Vienna: Search for Meaning & the Mozart Effect

I recently visited Vienna for the fourth time in my life. During a previous visit, I went to the Opera and saw Giuseppe Verdi’s ‘Nabucco’. This time, I opted for a rather more low-key concert with music by Wofgang Amadeus Mozart. The concert took place in St Peter’s Church (Peterskirche), a beautiful baroque church situated in the heart of Vienna, not far from the famous St Stephen’s Cathedral (Stephansdom). Built at the beginning of the 18th century, it provides the perfect backdrop for the music of the famous Austrian composer (concerts start at 8 am; tickets from 29 euros).

I also visited the apartment where Mozart lived between 1784 and 1787 (known as Mozart Haus and open to the public daily from 10 am to 7 pm; 11 euros). Situated at Domgasse 5 (right behind Stephansdom), this is where Mozart composed his well-known opera ‘The Marriage of Figaro’.

First, coffee

Of course, a visit to Vienna wouldn’t have been complete with a visit to some of the coffee houses the city is famous for. My favorite is Café Central, where I had the ‘Sisi’s Favorite’, rum pastry with apricot jam. Café Landtmann is not far from there. Located on the Ringstraße since 1873, it is renowned for the delicious apfelstrudel, and was frequented by Freud, Mahler, and other famous Viennese people. Situated on the ground floor of the Hotel Sacher, right next to the Opera, the Café Sacher is another beautiful coffee house and the birthplace of the famous sacher torte, a dense chocolate cake with a thin layer of apricot jam. The recipe has remained a well-kept secret since 1832 and is stored in a safe. It goes perfectly well with the Original Anna Sacher Kaffee (single espresso with eggnog liqueur, served with milk foam).

Then, there’s the 120-year-old Mozart Café on Albertinaplatz, where Graham Greene wrote The Third Man. I had the Mozart torte (a wonderfully moist chocolate pistachio cream tart) and the Mozart Kaffee (double espresso with Mozart liqueur and whipped cream).

Music and wellbeing

Last Sunday morning, Sarah Walker, Claudia Hammond, and saxophonist Faye MacCalman explored the theme of emotion in music. You can listen to their interesting discussions, as well as wonderful classical music (from Mozart to Steve Reich, and from Grieg to Poulenc) on the BBC Radio 3 website.

On a similar note, a few days later, I read the article ‘The scientific benefits of listening to classical music on your commute’ and it struck a chord with me for three reasons. First, as a Psychiatrist and blogger, I am passionate about wellbeing and I frequently talk and write about ways to optimize it. Second, I love classical music, and following my visit to Vienna, I’ve been listening to it even more. Third, I am one of those people spending a substantial amount of their day on the train – commuting to and from work.

In that article, I read that ‘classical music has been proven to have a positive impact on a person’s physical and mental wellbeing’. Indeed, a number of research studies provide evidence in support for the beneficial role of music (classical, as well as some other types of music) on both physical and psychological symptoms. For example, a systematic review indicated that listening to music might have a beneficial effect on physiological parameters (such as blood pressure, heart rate, and respiratory rate), anxiety, and pain in people with coronary heart disease. Another systematic review concluded that music interventions might have beneficial effects on anxiety, pain, fatigue, and quality of life in patients with cancer.

Music therapy

The health benefits of listening to music can often be seen in the context of music therapy. This is an umbrella term for evidence-based interventions that use music in a therapeutic context. There are two types of music therapy: receptive (listening to music), and active or expressive music therapy (playing or creating music). Music therapy has been evaluated in a number of different physical and mental conditions, including dementia, and the results are positive.

The Mozart Effect

The ‘Mozart Effect’ refers to the positive effect that classical music has on cognitive skills. Researchers found that listening to the Sonata for Two Pianos in D major, K. 448 by Mozart improved spatial reasoning skills (part of the widely used Stanford-Binet IQ test). It is rather unclear whether this effect is specific to this particular piece of music or applies to classical music in general. Music composed by Yanni (‘Acroyali/Standing In Motion’) was also found to have a similar effect. It may be that the positive effect on cognitive abilities is mediated by musical patterns shared by Mozart’s and Yanni’s compositions.

