Austrian Information, January-February 2007

Dear Readers,

Administrator — Fri, 16 Feb 2007 23:11:54 +0000

In this first edition of 2007 we are glad to present an interview with the Austrian conductor Manfred Honeck who has recently been appointed Music Director of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. He speaks of the start of his career, his experiences as conductor of many orchestras around the globe and plans for his new assignment beginning September 2008.

New Austrian Government Inaugurated

Administrator — Fri, 16 Feb 2007 19:14:58 +0000

On January 9, 2007, the Austrian Social Democratic Party (SPÖ) and the Austrian People’s Party (ÖVP) agreed on a new coalition government which was sworn in by Federal President Dr. Heinz Fischer on January 11, 2007. Dr. Alfred Gusenbauer, head of the Social Democratic Party, is Austria’s new Chancellor, succeeding Dr. Wolfgang Schuessel. Chief priorities set by the new government for the 23rd legislative period include further improvement of Austria as a destination for business and the aim of full employment by the year 2010. Other goals are to improve the social and health system and to develop a strategy for combating poverty.

In Memoriam Liese Prokop

Administrator — Fri, 16 Feb 2007 19:14:31 +0000

Austria’s Minister of the Interior, Liese Prokop, (ÖVP) passed away on December 31, 2006 at the age of 65. Austria’s first female minister of the interior started her political career in 1969 as a member of the regional government of Lower Austria. From 1981 to 1992 she was active as a regional councillor and then became Deputy Governor of Lower Austria. In December 2004 she took over the Ministry of the Interior.Before going into politics, Prokop had crowned her sports career with a silver medal in the pentathlon at the Olympics in Mexico in 1968. In 1969 the European champion broke the world record in the pentathlon. Prokop’s sudden death shocked and deeply affected everyone across the political spectrum. She was paid tribute to as a sympathetic and sensitive person with a great heart.

BOOKS

Administrator — Fri, 16 Feb 2007 19:13:53 +0000

A Concise History of Austria by Steven Beller, published by Cambridge University Press, 2007

For a small, prosperous country in the middle of Europe, modern Austria has a very large and complex history extending far beyond its current borders. Steven Beller’s gripping and comprehensive account traces the remarkable career of Austria through its many transformations - from German borderland, to dynastic enterprise, imperial house, Central European great power, failed Alpine republic, German province, and then successful Alpine republic - building up a picture of the layers of Austrian identity and heritage and their diverse sources. It is a story full of anomalies and ironies, a case study of the other side of European history, without the easy answers of more clearly national narratives, and hence far more relevant to today’s world.

The historian, Steven Beller, grew up in Great Britain as the child of an American father and an Austrian mother and is currently working as an independent scholar at the George Washington University.

Austrian Award

Administrator — Fri, 16 Feb 2007 19:13:22 +0000

Wayne Wolke, representative for Austrian Airlines in Washington, D.C. was presented with the award, Austrian Grand Decoration of Honor, by Austrian Ambassador Eva Nowotny at the Ambassador’s residence on December 12, 2006. He was honored for his longstanding personal commitment to Austrian Airlines. Mr. Wolke, appointed AUA district sales manager for Washington, D.C. in 1995, was instrumental in opening a new sales office in Atlanta, Georgia. He likewise heads sales for the Southeast, Central and Western parts of the U.S. His promotion of Austrian Airlines and continued support of the Embassy’s cultural events by providing air travel for the Cultural Forum’s performing artists has been an invaluable contribution.

Austrian Ambassador Hosts 26th Annual Concert and Gala of Choral Arts Society of Washington

Administrator — Fri, 16 Feb 2007 19:12:07 +0000

The Choral Arts Society of Washington is one of the most versatile and respected choral ensembles in the United States. Founded in 1965 by its current artistic director, Norman Scriber, its group of 200 voices has been performing over 41 years. In 1971, at the request of Leonard Bernstein, Mr. Scribner assembled a professional choir to perform in the world premiere of Mass for the opening of The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. Since that time, it performs there on a regular annual basis and tours internationally, appearing with the world’s leading orchestras. Its mission is to share the art of choral music through performance and to foster its promotion through education and outreach to the community and to students, such as to the D.C. public schools serving 1,000 elementary school children.

Austrian Becomes New Music Director of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra

Administrator — Fri, 16 Feb 2007 19:10:00 +0000

Interview with Manfred Honeck

For the third time in the last seven years an Austrian has been honored by being invited to be conductor of a world renowned American orchestra. After the selection of Hans Graf as music director of the Houston Symphony Orchestra in 2000 and Franz Welser-Möst as the Music Director of the Cleveland Orchestra in 2002, the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra recently announced the appointment of Manfred Honeck as its new Music Director. Manfred Honeck will begin his initial three-year contract in September 2008. In an interview he told AI about the beginnings of his career, his experiences as music director of many orchestras around the globe and his plans for his new assignment as Music Director of the Pittsburgh Orchestra.

Austrian Patriot and European Visionary

Administrator — Fri, 16 Feb 2007 19:08:42 +0000

by Martin Eichtinger

On the death of Ambassador Friedrich Hoess: A model diplomat, a friend of the U.S., a builder of bridges in transatlantic relations.

From the Life of a Jewish Chaplain in the U.S. Armed Forces

Administrator — Fri, 16 Feb 2007 19:06:51 +0000

An Interview with Rabbi David Lapp

Rabbi David Lapp was the Director of the Jewish Welfare Board’s (JWB) Jewish Chaplains Council, which endorses Jewish chaplains who serve in the U.S. Armed Forces. Before serving with JWB (1982-2006), Rabbi Lapp was a Colonel in the U.S. Army (1957-1982). Born in Austria, he talked about his childhood in Vienna, his nearly half a century of service with the U.S. chaplaincy which brought him around the globe, and of his return visit to Vienna in 2000.

Jewish Welcome Service Vienna

Administrator — Fri, 16 Feb 2007 19:05:16 +0000

The Jewish Welcome Service (JWS) recently celebrated its 25th anniversary. Since its founding in 1980, the JWS has conducted a program for inviting Austrians expelled in 1938 for a return visit to the city where they and their families once lived. Through the work of one of the founders and current director, Dr. Leon Zelman, some 4,000 Austrian Jews (including Rabbi Lapp - see this issue), have participated in the program.