The Free Thinker

The music researcher and performer Harnoncourt cannot be separated from the free thinker Harnoncourt. His writings, views, notes and insights are little known to the public.

This part of the archive therefore opens up a completely new and complementary perspective on him.

His philosophical insights often flow into his conducting scores. From the very beginning, his life was characterised by contradiction (‘If everyone says yes, then I say no’). Over the course of time, he never missed an opportunity to speak publicly as an admonisher of the school education system and the state of intellectual education in Austria and Europe. As an avowed cultural pessimist, he distrusted all optimists (with the exception of Alice).

His philosophical reference and favourite books were

Erich Fried: Cultural History of Mankind
Blaise Pascal: Pensées. Thoughts – from which he drew the wisdom of thinking from the heart.
Miguel de Cervantes: Don Quixote.

One important insight was his famous dumpling theory. Harnoncourt did not leave us any printed philosophical writings. Instead, his convictions and insights flow into his interpretations. The archive opens up his sketches and questions.