Cultural Outlook: Spring 2011

Program of the Austrian Cultural Forum Washington, D.C.

| concert

NETNAKISUM
“Rocking the mountains, and beyond!” is the credo of NETNAKISUM, a young band from Austria. Magdalena Zenz (violin and vocals), DeeLinde (cello and vocals) and Marie-Theres Härtel (viola and vocals) have been playing for a number of years, establishing an enviable reputation as a live act. They combine their extravagant musical abilities with sheer fun on stage. You’ll hear new compositions, classical pieces and an occasional re-adaptation for strings and vocals.

Wednesday January 12 | 7:30 pm | Embassy of Austria | 3524 International Court NW | Washington, DC 20008

| concert

Friedrich Kleinhapl and Andreas Woyke
The cellist Friedrich Kleinhapl’s performances have moved the hearts of audiences worldwide. During his pursuit of the perfect sound, Kleinhapl had the privilege of working with great musicians such as Phillippe Muller, Claudio Abbado, Lord Yehudi Menuhin, Paul Tortelier and Tibor Varga. Since 2004, Kleinhapl has been collaborating with pianist Andreas Woyke, whose intense and constant search for new and unconventional ways to express music determines his artistic vita. Their tour will take them to the Town Hall in New York, Northeastern Illinois University and Myrtle Beach.

Wednesday January 19 | 7:00 pm | Severna Park | MD
Thursday January 20 | 7:30 pm | Strathmore Mansion | 10701 Rockville Pike | North Bethesda, MD 20852-3324

|film

Mahler on the Couch
Director: Percy Adlon, Felix Adlon
The 19th edition of FilmNeu, Washington’s annual showcase of new cinema from Germany, Switzerland and Austria, takes place January 21-27, 2011. Austria is contributing the film Mahler on the Couch, written and directed by Percy Adlon and Felix Adlon. Mahler on the Couch tells the story of Alma Mahler’s affair with the young architect Walter Gropius setting in motion a marital drama that forces her husband Gustav Mahler to seek advice from Sigmund Freud. The encounter of the two giants of music and psychoanalysis is bumpy, temperamental, and not without
humor.

Thursday January 27 | 6:30 pm | Landmark E Street Cinema | 555 11th Street NW | Washington, DC 20004

Thursday January 27 | 9:00 pm | Landmark E Street Cinema | 555 11th Street NW | Washington, DC 20004

|concert

Zurich Chamber Orchestra
Besides having a broad repertoire ranging from baroque to classical and from romantic to contemporary music, the Zurich Chamber Orchestra has become known for rediscovering forgotten composers and collaborating with remarkable musicians from all genres. The Orchestra will be conducted by highly acclaimed Maestro Mark Laycock, and joined by clarinetist Dimitri Ashkenazy for this special all-Mozart performance.

Friday January 28 | 7:30 pm  | Embassy of Austria | 3524 International Court NW | Washington, DC 20008

| concert

Mia Zabelka
Mia Zabelka is a composer, electric violinist and vocalist from Vienna, with czech, jewish and french familiar background who lives in the Austrian region of southern Styria. As a pioneer of electro-acoustic performance and composition in Austria, Mia Zabelka developed the process she describes as automatic playing, continuously exploring sound and music as physical phenomena, always pushing back the boundaries in radical and provocative       performances and compositions that question established notions and given structures.

Friday January 28 | 8:00 pm
Artisphere Arlington | 1101 Wilson Boulevard | Arlington, VA

| concert

Hyperion Ensemble
The Salzburg-based Hyperion Ensemble has become one of the most talked-about chamber music ensembles in Europe. The Hyperion Ensemble is comprised of musicians from prestigious orchestras and chamber music societies in Europe such as the Berlin Philharmonic and the Camerata Academica Salzburg. The musicians are Werner Neugebauer and Klara Flieder (Violins), Firmian Lermer and Peter Langgartner (Violas) and Detlef Mielke and Erich Oskar Huetter (Cellos).

Friday February 4 | 8:00 pm | Library of Congress | Coolidge Auditorium |
Jefferson Building
Sunday February 6 | 4:00 pm | St. John’s College | College Avenue | Annapolis

| book presentation

Oliver Rathkolb: The Paradoxical Republic
In his most recent book, The Paradoxical Republic, Rathkolb analyzes the paradoxes of the central European state of Austria and its eight million inhabitants. He compares historical events to the current state of political culture, social life and economy of the Austrian society. Rathkolb discusses topics such as migration history during the Habsburg Monarchy, Austria’s opposition to EU enlargement and contradictory attitudes towards historical events. Rathkolb will be in conversation with historian Steven Beller, who has specialized in Central European and Jewish history and, in particular, Austrian history. In cooperation with the Digital Diplomacy Forum.

Wednesday February 9 | 7:30 pm | Embassy of Austria | 3524 International Court NW | Washington DC 20008

| concert

Lydia Rathkolb and Kenneth Slowik
As a coloratura soprano from Vienna, Lydia Rathkolb graduated from the University of Music and Performing Arts and from the Conservatory of Vienna in voice studies, Lied and opera. Rathkolb will be accompanied on the piano by Kenneth Slowik, currently curator and artistic director of the Chamber Music Program at the National Museum of American History as well as an acclaimed cellist and conductor.

Friday February 11 | 7:30 pm | Embassy of Austria | 3524 International Court NW | Washington DC 20008

| fashion

The Ready Launch AUSTRIA
The Launch aims to showcase the models of VU MGMT, and local fashion designers and labels like Natalia Sanz, Zophia, Elizabeth St. John and Austrian designers Ilona Drozdzik and Edith A’Gay.

Thursday February 17 | 7:00 pm | Embassy of Austria | 3524 International Court NW | Washington DC 20008

| special event

Viennese Café
Wiener Kaffeehausjause
Please join us - Ambassador Christian Prosl, the Austrian Cultural Forum and the American-Austrian Cultural Society - for another traditional Wiener Kaffehausjause prepared by Austrian chef Willi Jonach on President´s Day.

Monday February  21 | 4:00—6:00 pm | Embassy of Austria | 3524 International Court NW | Washington DC 20008

| ongoing exhibition

Nina Prader
We are proud to announce the exhibition of two recent works of the Austrian artist Nina Prader at the Embassy of Austria. We invite you to see the persuasive works Code-Girl 1 and Code-Girl 2 which are inspired by political events of the summer of 2010 in which female faces became the visual henchmen to propagate political content.

| virtual exhibition

The World of the Habsburgs
Explores economic, social, political and cultural aspects. More than a thousand images, including objects that are rarely or never on public view, accompanied by multimedia presentation of texts, maps, a genealogical table and a navigable timeline, will open up completely new contexts and connections.

http://www.habsburger.net/en/

| future cooperation with Bäckerstrasse 4

Beginning September 2011, the Austrian Cultural Forum Washington, will present a selection of young Austrian artistic perspectives in cooperation with the “Plattform für junge Kunst, Bäckerstrasse4”, Vienna.