A Honeymoon Weekend for Pipe Organ Lovers: Two Great Dedications, March 26-27

Vienna’s Oldest Pipe Organ Rises Again

Organ at the Franciscan Church

Built 43 years before Johann Sebastian Bach was born, the Franciscan church’s 1642 Wöckherl organ is the oldest organ in Vienna. The Baroque instrument had survived years of intense international conflict–from the Thirty Years’ War through World War II–only to fade into silence.

Following a restoration costing 1.3 million euros, the organ will sound again tomorrow morning. The head of the Franciscan order, Auxiliary Bishop Franz Lackner, will direct the special 10:00 service to return the Wöckherl to its rightful position as a cornerstone of the city’s musical life.

The Wöckherl is notable not only for its beautiful sound and exceptional longevity, but for its distinctive ornamental design and sumptuous surroundings. Although the Franciscan church has a Renaissance exterior, its interior is unmistakably Baroque. There is, accordingly, something of a time-travel fantasy involved in hearing the nearly 500-year-old organ now. Because it still stands in the building for which it was constructed, the Wöckherl presents an opportunity to hear Baroque music on a Baroque instrument in a Baroque interior–as a Baroque audience would have heard it! This provides an extraordinary opportunity for historians, artists, and music lovers alike.

There will be three additional presentations concerning the organ beginning at 11:30, March 26. A lavish

ly illustrated 76-page guide will be available. Weekly Friday concerts at 3:00 p.m. have also been announced, in recognition of the role of this historic instrument in the artistic community.

Funding for the restoration was supplied by the Franciscans, the Archdiocese of Vienna, the City of Vienna, and the Federal Ministry of Education, Arts, and Culture.

More events involving Vienna’s exceptional pipe organs will be available in the future at www.orgelmusik-wien.at.

March 26: 10:00 Dedication Mass for the Franciscan Church’s Wöckherl Organ/11:30 Organ Presentations

Musikverein’s 200th Anniversary Celebrated with Organ Dedication

Organist and composer Martin Haselböck has praised the instrument as the “Ferrari of organs”…

Musikverein Organ

On Saturday, March 26, the new organ of the Musikverein will be inaugurated in an 11:00 concert featuring Martin Haselböck, Peter Planyavsky, Ludger Lohmann, Gillian Weir, and Olivier Latry. The concert is part of the festivities surrounding the 200^th anniversary of the Musikverein itself. The familiar golden façade of the pipes will not be the most beautiful thing in the house that day. Thanks to the long-term 1.8 million-euro organ renovation, the sound of the organ will finally outshine its visual beauty.

The Vorarlberg company Rieger has worked on the organ since last September. Organ pipes are designed for the space in which they are installed and must be heard in the space to be voiced accurately, so months were required to place and prepare the 6,138 new pipes. (The organ also retains the 33 front pipes from the Ladegast organ premiered by Anton Bruckner in 1872.) With the smallest pipe of a 3.5-millimeter diameter and the largest at a length of ten meters, tremendous care and accuracy were required.

Organ design presents unique challenges for the player, as well as the builder. This is the fourth Musikverein organ and its specifications were the work of an international organ committee. It has four manuals, eighty-six registers, and a mobile console. With the electronic sensibilities of an Android phone and the artistry of centuries of organ-building, Rieger sought to create an instrument worthy of the Musikverein’s famous acoustics while meeting the committee’s requests. Because organ performance has historically been at the mercy of period practice and instrumentation, organists have often been challenged by instruments which—on the basis of being required to do everything—did nothing well. Rather than an historic animal with an authentic Baroque or Romantic pedigree, performers often find themselves facing a “mutt from every village” (to paraphrase Peter Planyavsky) when they sit down to play. This has not been the case with this unusual instrument. New compositions were commissioned by the Musikverein even as the organ was under construction: Planyavsky’s May 16 premiere will be one of them.

The 1.8 million euro renovation was funded by Peter Puehringer and the Musikverein. In cooperation with the Federal Heritage Office, the installation also included restoration of the visual surroundings to their original conditions. Thus, the new organ provides not only a feast for the ears, but for the eyes as well.

The March 26 dedication concert will be presented live on “Radio Stephansdom” at 7:30 p.m., and will be followed by other concerts and presentations on Sunday, March 27, at 11:00 and 7:30 p.m. For further information on these inaugural concerts and ticket information, please check http://www.musikverein.at

Karen Bentley

Highlights: Life Ball Press Conference Vienna

Life Ball 2010 – Sow the Seeds of Solidarity!

Die Life Ball Nacht am 17. Juli 2010 bildet den festlichen Auftakt zu „AIDS 2010“, der XVIII. Internationalen Aids-Konferenz, die von der International AIDS Society (IAS) abgehalten wird und heuer in Wien stattfindet (18. – 23. Juli). Als wichtigstes, größtes und vielfältigstes Treffen zu einem globalen Gesundheitsthema stellt sie eine Plattform zur Diskussion und Veröffentlichung wissenschaftlicher, sozialer und politischer Entwicklungen im Bereich HIV/AIDS dar. Sie versammelt rund 25.000 TeilnehmerInnen zum direkten Erfahrungsaustausch zur HIV-Prävention, Behandlung von HIV/AIDS und Betreuung von Menschen, die von der Krankheit betroffen sind. Das Motto der Konferenz: „Rights Here, Rights Now”. Ein dreifaches Hoch auf das Leben!

Im Rahmen der Life Ball Nacht finden heuer gleich drei Events an drei geschichtsträchtigen Locations statt: In Kooperation mit den internationalen Partnerorganisationen, wie der Elton John AIDS Foundation, William J. Clinton Foundation und amfAR – The Foundation for AIDS Research, werden dieses Jahr neben dem Rathaus auch das Parlament und das Burgtheater zu „Bühnen des Lebens“.

„Circle of Life“: Der Vierjahreszyklus

2009 mit „Let Love flow!“ dem Wasser entsprungen, setzt sich der Kreislauf der Elemente 2010 mit dem Element Erde und dem Motto „Sow the Seeds of Solidarity!“ fort. 2011 folgt das Element Luft mit „Spread the Wings of Tolerance!”. Seinen Abschluss wird der Vierjahreszyklus 2012 mit dem Element Feuer Machen wir ihn hörbar, lassen ihn laut in die Welt hallen, und hoffen wir auf ein Echo an Spenden! Denn bei aller Party darf der ernste Hintergrund des Life Ball nicht in Vergessenheit geraten: die Unterstützung HIV-positiver und AIDS-kranker Menschen.

„Planet Leben“ als „Erd-Mittelpunkt“

2010 im Fokus der gestalterischen Inszenierung: Das Motto „Sow the Seeds of Solidarity“ und das Element Erde, unser aller Planet. Das harmonische Miteinander spiegelt auch die Life Ball-Philosophie wider: Das Auflösen von Grenzen im Leben, die Verschmelzung scheinbar gegensätzlicher Welten: Gäste in eleganter Abendgarderobe treffen hier auf prächtige Paradiesvögel in schillernden Kostümen, um gemeinsam das Leben zu feiern. Das Spiel der Gegensätze findet sich auf vielen Ebenen wieder: im Kampf von Mangel und Überfluss oder im Duell zwischen Leben und Tod.

T-Mobile (one of the main Sponsors) with Maria Petrak from the Best of Vienna Blog
Photos Copyright:
Stefan Bosnjakovic: www.party.at

Kreativität, Faszination & Inspiration statt Provokation

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