Vienna Phil at centre of Sarajevo commemoration

Vienna Phil at centre of Sarajevo commemoration

main

norman lebrecht

June 25, 2014

The shot that shocked the world on June 28 1914 will be remembered by European leaders in a  symbolic concert performed by the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra (VPO)‘ and broadcast via Eurovision.

Official jargon:

The concert conducted by Franz Welser-Möst will feature music by composers from Austria, Germany and France: Joseph Haydn, Franz Schubert, Alban Berg, Johannes Brahms, Maurice Ravel and Josef Strauss.

“We have created a musical programme with strong connections to the historical events of 1914–1918, to invite the audience remember this era-defining conflict,” said Clemens Hellsberg, President of the VPO.

sarajevo

 

Comments

  • william osborne says:

    Though my perspectives are far from the norm, there’s a peculiar irony in an orchestra that admitted its first non-harpist woman in 2007 performing a peace concert in a region where mass rape was used as a method of ethnic cleansing in the mid 90s. The Balkan conflict has been described as a war on women. All the same, I find the Philharmonic’s gesture noble, and appreciate that it isn’t accepting a fee for the concert. The stability of Europe over the last 69 years is one of history’s great achievements.

    • Beaumont says:

      My dear Mister Osborne,
      If you honestly believe that there is a n y similarity between what happened to women during the Balkan wars and the VPO policy on female players you should get professional help.
      As anything else I would write now would be redacted (for obvious reasons), I would simply strongly advise you to start using your brain before typing.
      Thank you.

      • william osborne says:

        Gee, I thought the common denominator was misogyny. Glad you cleared that up with your insightful, anonymous comment…

        • Beaumont says:

          My Dear Mister Osborne,
          You are – of course (as always) – completely and utterly correct.
          Being gang raped and having this monstrous, horrifying experience videotaped (to be sold to the highest bidder) and then being socially ostracised, these poor women who went through hell must have been cheering themselves up by thinking: “Gee, it could be worse.
          I could have been applying for a position in the VPO.”
          BTW: the recommended dose is half a Xanax three times a day.

      • Laurids Richter says:

        Amen to that! How CAN one post such rubbish?

    • Michael Endres says:

      You associate the VPO indirectly with mass rape in the Balkan war.
      I wonder what those women who endured such atrocities would make of your comparisons.

  • Janet Tuppen says:

    This concert is being broadcast live on BBC Radio 3 as part of the season ‘Music in the Great War’ http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b047wnx5

  • MOST READ TODAY: