Musicians at leisure: masterpieces from the summer retreat

Claude Debussy wrote to his publisher that he had found “a charming, peaceful spot” where “the sea unfolds with a thoroughly British sense of propriety”. He was referring to Eastbourne on the English coast, where the composer stayed in the summer of 1905 to revise proofs of his publishing house – and to complete his vivid tone poem La Mer.

Pörtschach am Wörthersee was one of Johannes Brahms’s favourite holiday destinations – he remarked that Carinthia was “so full of melodies that one has to be careful not to step on them”. It was here that, in addition to two of his symphonies, he composed his Violin Concerto – as did Alban Berg. Some fifty years later, Berg’s concerto, dedicated “To the Memory of an Angel”, took shape here; in it, he paid tribute to Alma Mahler’s late daughter Manon, quoting, among other things, a Carinthian folk tune.

During the warmer months, Gustav Mahler would flee Vienna to escape his overwhelming commitments and compose masterpieces such as his Ninth Symphony in Toblach – or, to be more precise, in a secluded, sparsely furnished cottage. Ludwig van Beethoven undoubtedly enjoyed greater comfort during his summer stays at the spa in what is now Teplice, in northern Bohemia, where his Eighth Symphony flowed from his pen. Antonín Dvořák’s summer residence was located south of Prague, near Vysoká u Příbramě, where he composed his Symphony No. 8 in an idyllic natural setting, far removed from the hustle and bustle of city life.

It was not only the sublime beauty of nature, but also its threat, that inspired Richard Strauss to write his Alpine Symphony. As a young man, he spent his holidays in the Chiemgau region, where he undertook numerous mountain hikes – which provided the inspiration for his symphonic poem. Later, the composer chose a villa in Garmisch-Partenkirchen as his summer retreat – for, as Strauss put it, “it is the most beautiful place in Bavaria and Austria, and nowhere is the air as good as in Garmisch”.