Shaken To Our Roots 1910 –1920

VIENNA 1913 – double session

As the centre of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Vienna epitomised tradition, prosperity andhigh culture. Eminent figures in a range of professions flocked to the city to further their careers. But in 1913 fissures were opening up beneath the glossy veneer. Vienna was, in fact, a cauldron of revolutionary politics, radical art and shocking new music. To cap it all was a scandal of monumental proportions. It all added up to a febrile atmosphere on the eve of the most horrendous war ever fought in Europe.

BRITISH MUSIC 1914-1918 (CLASSICAL)

BRITISH MUSIC 1914-1918 (POP)

Unlike artists, British composers were slow to represent the Great War. Instead they focussed on celebrating the English countryside – at risk from ever-expanding industrialisation. But once they turned their attention to the conflict, the results were heartrending. Pop singers, on the other hand, responded immediately to War. The music halls resounded to a mixture of the patriotic, sentimental and (gently) satirical.

IGOR STRAVINSKY: THE RITE TO INNOVATE

Stravinsky wrote over 100 pieces of music in a 68-year career. Among his greatest compositions were the three ballets he wrote for the Ballets Russes between 1910 and 1913. These included The Rite Of Spring which caused a riot at its premiere and sent shockwaves through the European musical Establishment still being felt today.

OH OH OH WHAT A LOVELY WAR - WHO’S FAULT WAS IT ?

They could see it coming, from the moment the French declared war on the Prussians in 1870 the starter’s pistol had been fired. There would be revenge, there would be imperial competition there would be ambition there would be revolution. As the scramble for Africa and the rest of the under developed world sped up, nationalism and ethnic differences held together by sticking plasters was about to burst apart in a major act of human futility.

FUTURISM – THE SHAPE OF THINGS TO COME

An obscure Italian intellectual, Filippo Tommaso Marinetti, took it upon himself to invent a new art movement that reflected the mechanisation of the modern age and unbelievably celebrated the efficacy of war as an antidote to all that was past. Overnight his access to the French press attracted a whole group of young artists to join this revolution…..they should have been careful what they wished for !

THE DEATH OF A GENERATION - WAR ARTISTS

in a horrendous war which needlessly sacrificed millions of young lives, artists were on hand to record the slaughter. They were officially appointed to their roles and possibly produced images that were not wanted. They were censored, commanded and contracted and produced a record that some of the ministers and the great and good wanted to keep for posterity. Initially to celebrate the victories and eventually to witness the futility. Embedded as they were with their comrades they saw the truth which in the next great war was going to be buried.

PICTURE PALACES - THE SILENT MOVIE AND CARTOON CULTURE

After the war to end all wars, the men came home physically and mentally crippled by their wartime experiences. The women had worked in the factories doing their jobs and some of them remained in the workplace. There was no post war boom just an world wide economic depression which would get worse. Meanwhile in the world of cinematography major leaps forward made it possible to create a new world based upon fantasy, adventure and humour. It was the only chance of escape.

FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE - FABERGE TO THE FINLAND STATION

Since Peter the Great the Tsars had been the mighty rulers of an oppressed empire. Each new inheritor of the title experimented with greater repression and occasional enlightenment. Neither structure worked, frequently because the father of the nation was not up to the job. They were the targets of dissatisfaction and occasionally assassins were successful. The Romanovs were doomed as the last Tsar blundered his way into a war he could not win and an autocracy he could not sustain. Like many displaced monarchs….he had learnt nothing.

14,21,28 Apr & 5,12 May 2026