Vienna fires Festwochen chief after just one festival

Vienna fires Festwochen chief after just one festival

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norman lebrecht

June 20, 2018

Tomas Zierhofer-Kin is gone, with three years left on his contract.

As ever in Vienna, it’s political. The new government want a person of different stripe.

Comments

  • jaypee says:
    June 20, 2018 at 12:52 pm

    There’s nothing political about this. The last two editions of the Wiener Festwochen have been a disaster. God knows how I despise the current government, but don’t make a political scandal where there isn’t one.

    Reply
    • Saskia Ellmer says:
      June 20, 2018 at 2:42 pm

      Jaypee is definitely right. The new government has nothing to do with this disaster, we had the last two years. And IF anybody is responsible for it, it was the socialistic Kulturstadtrat Mailath-Pokorny and his people as well as their partner of coalition, the “green” party, who has no idea from any part of cultural life in town. But the main problem was, that they wanted to make everything “new” with completely wrong ideas for millions of Euro.

      Reply
  • Doug says:
    June 20, 2018 at 4:52 pm

    Now I know where I’ve seen that jacket before. Completely tasteless.
    https://i.pinimg.com/236x/4c/1a/4e/4c1a4e7a6fa9e778efdac7aa789a51d7.jpg

    Reply
  • Sue says:
    June 20, 2018 at 11:49 pm

    When I was living in Vienna I found the Festwochen fairly predictable and dull and didn’t really attend anything. A major disappointment.

    Reply
    • Barry Guerrero says:
      June 21, 2018 at 9:33 am

      Where I come from, this would hardly be predictable. But I can sure imagine anyone getting tired of it in a hurry.

      Reply
    • Vienna calling says:
      June 21, 2018 at 8:51 pm

      ‘I found predictable and dull what I didn’t attend.’ – a most helpful comment.
      And no, it wasn’t political, the Festwochen used to be fab, but less so in the last two years.

      Reply
    • Vintage Jag Man says:
      June 21, 2018 at 10:13 pm

      Wiener Festwochen is not just music, it has all sorts of other stuff, plays, jazz, odd music. You have to cherry pick the VPO concerts, one reason for the decline alas no Karl Bohm, Kleiber et al. Even that old fraud H v K could do a better job. Eg his 1962 Bruckner 9 & Te Deum on Archipel.

      For real music go to the Melk or Innsbrucker Festwochen, miles better. The latter showcased my 1952 Drophead Coupe XK 120!

      https://www.wachaukulturmelk.at/en/internationale-barocktage-stift-melk/barocktage-melk

      Reply

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