David Josef Bach
Encyclopedia
David Josef Bach was an important and influential figure in the cultural life of early twentieth-century Vienna
.
As a boy, Bach was a close friend of the young Arnold Schoenberg
, who later named him as one of the three friends (the other two were Oskar Adler
and Alexander von Zemlinsky
) who greatly influenced him in his youthful explorations of music and literature. Describing him as "A linguist
, a philosopher, a connoisseur of literature, and a mathematician" as well as "a good musician", Schoenberg paid tribute to his friend by claiming that it was D.J. Bach who furnished his character with "the ethical and moral power needed to withstand vulgarity and commonplace popularity" ('My Evolution', 1949).
After studying Natural Sciences at the University of Vienna
, where he was influenced by Ernst Mach
, D.J. Bach became a journalist
, being appointed as music critic of the Arbeiter-Zeitung
('Worker's Newspaper') in 1904 after the death of Josef Scheu (1841–1904). As a loyal supporter of Schoenberg and of the slightly older Gustav Mahler
he supported contemporary music in a city where performances of 'modern' works would sometimes be disrupted by noisy protests.
An active socialist dedicated to making the arts accessible to the working class
es, it was D.J. Bach who instituted the Arbeiter-Symphonie-Konzerte ('Workers' Symphony Concerts') in Vienna in 1905. His wide-ranging activities earned him the hostility of right-wing groups, who denounced his artistic programme as part of a 'Jewish conspiracy' to undermine traditional Austria
n culture. Such accusations were all the more vehement because D.J. Bach was also one of the earliest members of the Vienna Psychoanalytical Association which met under the aegis of Sigmund Freud
and whose members were mostly Jewish.
D.J. Bach was made editor-in-chief of the literature and art section of the Arbeiter-Zeitung in 1917. Once the Social Democratic Party
came to power in 1919, however, he became highly influential politically. Immediately appointed Director of the Sozialdemokratische Kunststelle ('Social-Democratic Arts Council'), he was able to develop a dynamic programme of cultural events as an integral part of the programme of socialist reconstruction in so-called 'Red Vienna
'. He organized readings for the workers of Vienna by the satirist Karl Kraus
; in 1933, commissioned a painting by Oskar Kokoschka
of the Wilhelminenberg Kinderheim, with its panoramic view of the City of Vienna; and invited the avant-garde
stage designer Frederick Kiesler to construct a full-sized experimental stage – the ‘Raumbühne’ – in the Konzerthaus. The organization of the Theatre and Music Festival of the City of Vienna in 1924 was one of the high points of his career. But he also – year in, year out – made major musical and theatrical productions available to working-class audiences through a system of subsidized block bookings.
Music was, and remainded, his central focus, and it was he who founded the amateur Vienna Singverein ('Vienna Choral Society') in 1919. This organisation, together with the Arbeiter-Symphonie-Konzerte, flourished until both were disbanded upon the new fascist government's outlawing of the Social Democratic Party and imposition of an authoritarian constitution in 1934. Anton Webern
was active as a conductor of all musical organisations, and developed a close and enduring friendship with D.J. Bach: it was Bach who delivered the address which opened the concert of Webern's music given on 3 December 1933 to celebrate the composer's fiftieth birthday, and Bach who persuaded Webern not to resign from his position as president of the Vienna International Society for Contemporary Music
(ISCM) chapter when his projected performance of Alban Berg's
opera Wozzeck
in Florence in 1934 was cancelled for political reasons.
D.J. Bach can be said to have held a unique position in the cultural politics of Vienna. In a situation of increasing polarization between 'Right' and 'Left', he attempted to create a cultural consensus by including conservatives like Hofmannsthal and Kralik in his system of patronage, as well as radicals like Ernst Fischer and Alban Berg
. The esteem in which he was held by the Viennese cultural community is reflected in the collection of eighty-eight large-format literary, artistic and musical dedications in a "Kassette" presented to him in July 1924 on the occasion of his fiftieth birthday. This collection, now in the care of Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge, includes original artistic works of considerable value and forms a unique 'time capsule' of Viennese cultural life.
In 1939 David Bach, his wife Gisela and nephew Herbert, emigrated to London. In England he became a leading member of the Austrian Labour Club and President of the Union of Austrian Journalists. He continued to organize musical events, particularly concerts of chamber music, supported by members of the future Amadeus Quartet
.
Bach died in London
in 1947.
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
.
As a boy, Bach was a close friend of the young Arnold Schoenberg
Arnold Schoenberg
Arnold Schoenberg was an Austrian composer, associated with the expressionist movement in German poetry and art, and leader of the Second Viennese School...
