Heinrich Schenker and the Radio

Heinrich Schenker had a radio installed in his home on 19 October 1924, less than three weeks after the inception of broadcasting in Austria. Almost overnight, it became his main connection to cultural life in Vienna: from the day his receiver was installed until his death in January 1935, he documented references to over 1,000 broadcasts of concerts, plays and talks in his diary, touching on anything from orchestral concerts, opera and jazz bands to plays and talks. In contrast to the portrayal - and self-portrayal - of Schenker as a misanthrope, utterly disillusioned by the culture of his time, his extensive documentation of his listening habits offers a rare glimpse into the true breadth of his cultural interests in private. This article traces the role that radio assumed in his life, following its transition from a resource that radically transformed his access to the arts to a source of diversion in his final years.