Saengerfest

In celebration of the 100th anniversary of the death of Franz Schubert, Vienna held last week its Saengerfest, the tenth Congress of German Singing Societies to which no less than 200,000 singers lent their services. In Vienna, grandstands seating 400,000 persons were constructed along the Ringstrasse in which the Viennese watched an almost interminable parade of singers. Richard Strauss, Vienna's chief musical luminary, opened the choral singing which was conducted in a huge hall specially constructed for the purpose on the Prater.

In addition to celebrating the death of Franz Schubert the Saengerfest served to emphasize Teutonic solidarity and was hence displeasing to those who do not favor the idea of too much unanimity between Austria and Germany.

Musical festivals are part of the summer in Teutonic Europe. This is really Schubert's year and will be so observed in Vienna. Bayreuth, however, has its usual Wagner festival with four weeks of Tristan, Parsifal, Das Rheingold, Die Walkure, ending August 16; Munich has a Wagner-Mozart'Festival from the end of July until August 28.