, who later named him as one of the three friends (the other two were Oskar Adler
Oskar Adler
Oskar Adler was an Austrian violinist, physician and esoteric savant.A close friend of Arnold Schoenberg from their schooldays, Adler taught him the rudiments of music, gave him his first grounding in philosophy, and played chamber music with him...
and Alexander von Zemlinsky
Alexander von Zemlinsky
Alexander Zemlinsky or Alexander von Zemlinsky was an Austrian composer, conductor, and teacher.-Early life:...
) who greatly influenced him in his youthful explorations of music and literature. Describing him as "A linguist
Linguistics
Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. Linguistics can be broadly broken into three categories or subfields of study: language form, language meaning, and language in context....
, a philosopher, a connoisseur of literature, and a mathematician" as well as "a good musician", Schoenberg paid tribute to his friend by claiming that it was D.J. Bach who furnished his character with "the ethical and moral power needed to withstand vulgarity and commonplace popularity" ('My Evolution', 1949).
After studying Natural Sciences at the University of Vienna
University of Vienna
The University of Vienna is a public university located in Vienna, Austria. It was founded by Duke Rudolph IV in 1365 and is the oldest university in the German-speaking world...
, where he was influenced by Ernst Mach
Ernst Mach
Ernst Mach was an Austrian physicist and philosopher, noted for his contributions to physics such as the Mach number and the study of shock waves...
, D.J. Bach became a journalist
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
, being appointed as music critic of the Arbeiter-Zeitung
Arbeiter-Zeitung (Vienna)
For the Chicago anarchist newspaper, see Arbeiter-Zeitung The Arbeiter-Zeitung was started as a Socialist newspaper on July 12, 1889 by Victor Adler. The paper was banned in 1934 after the Feb. 13 issue , but reappeared on Aug...
('Worker's Newspaper') in 1904 after the death of Josef Scheu (1841–1904). As a loyal supporter of Schoenberg and of the slightly older Gustav Mahler
Gustav Mahler
Gustav Mahler was a late-Romantic Austrian composer and one of the leading conductors of his generation. He was born in the village of Kalischt, Bohemia, in what was then Austria-Hungary, now Kaliště in the Czech Republic...
he supported contemporary music in a city where performances of 'modern' works would sometimes be disrupted by noisy protests.
An active socialist dedicated to making the arts accessible to the working class
Working class
Working class is a term used in the social sciences and in ordinary conversation to describe those employed in lower tier jobs , often extending to those in unemployment or otherwise possessing below-average incomes...
es, it was D.J. Bach who instituted the Arbeiter-Symphonie-Konzerte ('Workers' Symphony Concerts') in Vienna in 1905. His wide-ranging activities earned him the hostility of right-wing groups, who denounced his artistic programme as part of a 'Jewish conspiracy' to undermine traditional Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
n culture. Such accusations were all the more vehement because D.J. Bach was also one of the earliest members of the Vienna Psychoanalytical Association which met under the aegis of Sigmund Freud
Sigmund Freud
Sigmund Freud , born Sigismund Schlomo Freud , was an Austrian neurologist who founded the discipline of psychoanalysis...
and whose members were mostly Jewish.
D.J. Bach was made editor-in-chief of the literature and art section of the Arbeiter-Zeitung in 1917. Once the Social Democratic Party
Social Democratic Party of Austria
The Social Democratic Party of Austria is one of the oldest political parties in Austria. The SPÖ is one of the two major parties in Austria, and has ties to trade unions and the Austrian Chamber of Labour. The SPÖ is among the few mainstream European social-democratic parties that have preserved...
came to power in 1919, however, he became highly influential politically. Immediately appointed Director of the Sozialdemokratische Kunststelle ('Social-Democratic Arts Council'), he was able to develop a dynamic programme of cultural events as an integral part of the programme of socialist reconstruction in so-called 'Red Vienna
Red Vienna
Red Vienna was the nickname of the capital of Austria between 1918 and 1934, when the Social Democrats had the majority and the city was democratically governed for the first time.-Social situation after World War I:...
'. He organized readings for the workers of Vienna by the satirist Karl Kraus
Karl Kraus
Karl Kraus was an Austrian writer and journalist, known as a satirist, essayist, aphorist, playwright and poet. He is regarded as one of the foremost German-language satirists of the 20th century, especially for his witty criticism of the press, German culture, and German and Austrian...
