Jahn's Hall

Jahn's Hall was a concert hall in late 18th century Vienna. It was the property of a restaurateur/caterer named Ignaz Jahn, and seated (according to Otto Erich Deutsch) "400 at the most". [Deutsch 1965, 330] It is remembered as a performance venue for works by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Ludwig van Beethoven.

Ignaz Jahn

Jahn was born in Hungary in 1744 and died in Vienna, 26 February 1810. [Clive, 2001, 176] He was appointed Imperial caterer for Schönbrunn Palace in 1772 [Clive, 2001, 176] . In 1775 he began running a restaurant in the Augarten, and in 1782 opened an adjacent concert hall, at which many famous musicians played over the years. [Clive, 2001, 176]

Jahn's Hall was an adjunct to Jahn's other restaurant, in the main part of the city, which as of 1788 was at 6 Himmelpfortgasse. [Clive, 2001, 176] Concerts began there after the restaurant opened, and were given on a regular basis starting in 1790. [Clive, 2001, 176]

Works by Mozart

*His transcription of Georg Frideric Handel's masque Acis and Galatea was premiered there roughly November 1788. [Deutsch 1965, 330]
*His last piano concerto, No. 27 in B flat, K. 595 was premiered in the hall 4 March, 1791. [Deutsch 1965, 386]
*The blind glass harmonica performer Marianne Kirchgessner performed in the hall 8 September 1791; she may have included the Adagio and Rondo K. 617 that Mozart wrote for her. [Deutsch 1965, 400]
*The first public performance of Mozart's Requiem took place in the hall on 2 January 1793. This was a benefit concert on behalf of Mozart's widow Constanze, organized by Mozart's patron Gottfried van Swieten; it raised "more than 300 golden ducats" (about 1350 florins, a substantial sum [Solomon 1995, xi] ) to support Constanze and her two sons. [Deutsch 1965, 467]

Works by Beethoven

*On 6 April, 1797, Beethoven performed in the hall, as the pianist in his Quintet for Piano and Winds, Opus 16.
*On 29 March 1798 Mozart's old friend the soprano Josepha Duschek gave a concert in the hall, performing an unidentified "rondo with obbligato basset horn". On the same program, Ludwig van Beethoven performed one of his violin sonatas ( with the violinist Ignaz Schuppanzigh. [Deutsch 1965, 486]
*On 20 December 1799, Beethoven's Septet, Opus 20, was premiered in the hall.

Notes

References

*Clive, Peter (2001) "Beethoven and His World: A Biographical Dictionary". Oxford University Press.
*Deutsch, Otto Erich (1965) "Mozart: A Documentary Biography". Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.
*Solomon, Maynard (1995) "Mozart: A Life". New York: Harper Collins.