From Freud to Frankl

Sigmund Freud is probably one of the most famous people ever lived in Vienna. The Sigmund Freud Museum at Bergasse 19 is where the Austrian neurologist and founder of psychoanalysis lived and worked for 47 years. As a Psychiatrist myself, I found it of particular interest. Putting my professional background aside, I still think it’s certainly worth a visit (open daily from 10 am to 6 pm; 9 euros). From 4 March 2019 to May 2020 the Museum has been temporarily relocated to Berggasse 13 and Liechtensteinstraße 19.

Freud may be the best-known figure in psychotherapy associated with Vienna, but he is not the only one. Alfred Adler, an Austrian doctor who began his medical career as an ophthalmologist, became the first president of the Vienna Psychoanalytic Society. He later diverged from Freud’s psychoanalytic ideas, and founded his own school of psychotherapy, which he named ‘individual psychology’. Viktor Frankl worked as a psychiatrist in Vienna for a few years before World War II. A Holocaust survivor, he is the author of the book Man’s Search For Meaning: The classic tribute to hope from the Holocaust where he describes his experiences in concentration camps. He later founded the school of ‘logotherapy’, now considered the ‘Third Viennese School of Psychotherapy’.

Man’s Search for Meaning

I read ‘Man’s Search for Meaning’ during my trip to Vienna. In this captivating book, Frankl doesn’t simply talk about his experience as a Holocaust survivor, but uses this very experience to explore the role of meaning in one’s life. Based on his insights, he later founded the school of ‘logotherapy’, a type of psychotherapy that ‘focuses on the meaning of human existence as well as on a man’s search for such a meaning’. Frankl draws inspiration from the German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche, whom he quotes on a few occasions throughout the book:

‘That which does not kill me, makes me stronger’

‘He who has a why to live for can bear almost any how’

Frankl tells us that the meaning of life differs from person to person, but also from time to time. It is, therefore, something specific to each person at each time. He then writes about ‘the three main avenues on which one arrives at meaning in life’: first, by creating a work or doing a deed; second, by experiencing something or encountering someone; third, by the attitude we take toward unavoidable suffering.

Frankl also talks about the pursuit of happiness; he argues that happiness cannot be pursued, but ensued. He explains that happiness comes through meaning; it is the meaning one ought to seek and find in one’s life. And then, happiness may arrive.

I’m currently writing The Meaning of Life – in the introduction, I read that a meaningful life is different from a happy life; a meaningful life aims at fulfilment rather than day-to-day contentment. The book then explores different sources of meaning: love, family, work, friendship, culture, politics, nature, and philosophy.

Further reading

I strongly believe that meaningful activities are essential to ones’s wellbeing. Check out my seminal posts:

10 tips for better mental health & wellbeing (part 1)

10 tips for better mental health & wellbeing (part 2)

If you’d like to further read about the different types of psychotherapy, I would recommend Psychotherapy: A Very Short Introduction.

To read more about psychoanalysis or psychodynamic psychotherapy, I would recommend What is Psychotherapy?

If you’d like to read more about classical music, I’d recommend 30-Second Classical Music: The 50 most significant genres, composers and innovations, each explained in half a minute

Last but not least, check out my other post about Vienna, where I share tips on coffee and culture.

Further listening

For classical music, my favorite UK radio stations are:

BBC Radio 3

Classic FM

Scala Radio

I’ve recently discovered the website Relaxing Classical, that links to Spotify for personalized classical music playlists.

If you visit or live in London, you can enjoy classical music concerts at St-Martin-in-the-Fields (off Trafalgar Square), or at Wigmore Hall.

You can also enjoy a classical music recital inside the beautiful Wesley’s Chapel, one of the least known and most underrated London landmarks. This is a Methodist church, built in the 18th century under the direction of John Wesley, who founded the Methodist movement. The recitals take place every Tuesday at 13.05 and are free to attend. They are also part of my tour ‘a walk and a recital in hip Shoreditch’.

If you’re not in the mood for classical music, Kelly Clarkson appears to have been influenced by Nietzsche and Frankl.

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Auf wiedersehen!

Alex

(the Traveling Psychiatrist)