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Jewishness and the Viennese Volkssänger | 85
time, Hirsch managed a variety show in Koller’s Concert Hall (Koller’s Con-
certsaal) located on Mariahilferstrasse and had “gu ests” perform there.30 When
Hirsch attempted to respond t o Berg during the meeting, the mood escalated.
Th
e tense atmosphere was further fueled by Karl Spacek’s claim that Hirsch was
a liar.
When Hirsch fi
nally regained the group’s attention, he steered the discussion
back to the original agenda. He noted that there was really little that they could
do to counteract the decision of the Hungarian authorities. As Hirsch saw it, the
only measure that could motivate them to rethink their decision was a ban on
Hungarian Volkssänger performing in Vienna. He formulated his suggestion with
rather heartfelt words: “If the German colleagues are expelled from Hungary, then
it is time to take a stand and not rest until the last ‘gypsy’ [Hirsch’s pejorative
term for the Hungarians] has been driven from Vienna.”31
Th
e excitement over the Hungarian authorities seemed ultimately to have
been unnecessary. After Hirsch spoke, K
arl Hauser (1851–1927) took the fl
oor
and delivered good news.32 He announced that he had received a telegram from
Budapest, sent by Josef Modl. In the telegram, Modl announced that a delegation
of popular singers from Vienna had auditioned before the Hungarian authorities,
the result being that German-language performances were once again allowed to
take place.
With the telegram, the assembly’s principal matter to discuss—but not the
meeting itself—became irrelevant. As the various remarks from the meeting that I
have mentioned here demonstrate, Viennese Volkssänger faced a number of prob-
lems. Th e meeting’s participants agreed to a petition that summarized the social
and professional problems under discussion and called for improvements. Th e
petition requested that Viennese authorities award all future Volkssänger licenses
for life. Th
ese licenses, furthermore, should only be awarded to persons who had
previously worked in Vienna for ten years. Th
e petition also asked for a stipula-
tion that each licensee must use the license for their own performances (rather
than leasing the license to a third party). Th
e performing singers’ petition also
asked that foreign actors and musicians be prevented from performing in Vienna
for more than one month. Each Volkssänger troupe would be required to hire at
least six licensed Volkssänger and no more than four unlicensed colleagues.33
On 2 January 1902, a deputation representing the Volkssänger submitted their
petition to Governor Erich von Kielmannsegg (1847–1923). He listened to ad-
ditional complaints that they brought to his attention and then promised to press
for their proposed changes.34
Conclusion: Th e Meeting at the Goldener Luchs
Th
e meeting held on 27 December 1901 provides us a rare but very illuminating
look into the social situation of Viennese Volkssänger. It underscores the bureau-
This open access edition has been made available under a CC BY 4.0 license thanks to the support of Knowledge Unlatched.
Entangled Entertainers
Jews and Popular Culture in Fin-de-Siècle Vienna
- Titel
- Entangled Entertainers
- Untertitel
- Jews and Popular Culture in Fin-de-Siècle Vienna
- Autor
- Klaus Hödl
- Verlag
- Berghahn Books
- Datum
- 2019
- Sprache
- englisch
- Lizenz
- CC BY 4.0
- ISBN
- 978-1-78920-031-7
- Abmessungen
- 14.86 x 23.2 cm
- Seiten
- 196
- Kategorien
- Geschichte Vor 1918
- International
Inhaltsverzeichnis
- Introduction 1
- 1. Jews in Viennese Popular Culture around 1900 as Research Topic 13
- 2. Jewish Volkssänger and Musical Performers in Vienna around 1900 44
- 3. Jewishness and the Viennese Volkssänger 78
- 4. Jewish Spaces of Retreat at the Turn of the Twentieth Century 121
- 5. From Difference to Similarity 148
- Conclusion 163
- Bibliography 166
- Index 179