Violin

Together with Johann Strauß father and son, Joseph Lanner is one of the most important representatives of Viennese dance music. Lanner’s ensemble came into being in 1822 when he and the Drahanek brothers applied for a permit to perform in Baden near Vienna as an ensemble consisting of two violins and guitar/ bass. The performance venues were the dance clubs of the Vienna suburbs (for example the legendary Sperl), as well as the k. k. Redoutensäle with their court events. Following the example of Strauß, Lanner also organised several concert tours that took him to Milan, Venice, Brno and Laibach. As can be seen in various pictures of the period, Lanner and his colleagues directed such ensembles from the concert master’s desk. They would conduct only the beginnings of pieces and awkward transitions, the violin bow replacing the conductor’s baton. The violin possessed by Lanner comes from the workshop of Franz Geissenhof one of the most renowned makers in Vienna. (rh)

Lit.:Rudolf Hopfner: Masterpieces from the Collection of Historic Musical Instruments. A Short Guide through the Kunsthistorisches Museum Vienna, Vol. 1, Vienna 2019.Rudolf Hopfner: Franz Geissenhof und seine Zeit, Bergkirchen 2009.