15) The orchestra argued with
singular logic that it had lost so much through "Aryanization"
that it could not afford to lose anymore quality through "de-Nazification".
The
government offered its "complete agreement for the position" and
said "the
current condition would be bearable, since it was the view that in the
interest of the cultural mission of Austria, artists in general, and especially
the Vienna Philharmonic, would be subject to a different evaluation than
other professional groups."(16) Only five of the many Nazis
in the orchestra were fired. Later
ten others were given an early retirement whose ages were
between 54 and 66. And of the 5 who
were actually
fired 3 soon returned to the orchestra due to the Philharmonic's common
administration with the Volksoper where they had obtained work. Thus
only 2 National Socialists of some 60 in the orchestra were really fired. These were Wilhelm Jerger, and a violist
who the orchestra resented, not because he was a National
Socialist, but because he obtained his
position during the war without auditioning.(16) The
lax de-Nazification of the Vienna Philharmonic had an affect on orchestral
policy. Toscanini refused to work with
them because of the Nazis who remained in the
orchestra. In 1947 he was asked to
conduct, but said he would only do so if certain
fascists were removed from the orchestra.
The Vienna Philharmonic refused.(17) In
1949 the Vienna Philharmonic voted to take a pay cut in order finance an
apartment, pension, and chauffeur for Hans Pfitzner, a composer who is considered
to have been one of the most active anti-Semitic spokesmen in the
music-world of the Third Reich. Among
his many National Socialist activities, he advised the regime on
racial cleansing. In the horrific language
of National Socialism this was referred to as the "Entjudung" ("de-Jewing)
of culture. Fulfilling a function
similar to the Vienna Philharmonic's, he was widely performed
in the conquered countries in order to "Germanize" them. He was held forth to the subdued peoples
an example
of the "most German" [deutschester] composer. Nazi officials "celebrated Pfitzner as
one of National Socialism's most related-in-character [wesenverwandten]
German fighters and exhorters of music."(18) It is thus informative that
in 1949 the Vienna Philharmonic elected Pfitzner to be an
honorary member of the orchestra.(19) In
1953 the orchestra caused international concern when it elected a former
SS Sargent and member of the Sicherheitsdienst (which included the
Gestapo) as its Executive Manager (Geshaeftsführer).(20) Actions such as
these made it difficult for the Vienna Philharmonic to leave behind its reputation
as a "Nazi Orchestra" in spite of its fine music-making. That they continue to express the belief
that gender and ethnic uniformity give them aesthetic superiority
has not helped their image. Though
the Vienna Philharmonic maintains gender and ethnic uniformity among
its members, they allow for outside influence through guest conductors
and soloists. They have found it
beneficial to consciously use these guests to rehabilitate
the orchestra's public image, while at the same time quietly denying
rank and file membership to women and racial minorities(21). This has been an effective public
relations tool for resisting change, and fits with
sociological models which suggest that isocratic groups form controlled
relationships with outsiders to mutually enhance
their image and status. In
summary, the orchestra's ethnic and racial ideologies allowed it to concentrate
and institutionalize
beliefs that were common in Germany and Austria decades before the Anschluss,
and this made the Philharmonic an easy and willing target for
National Socialist appropriation. Due
to the lax effort in de-Nazification, combined with the general
post-war atmosphere in Austria as a whole, the orchestra still
maintains views that cause discomfort in the international
community. What are these
"racist and sexist irritations" that are an essential part of "the
noble character of Viennese culture" and why do they ask us to tolerate
them? Why is it important that "white men perform music by white composers
for white
people?" Why would the Vienna
Philharmonic be damaged if some members were visibly of
other races such as Asians? What do
they mean by the "Soul" and why is it
affected by race and not just education? A
great deal of dialog and documentation is still necessary. These concerns are not just finger
pointing at an orchestra in Austria.
The Vienna Philharmonic is central to the identity of western
culture, and to look at that orchestra is to look at
ourselves. One need only listen to
Walter Cronkite moderating with his epic tones the yearly broadcast of the Vienna
Philharmonic's New Year' s concert, which is broadcast to an estimated
audience of one billion people, or to see the diplomats, Cardinals,
and heads of state sitting in the honored seats in the front rows of its
concerts, to know how close the Vienna Philharmonic is to all of
us. And the Vienna Philharmonic
claims to be the best selling recording orchestra in the
world. So now, fifty years after the
war, the people in and surrounding this orchestra must begin an
honest dialog. We must look at how we
deal with "the other", and at the deep-seated brutality
and denial that seems to lie at the heart of much of western culture.
NOTES (1) Ostleitner, Elena, Liebe, Lust, Last und Lied
(Wien, Bundesministerium fuer Unterricht und Kunst, 1995): 6. (2)
For the number of foreigners see: Ostleitner, 1995, 45. For their racial appearance see their photos in: Hellsberg,
Clemens, _Demokratie der Koenige:
Die Geschickte der Wiener Philharmoniker_ (Zurich: Schweiyer Verlagshaus: Wien: Kremayr & Scheriau;
Mainz: Musikverlag
Schott, 1992) 624-650. Hellsberg is a first violinist in the Vienna Philharmonic,
vice- chairman of the orchestra, and the orchestra's
archivist. His book, written for the
150 year anniversary of the orchestra, is relatively open about discussing
the orchestra’s Nazi past, but still contains a somewhat rationalizing tone. (3)
Ostleitner, 1995, 44. (4)
Ibid. 46. (5)
Osborne, William, "Art Is Just An Excuse: Gender Bias in International Orchestras",
Journal of the International Alliance for Women in Music (Vol.
2, No. 3, October 1996) 6. The
interview material was transcribed and translated from:
"Musikalische Misogynie" broadcast by the West German State
Radio, February 13, 1996. See also:
Girtler, Roland, "Mitgliedsaufnahme in den Noblen Bund der Wiener
Philharmonicer Als Mannbarkeitsritual", Sociologia
Internationalis (Beiheft 1, Berlin 1992). (6)
Osborne, 1996, 6. (7)
"Von Tag zu Tag", broadcast by Austrian National Radio and
Television, December 11, 1996, 4:05-4:45pm. Thanks to Regina Himmelbauer for bringing this
to my attention. (8)
One of the most common of these publications is Die National Zeitung. (9)
Hellsberg, 1992, 464. See also his
endnote number 17, page 672. (10)
Ibid. 505. (11)
Ibid. 464. (12)
Ibid. 464. (13) Jerger, Wilhelm, Erbe und Sendung (Wien:
Wiener Verlag Ernst Sopper & Karl
Bauer, 1942) 87. Copies of this book are
rare. Thanks to Manuela Schreibmaier
for finding and making a copy available to me. (14)
Ibid. 57. (15)
Hellsberg, 510. (16)
Ibid. 510. (17)
Ibid. 518. (18) Ibid. 549-551. (19) Kroll, Erwin, "Der Warthegau huldigt
Pfitzner. Allgemeine Musikzeitung, Leipzig (LXIX/10, September
18, 1942; as quoted in: Prieberg,
Fred K., Musik im NS-Staat (Frankfurt am Main: Fischer Taschenbuch Verlag, 1982) 224. (20)
Ibid. 514. (21)
During the Waldheim affair in the late 1980's the Austrian government made
plans to send the Vienna Philharmonic to Israel with Bernstein. The orchestra unsuccessfully
used this occasion to try to force the government to give them a permanent tax
break. See Hellsberg, page 560.
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