> Donaufestival 2010 - Failed Revolutions
> Literaturfest Salzburg
> Vienna Independent Shorts
> 10 Festival for Fashion and Photography
> Lockenhaus: An Oasis of Chamber Music
Donaufestival 2010, Krems an der Donau
Failed Revolutions
April 28 to May 8, 2010
During two consecutive weekends this spring, the Donaufestival will explore the potentials and agony of change in post-revolutionary society.More than seventy different events are on the schedule, ranging from new forms of theater to media and performance art, film & video, visual, installation, sound art, as well as progressive pop music formats.
One of the musical highlights, a blatantly sexualized performance by Peaches and her band, will be followed by electro-punk duo Cobra Killer, glamorous performer Theo Adams, and the queer performance collective Ssion, among countless others.
The William S. Burroughs special takes a look at revolutionary literature through an unusual sound installation. The artist collective Implied Violence will revisit The Dorothy K., a provocative performance that was hugely successful in New York. Julius Deutschbauer’s Theater des Verhinderns (Theater of Prevention) is similarly radical.
The Donaufestival collaborates with numerousart institutions, such as Kunsthalle Krems, the arthouse cinema Kino im Kesselhaus, and Galerie Stadtpark, to produce a diverse and well curated program.
www.donaufestival.at
Literaturfest Salzburg
May 26-30, 2010
In its third consecutive year, the Literaturfest Salzburg brings a fine range of Austrian literature to venues throughout Salzburg this spring. Franz Dodel, Erika Pluhar, Anselm Glück, and Andreas Maier will kick off the event with readings featuring excerpts from their writings.
This year focus on games, childhood, magic, and music, includes a reading of selected poems by H.C. Artmann given by renowned Austrian artist André Heller as well as a presentation by drama and production students of Mozarteum University introducing on the architectural ideas within the works of Thomas Bernhard, Umberto Eco, and Adalbert Stifter. Authors Bettina Balàka, Andrea Winkler, and Anne Weber will read from their latest books.
www.literaturfest-salzburg.at
Vienna Independent Shorts
Long Films Are Show-Offs: Dancing Pictures in the Land of Short Films
May 27 to June 2, 2010
The international short film festival Vienna Independent Shorts (VIS) celebrates its seventh year from May 27 to June 2, for the first time with three separate competitions. Part of the treat is a new main venue – the Metro Kino in Vienna’s first district.A total of 1,300 short films were submitted, of which 92 films from more than 20 countrieswere selected. The categories represented are: International Fiction and Documentary, Austrian Films, and International Animation Avant-Garde which includes experimental films and digital media.This year’s focus, on film, dance, and rhythm, is explored at six events with diverse programs, including historic experiments from the 1920s, short fictional films, and contemporary music videos and visuals. The opening takes place at Gartenbaukino on May 27.
Filmstill: Danse macabre | Regie: Pedro Pires
www.viennashorts.com
10 Festival for Fashion and Photography
June 7-17, 2010
The Festival for Fashion and Photography was founded by Unit F Büro für Mode in 2006. The annual festival plays an instrumental role in promoting contemporary Austrian and international fashion design and fashion photography. Spanning more than thirty events in venues throughout Vienna, it presents an eclectic program of fashion shows, exhibitions, performances, discussions, and a behind-the-scenes look into fashion.
In addition, it hosts the traditional AFA Austrian Fashion Award ceremony, honoring outstanding fashion creations.
As a platform for the creative potential of Viennafashion the festival will showcases emerging and established talents at events held at Semperdepot, the PhotographersLimitedEditions.com Gallery, MAK, Celeste, and many other locations.
This year’s dialogue centers on how the the live streaming of catwalk shows democratizes fashion. Relevant experts include the British fashion and economy expert Imran Amed.
Image: HEAVEN,BUTT'N / = THREAD (free art. transl.) by Christina Berger © Numair Tareq
www.10festival.at
news austria were put together by Katja Moritz.
Lockenhaus: An Oasis of Chamber Music
Juli 8 – 18, 2010
by Maresa Rutter
Ever since 1981, Gidon Kremer, organizer of the international Lockenhaus Chamber Music Festival, has been transforming a village of some one thousand souls in Burgenland, Austria, to the center of the chamber music world for two weeks each year.
Hailed by the New York Times as one of “the two most refined music festivals of all” the two-week event is respected by musicians, the public, and critics alike from around the world. The festival’s history dates back to the idea of Josef Herowitsch, the village priest of Lockenhaus who back in 1974 began to organize concerts in the historic ambience of his parish. The first concert took place in the entrance hall of the rectory under the title “Lockenhauser Konzerte.” It was in the context of this series that Gidon Kremer first came to Lockenhaus in 1976 to give a concert.
For Gidon Kremer and Josef Herowitsch, the emphasis is on the joy of music, on experimenting and making music together, on social gatherings, and on the openness of encounter. Young artists make music with experienced colleagues; routine and perfection back spontaneity and courage. Ensembles come together for a specific composition, established groups dissolve and reassemble with newly met musicians. And so the festival has gone on to become one of Europe’s cultural legacies, a force that makes its mark around the world.
Public rehearsals lend the festival a special workshop character and offer the public an opportunity to experience the development of works from the first tryouts to the final performance while also encountering the artists outside of the concert setting. The musicians do not announce what will be played in the actual concert until 24 hours before the performance.
The principal venue of the festival is Lockenhaus Castle. Built in 1200, it overlooks the valley of Güns and today is considered the last real medieval castle in Austria. Its Romanesque and Gothic features, with delicate pillar windows, frescoes, and subterranean apses, give it a unique flair.
The focus of this year’s 29th International Lockenhaus Chamber Music Festival is on the multifaceted relationship between power and music. The programs sheds light on the relationships between artists and their sponsors, often complex and colored by a number of different influences. Interdependencies are elucidated, and works by suppressed, persecuted, or murdered artists are introduced. The festival program includes concerts, matinees, public rehearsals, and festival services. Established musicians perform alongside young talents, and once again the little town in Burgenland will be transformed into a mecca for music enthusiasts from around the world.
www.kammermusikfest.at
