Schönberg's Home in Mödling

This afternoon I joined a couple of dozen others on a bus chartered to drive us from the Arnold Schönberg Center in Vienna to his former home in Mödling, to partake of a concert and open house. Speeches by Ferdinand Rubel, Vice-Mayor of Mödling; Christian Meyer, Director of the Arnold Schönberg Center; and Nuria Schönberg Nono, President of the Arnold Schönberg Center, were given in the garden, with birds, roosters, childen, and lilacs at their peak contributing to the festive atmosphere. Marion Diederichs-Lafite gave a moving speech explaining the opening of the the “Lafite-Saal” in the Schönberg House, in memory of Prof. Elisabeth Lafite, who rescued the house from immanent destruction. We then were treated to a concert of music by the Chorus Chemie Linz, conducted by Fritz Hinterdorfer...with Hans Eisler’s Lob des Lernens (words by Brecht) and Schönberg’s Herzlieblich Lieb, durch Scheiden as two of the highlights. As I have no electricity tonight, I’m racing to post this before the computer dies, and hope that it conveys how incredibly special it was for me to visit the home of Schönberg, and to meet some of his descendants were were also present for the occasion.