Cultural Outlook: Summer 2011
Program of the Austrian Cultural Forum in Washington, D.C.
| concert Radian
The Austrian trio Radian is a post-rock and electronic group using both acoustic and electronic instruments. The group's members often play even their acoustic instruments in such a rhythmically precise manner that Radian sounds more like an electronic act than a band. Radian - which includes base player John Norman, drummer Martin Brandlmayr, and synth player Stefan Németh - formed in Vienna in 1996. In 2009, Radian released Chimeric, their most recent record to date.
Friday June 10 | 9 pm | Velvet Lounge | 915 U Street NW | Washington D.C. 20020 Admission: $10 Tickets: http://www.dc-soniccircuits.org
| concert Eggner Trio
The Eggner Trio was founded in 1997 and consists of the brothers Christoph (piano), Georg (violin) and Florian Eggner (violoncello). Today, theEggner Triois a renowned piano trio, which is managed by the Wiener Konzerthaus. Just a couple of years after their founding, they won the International Brahms competition and later went on to win first place at the prestigious Melbourne International Chamber Music Competition. The trio’s program for their American tour is as follows: Program: Haydn Trio C-Dur No. 27 Johannes Berauer (young Austrian composer merging Jazz and contemporary classic) Dvorak Trio No. 3
Wednesday June 15 | 7 pm | Embassy of Austria | 3524 International Court NW | Washington D.C. 20008 Free admission. RSVP required: www.acfdc.org/events-registration or (202) 895-6776
Thursday June 16 | 7 pm | Heritage Baptist Church | 1740 Forest Drive | Annapolis MD Free admission. Call 410-647-4482 for further information
| lecture Othmar Karas
The Botstiber Institute for Austrian-American Affairs in cooperation with the Embassy of Austria presents a lecture by the Austrian politician Othmar Karas, who is the Vice President of the European People´s Party (EPP) and a Member of the European Parliament. Furthermore, he acts as the EPP coordinator of the European Parliament’s Special Committee on the Financial, Economic, and Social Crisis. Mr. Karas will give insights into the work of the Special Committee and present its conclusions and recommendations for prevent- Program of the Austrian Cultural Forum in Washington, D.C. │ ing future crises. He is married to Dr. Christa Waldheim-Karas, the daughter of Elisabeth Waldheim and former Austrian President, Kurt Waldheim. A wine- and cheese-tasting reception will follow.
Friday June 17 | 6.30 pm | Embassy of Austria | 3524 International Court NW | Washington D.C. 20008 Free admission. RSVP required: www.acfdc.org/events-registration or (202) 895-6776
| discussion Panel Discussion on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the Kennedy—Khruschev Vienna Summit (1961)
June 2011 marks the 50th anniversary of the Vienna Summit of 1961. This single Cold War event deserves the attention of diplomatic historians as research has made quite some progress on both Kennedy and Khrushchev and their respective policies on Berlin, Cuba, and Laos/Vietnam. New sources have been opened on the Soviet side and new sources are still being released on the American side (like Kennedy’s medical files). Austrian Ambassador Christian Prosl will hold the Chair of this panel discussion, along with presenters Gűnter Bischof from the University of New Orleans, Barbara Stelzl-Marx from the Boltzmann Institut fűr Kriegsfolgen- Forschung in Graz (Boltzmann Institute for Research on War Consequences), and Mark Kramer from Harvard University. The commentator will be Aviel Roschwald from Georgetown University.
Wednesday June 22 | 7.30 pm | Embassy of Austria | 3524 International Court NW | Washington D.C. 20008 Free admission. RSVP required: www.acfdc.org/events-registration or (202) 895-6776
| theatre — stage reading hamlet is dead. no gravity
As part of the Zeitgeist series - a contemporary German-language literature circle initiated by Austria, Germany, Liechtenstein, and Switzerland in collaboration with Arena Stage - we will present the stage reading in English of the play hamlet is dead. no gravity by one of Austria‘s most sought-after playwrights today, Ewald Palmetshofer. Hamlet is dead. no gravity in its original title hamlet ist tot. keine schwerkraft was translated by Neil Blackadder, and will be performed by six actors of Arena Stage under the direction of David Dower, Arena Stage’s Associate Artistic Director. The play deals with how human beings tense up in unwanted situations, when they grind to a standstill and what makes them realize that they have no prospects. It shows how humans get themselves out of their misery and how they find their way back to interacting with each other and to getting the most out of the society they live in. In 2008 hamlet is dead. no gravity won the Müllheimer prize and Ewald Palmershofer was thought to be one of the most aspiring playwrights of the year. Ewald Palmetshofer and Neil Blackadder will be present at the performance. Monday June 27 | 7 pm | Embassy of Austria | 3524 International Court NW | Washington D.C. 20008 Free admission. RSVP required : www.acfdc.org/events-registration or (202) 895-6776
| reading Christian Ide Hintze
Poet Christian Ide Hintze is known for his beat poems and is seen as one of Austria’s finest new media poetry artists. His understanding of poetry is very wide and he uses digital media to bridge his works to the worlds of art, music, and poetry. Hintze is the Dean of the Vienna Poetry School, an independent artists’ school that formed as an international symposium on literature and that focuses on the multimedia and multilingual aspects of poetry. Among its teachers were famous Austrians like writer H.C. Artmann, musician Falco, famous singers like Nick Cave, and many others. Christian Ide Hintze will present gestural poems along with performances. He will hold a lecture and demonstrate his work through visual poetry. Furthermore, the artist will also talk about his work experience in the United States, where he taught as the first German teacher in the Keraouc School in Boulder Colorado. That evening, the audience will be wrapped up in a world of poetry, music, and performance art.
Thursday June 30 | 7. 30 pm | Embassy of Austria |3524 International Court NW | Washington D.C. 20008 Free admission. RSVP required: www.acfdc.org/events-registration or (202) 895-6776
| exhibition Stefan Zweig - An Austrian from Europe
The Austrian Cultural Forum brings one of the legends of Austrian literature back to life at the Austrian Embassy. Back in 1992, the city of Salzburg honored Stefan Zweig with an exhibition commemorating the 50th anniversary of his death. The exhibition presented this well-known writer and narrator as well as firm political observer by documenting his work from a new perspective, which attracted worldwide interest and attention. As a consequence, organizers created an even more transportable version of the exhibition first showcased at the Frankfurt Book Fair in 1995. This wonderful and breathtaking exhibition comprises approximately 120 photographs and numerous reproductions and other documents. In its original conception, the exhibition’s modular design resembles a stage set and provides a conclusive framework for the documentation. Specific presentations were designed for each narrative perspective and showcase three lecterns that lead visitors through a facsimile of Stefan Zweig “ledgers.”
Three exhibition stands offer the viewer even further insights into the life and work of Stefan Zweig, in which photos of the author evoke an image of his personal and private life. Furthermore, Dr. Klemens Renolder, the Director of the Stefan Zweig Center in Salzburg, is going to hold a lecture about Stefan Zweig - A European in the New World - to give the audience an even closer look at the writer’s life and work. Heinz Schaden, the mayor of the city of Salzburg, will also be present at the opening, and the Austrian Cultural Forum is looking forward to the exciting event. The exhibition will run through August 31 2011.
Tuesday May 17 | 7.30 pm | Embassy of Austria | 3524 International Court | Washington D.C. 2008 Free admission. RSVP required: www.acfdc.org/events-