; in 1933, commissioned a painting by Oskar Kokoschka
Oskar Kokoschka
Oskar Kokoschka was an Austrian artist, poet and playwright best known for his intense expressionistic portraits and landscapes.-Biography:...
of the Wilhelminenberg Kinderheim, with its panoramic view of the City of Vienna; and invited the avant-garde
Avant-garde
Avant-garde means "advance guard" or "vanguard". The adjective form is used in English to refer to people or works that are experimental or innovative, particularly with respect to art, culture, and politics....
stage designer Frederick Kiesler to construct a full-sized experimental stage – the ‘Raumbühne’ – in the Konzerthaus. The organization of the Theatre and Music Festival of the City of Vienna in 1924 was one of the high points of his career. But he also – year in, year out – made major musical and theatrical productions available to working-class audiences through a system of subsidized block bookings.
Music was, and remainded, his central focus, and it was he who founded the amateur Vienna Singverein ('Vienna Choral Society') in 1919. This organisation, together with the Arbeiter-Symphonie-Konzerte, flourished until both were disbanded upon the new fascist government's outlawing of the Social Democratic Party and imposition of an authoritarian constitution in 1934. Anton Webern
Anton Webern
Anton Webern was an Austrian composer and conductor. He was a member of the Second Viennese School. As a student and significant follower of Arnold Schoenberg, he became one of the best-known exponents of the twelve-tone technique; in addition, his innovations regarding schematic organization of...
was active as a conductor of all musical organisations, and developed a close and enduring friendship with D.J. Bach: it was Bach who delivered the address which opened the concert of Webern's music given on 3 December 1933 to celebrate the composer's fiftieth birthday, and Bach who persuaded Webern not to resign from his position as president of the Vienna International Society for Contemporary Music
International Society for Contemporary Music
The International Society for Contemporary Music is a music organization that promotes contemporary classical music.ISCM was established in 1922, in Salzburg. Its core activity is the World Music Days Festival, held every year at a different location. The festival includes cutting edge productions...
(ISCM) chapter when his projected performance of Alban Berg's
Alban Berg
Alban Maria Johannes Berg was an Austrian composer. He was a member of the Second Viennese School with Arnold Schoenberg and Anton Webern, and produced compositions that combined Mahlerian Romanticism with a personal adaptation of Schoenberg's twelve-tone technique.-Early life:Berg was born in...
opera Wozzeck
Wozzeck
Wozzeck is the first opera by the Austrian composer Alban Berg. It was composed between 1914 and 1922 and first performed in 1925. The opera is based on the drama Woyzeck left incomplete by the German playwright Georg Büchner at his death. Berg attended the first production in Vienna of Büchner's...
in Florence in 1934 was cancelled for political reasons.
D.J. Bach can be said to have held a unique position in the cultural politics of Vienna. In a situation of increasing polarization between 'Right' and 'Left', he attempted to create a cultural consensus by including conservatives like Hofmannsthal and Kralik in his system of patronage, as well as radicals like Ernst Fischer and Alban Berg
Alban Berg
Alban Maria Johannes Berg was an Austrian composer. He was a member of the Second Viennese School with Arnold Schoenberg and Anton Webern, and produced compositions that combined Mahlerian Romanticism with a personal adaptation of Schoenberg's twelve-tone technique.-Early life:Berg was born in...
. The esteem in which he was held by the Viennese cultural community is reflected in the collection of eighty-eight large-format literary, artistic and musical dedications in a "Kassette" presented to him in July 1924 on the occasion of his fiftieth birthday. This collection, now in the care of Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge, includes original artistic works of considerable value and forms a unique 'time capsule' of Viennese cultural life.
In 1939 David Bach, his wife Gisela and nephew Herbert, emigrated to London. In England he became a leading member of the Austrian Labour Club and President of the Union of Austrian Journalists. He continued to organize musical events, particularly concerts of chamber music, supported by members of the future Amadeus Quartet
Amadeus Quartet
The Amadeus Quartet was a world famous string quartet founded in 1947.Because of their Jewish origin, violinists Norbert Brainin, Siegmund Nissel and Peter Schidlof were driven out of Vienna after Hitler's Anschluss of 1938...
.
Bach died in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
in 1947.
Further reading
- Arnold Schoenberg, Style and Idea, ed. Leonard Stein , trans. Leo Black (London, 1975).
- Henriette Kotlan-Werner, Kunst und Volk: David Josef Bach 1874-1947 (Vienna, 1977).
- Jared Armstrong and Edward TimmsEdward TimmsEdward Timms is Research Professor and Director of the Centre of German Studies at University of Sussex. He is an internationally acknowledged eminent scholar, and his work is mostly focused on Karl Kraus and Freud.-Works:...
, 'Souvenirs of Vienna 1924: The Legacy of David Josef Bach', in Austrian Studies: Culture and Politics in Red Vienna, Vol.14 (2006), 61-98. - Piero Violante, Eredità della musica.David J. Bach e i concerti sinfonici dei lavoratori viennesi,1905-1934;Sellerio editore,Palermo 2007,pp. 227