Our Music Room

Even without the Bösendorfer piano,
the premier piano manufacturer of Wien, Austria,
we know that this is a musician's studio room.
Flanking a painting of a mountain landscape are
two oval portraits of Beethoven and Mozart.

 

 

 

Further over on the wall is another framed print,
out of focus but still recognizable to musicians
as a portrait of Franz Schubert.
Atop the piano is a cello bow
next to sheet music marked Grieg,
for the great Norwegian composer and pianist, Edvard Grieg.

L. van Beethoven, W. A. Mozart, F. Schubert
Source: Wikimedia

 

 

The full photo shows a cello leaning precariously on a chair.
To one side is a splendid double sided wooden music stand,
designed for playing duets, or trios with the piano.
Together with the ornate coal fireplace,
the floral wallpaper, and the Persian carpets
it makes a charming interior photo,
a portrait really,
of a musician's favorite place.

 

Along the edge of this photo postcard
is a short phrase in German.

Unser Musikzimmer ~ Our music room

 

 

 

 The postcard is addressed to:
Hochwohlgeboren (High wellborn) Herr Karl Mrasek
of Wien IX, Liechtensteinstraße 64, III Stock (floor).
The message begins Lieber Onkel! ~ Dear Uncle!
and is dated 28 January 1928.
The handwriting is challenging for me to decipher
but the writer, possibly Karl's niece, signs it 
Resi(?) und Sigmund.

 

1928 city directory of Wien, Austria

There are four men named Karl Mrasek in Wien's 1928 city directory, but only one at that address. He is listed with an occupation of Pen. (using the odd symbol for long s in the Germanic Fraktur typeface) which I interpret as Pensioner or Retiree. Herr Mrasek is also listed in the 1915 Wien directory at the same address on Liechtensteinstraße, but then his occupation was Pvt. Bmt. which stands for Privatbeamter ~ private official, which was a term for a clerk in a non-governmental organization or company.

  

Today the building at Liechtensteinstraße 64, Wien, Austria still stands and Google's street view gives us a perspective looking up. If I'm not mistaken, Herr Mrasek lived on the floor second-down from the top, as the III Stock, or 3rd floor, would not count the ground floor.

 

 

 

Liechtensteinstraße 64, Wien, Austria
Source: Google Maps

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The photo of Resi and Sigmund's Musikszmmer is, of course, not in their uncle Karl's building, and there is really nothing in the photo to actually place it in Wien. Since the postcard's stamp and postmark were unfortunately removed long ago, their music room might just as well be in an apartment in Prague or Berlin, or even Paris. But even if it's not in Wien but somewhere else, with Wien's most famous composers on the wall it surely was a small refuge of Austrian musical culture.  

 

 

 

But what about the portrait on the piano
behind the potted plant?
 

It's position is nearly centered.

Onkle Karl could not miss it
as the whole set has been so carefully arranged.
I believe it must be a portrait of Resi.
Was she Karl's niece?
Or was Sigmund Karl's nephew?
And did Resi play the piano or the cello?
Some mysteries are best left unsolved.

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is my contribution to Sepia Saturday
where no one can have too many books
as long as they have a library card.