This year marks 175 years of diplomatic relations between the U.S. and Austria. The U.S. Embassy in Vienna and Austrian President Heinz Fischer started the year off with an exclusive gala event, which took place at the Diplomatic Academy in Vienna on February 13, 2013.
Stay tuned for more on this special occasion throughout 2013!
And the Oscar goes to......... Austria or more preciscly Mr. Waltz and Mr. Haneke. The year is still young but already proved to be a great year for Austrian film. On Sunday, Christoph Waltz and Michael Haneke could each add an Academy Award to their already extensive collections both having previously also been succesful at this year's Golden Globes. Mr. Waltz won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor for his brilliant portrayal of Dr. Schultz in Quentin Tarantino's Django Unchained.
The Board of The Consular Corps of Washington, D.C. held its 2013 Annual Ball at the Embassy on February 9, 2013. Guests enjoyed fine dining, exceptional Austrian wines, dancing with Aaron, the DJ, and the famous Consular Corps Raffle.
The Vienna sewers, the Giant Ferris Wheel in the Prater, Orson Welles, and the haunting theme music of Anton Karas – In 1949, the iconic masterpiece The Third Man showed a mysterious and intriguing side of Vienna previously unseen on the big screen.
Remembering this time of exciting adventures, elusive truths, and sheer elegance, the Embassy of Austria together with the International Spy Museum, hosted a Third Man-themed event on February 6, 2013.
Dignitaries, diplomats and debutantes opened the 58th Viennese Opera Ball at the prestigious Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York on Friday, February 1, 2013. Long considered an international social landmark, the legendary Viennese Opera Ball is one of the great charity galas that benefits other worthy nonprofit institutions. At the ball, which celebrates Austria's cultural legacy, guests could enjoy Viennese music, Austrian delicacies and a vibrating atmosphere.
On February 1, 2013, the Embassy hosted the acclaimed Merlin Ensemble Wien for a special evening concert that included works by Schubert and Mendelssohn, and three 20th century compositions by Zemlinsky, Schoenberg, and Bruch.
The Merlin Ensemble Wien was originally founded in 1991 by members of the Chamber Orchestra of Europe. Starting out as an octet it, the circle of musician was extended over the years. Today, the ensemble lineup changes from show to show.
Sips with Socialites and the GI Film Festival held the fundraiser and bachelor auction An Officer and an Auction at the Embassy on January 31, 2013.
Guest included Actor Scott Elrod, who recently starred in the Oscar-winning movie Argo and has military roots himself - he was born into a German military family.
Two piano champions together on stage, one dressed in black, the other one dressed in white. They performed, they competed, and in the end the audience chose the winner.
With the innovative concert format The Piano Battle, Andreas Kern and Paul Cibis presents classical music in a novel way. The two accomplished pianists compete against one another with distinctly different performance styles, playing pieces by composers such as Chopin, Liszt and Debussy and improvised works based on audience requests.
On January 9, 2013, as part of the 23rd Washington Jewish Film Festival, the comedic drama My Best Enemy was screened in front of an audience of 200 excited guests at the Austrian Embassy. My Best Enemy (2011), a film by Austrian director Wolfgang Murnberge, stars German actor Moritz Bleibtreu and Austrian actress Ursula Strauss.