Austria reoccupies Trieste
OrchestrasUntil the Austro-Hungarian Empire collapsed ion November 1918, the port of Trieste on the Adriatic was its only outlet to the sea.
Now, the Vienna Symphony Orchestra has re-established a post-imperial residency.
Italy’s ambassador to Vienna doesn’t seem to mind: ‘The Politeama Rossetti was the first theatre in which the Vienna Symphony Orchestra performed outside Austria, under the direction of Ferdinand Löwe. It was April 4, 1902 and Trieste was still part of the Austro-Hungarian monarchy; so it will be an exciting ‘homecoming’ for the Viennese. And an opportunity for our audience to hear one of the most famous orchestras in the world. The cultural ties between Vienna and Trieste are indissoluble. And with the ‘Vienna Spring’ this ideal bridge will be strengthened even further.’
The British-ruled Irishman James Joyce, who lived in Trieste around that time, would have appreciated the multiple ironies.
“Until the Austro-Hungarian Empire collapsed ion November 1918, the port of Trieste on the Adriatic was its only outlet to the sea”. No, not quite. Pola/ Pula( Croatia)was more important as a naval port than Trieste, and also Kotor, in todays Montenegro, and Rijeka (Croatia again) were important Austro-Hungarian bases. Trieste was more a centre for the merchant navy.