Page 336 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide 2016 - Austria

334  Tr a vellers ’ needs

Live Music and Concerts to the Brahms Museum and the
International Brahms Festival.
It’s true: the hills are alive with the sound of music. However, Many festivals guarantee a feast
there is much more to be enjoyed musically in this tuneful for the ears and eyes. Allegro Vivo,
land than the rogers and Hammerstein song with angel- Lower Austria’s most traditional
voiced siblings. dozens of annual classical music festivals music festival, opens its doors
every summer to thousands of
attract the world’s premier artists and musicians to stunning music lovers who revel in the
venues where the music was often originally performed. beautiful castles and Baroque
Whether in Mozart’s Innsbruck or Haydn’s eisenstadt, the abbeys, which form the backdrop
settings are as spectacular as the melodies. also, it is possible for the events. Matinees at Schloss
to leap out of the cradle of classical music and straight into Esterházy offer a wonderful
chance to experience the music
a leather-lined folk evening, a vibrant electronic music scene of Haydn in the very rooms where
or club dJs who are famous across europe, such as dJ Ötzi. the composer himself worked
Music programmes vary each year but each of the following and where many of his compo-
summer festivals is an annual extravaganza of sound. sitions were first performed. In
Radstadt’s Renaissance palace
of Höch near Flachau, Paul-
Opera and Operetta Classical Concerts Hofhaimer Days offers early
and Festivals
Though Vienna’s reputation for music and new sounds. Past
opera is renowned, the rest of The concert halls of Austria are festivals have provided a mixed
the country’s operatic contribu- the mainstay of classical music bag of the oratories, varying
tion is not to be forgotten. in the country, and you will find from The Four Seasons by Haydn
There is no better example of a concerts in both small towns and to King David by Honecker. Since
perfect harmony of space and the grand provincial capitals. 1978, the Innsbruck Festival of
sound than the Bregenz Festival. Perhaps most famous is the Ancient Music has delighted
Its dramatic 20 m (66 ft) stage Salzburg Festival (see p331) concert-goers with its grand
floats atop the dark waters of the inter nationally recognized halls and diverse programmes.
Lake Constance and past festival celebrating classical In addition to mixing music
audiences have enjoyed the music, opera and drama. Every with grand architecture, other
strains of Puccini’s Tosca and summer thousands come from pleasing combinations are on
Verdi’s The Troubador. As well as around the world to listen to the offer. Schloss Grafenegg music
the head line performance, world’s greatest plays and music. festival, the brain child of top
other musical works are The main Festspielhaus contemporary pianist Rudolf
performed in the Festival Hall. (festival hall) has been Buchbinder, combines tastings
Also on a floating stage, the impres sively refurbished. Lesser from Austria’s top vineyards with
Mörbisch Festival on the Lake known is the Salzburg Whitsun musical programmes. Similarly,
celebrated its 50th anniversary Festival, which offers delightful the Brucknerfest Linz features a
of operetta in the open air with opera buffa pieces. In 2007, dynamic combination of classical
Vienna Blood by Johann Strauss the Salzburg Whitsun Festival music and modern media art.
in 2007. began a co-operation with the The rural charm of the
In Upper Austria, opera lovers celebrated conductor Riccardo Bregenzerwald region goes
flock in large numbers to Bad Muti, which lasted until 2011. well with the music of Schubert
Ischl, the former summer hunting The festival takes place on a and his contemporaries.
retreat of Emperor Franz Josef, for yearly basis. The annual Schubertiade
the Lehar Festival. Also nearby is The Haydn Festival in in Schwarzenberg boasts some
the extraordinary Roman quarry Eisenstadt each September 70 events including chamber
of St Margarethen – the back drop is a high point of the concert concerts, song evenings, readings
for the Burgenland Opera season calendar. The works of and master classes. More than
Festival with productions like Joseph Haydn are performed 70,000 fans also come for
Verdi’s Nabucco. against the works of other the Schubertiade; the little sister
The Tiroler Festspiele Erl composers to show contrast to this is Steyr’s Schubert
is held in the lowlands of the in programmes expertly Festival, offering a smaller
Tyrol every July. Founded by selected by artistic director cross-section of Schubert and
the conductor Gustav Kuhn, Dr Walter Reicher. his contemporaries.
the festival features a mix of In 2009, Burgenland For lovers of something a little
opera and chamber music. commemorated the 200th edgier, Nikolaus Harnoncourt’s
Lighter fare is also on the anniversary of Hadyn’s death Styrian festival of classical music,
menu for those new to opera. with many musical events. Styriarte, is probably the most
The Steyr Music Festival In September a splendid series avant-garde Austria has to offer
highlights the musical Les of concerts dedicated to the outside Vienna. “A connoisseur’s
Misérables and the reform works of Johannes Brahms choice” is the description
opera Orpheus and Eurydike. takes place in Styria, home often heard.

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