Krenek: Jonny spielt auf
Vienna State Opera Orchestra/Seiji Ozawa

Monday 16 December 2002. 18.30 GMT State Opera, Vienna
http://www.wiener-staatsoper.at/

Jonny spielt auf (Jonny Strikes Up), opera in two parts

Composer: Ernst Krenek (1900-1991)
Librettist: Ernst Krenek
Première: Leipzig, Neues Theater, 10 February 1927

Performers for the entire concert:
Torsten Kerl, tenor, Max
Nancy Gustafson, soprano, Anita
Bo Skovhus, baritone, Jonny
Peter Weber, baritone, Daniello
Ildikó Raimondi, soprano, Yvonne

Orchestra: Vienna State Opera Orchestra.
Conductor: Seiji Ozawa

Interval programme - Excerpts from interviews of Ernst Krenek on the following topics: Krenek´s relationship with Vienna and Austria, Krenek´s operas, Krenek´s relationship with the music of Franz Schubert.

Jonny is one of the most characteristic products of the Weimar Republic, embodying the mythology and fashions of its time and reflecting a growing conviction that music should be entertaining and relevant. Its overwhelming popular success established it as a model for a spate of 'Zeitopern', although it is fantastic and escapist compared with the more realistically ordinary settings of Hindemith. The plot, involving an opera, is laden with symbolism presenting contradictions in psychology, lifestyle and temperament between the old world and the new along an East-West axis. Although the opera is largely set in Paris (the work is Krenek's response to his experiences there in the early 1920s), it is the image of America that focusses European longing for a new land of freedom and promise.

Jonny appeared to indicate a change of direction for Krenek, but in fact its kaleidoscopic nature draws on earlier compositions such as the jazz elements of Der Sprung and the Weltschmerz of the 1925 Rilke settings. Krenek, however, objected to the label 'jazz opera' for Jonny as jazz was idiomatically superimposed rather than absorbed in any integral way. His usage is closer to that of Milhaud and Stravinsky than to Weill's. Krenek's eclecticism, particularly the return to tonality and Puccinian lyricism, reveals his sceptical attitude towards the role assigned to contemporary music by the Second Viennese School.

The tremendous success of Jonny put Krenek firmly at the forefront of European culture between the wars. This was not least because as sheer entertainment it created an unprecedented impact on the contemporary operatic scene, but also because it exposed key issues about musical modernism and brought them to public attention. The extent to which the work may be able to transcend its original historical context and continue to succeed in revival could depend on whether the questions it raises about the relative validity of different sorts of music remain as pertinent to future audiences as they did to Krenek himself at the time. There is, however, little doubt that the expertly crafted eclecticism and period flavour of the opera will continue to attract admirers. (Grove)

Ernst Krenek

American composer of Austrian birth. He became a pupil of Schreker in Vienna at the age of 16, and continued to study with him in Berlin until 1923, entering a circle which included Busoni. His first dramatic work, Die Zwingburg (composed 1922), originated during the time which Krenek later described as the heyday of musical expressionism when everything was intended to be 'radical', meaning autonomous and abstract. Yet the representation of social upheaval in this scenic cantata revealed a sympathy for radical change which was far from irrelevant to central Europeans in the aftermath of the

Russian Revolution. Krenek's setting of a plot in the expressionist mode, concerning oppressed workers ruled by a tyrant whose decision to liberate them for a day drives them into a delirium, marked the beginning of a life-long involvement with the nature and implications of different kinds of freedom without promoting any particular ideology. Many of his 20 other operatic compositions explore philosophical ideas and human problems, several in a satirical or allegorical manner. (Grove)

Beethoven/Schoenberg/Wagner
Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra/Daniel Barenboim

Tuesday 17/12/2002 18.30 GMT. Grand Hall, Musikverein, Vienna
http://www.musikverein.at

Piano Concerto No. 3. Composer: Ludwig van Beethoven

Soloist: Daniel Barenboim, piano

Interval programme : Arnold Schoenberg´s notion of Beethoven Throughout his life as well as in his writings and teaching, Arnold Schönberg referred to Beethoven´s oeuvre. It is also safe to say that he turned not only to Beethoven for inspiration and assurance, but to the whole of the history of music. We shall look into this subtle relationship, drawing on relevant passages of Schoenberg´s music and quotations from his writings. Listeners will encounter Schoenberg the "learner", as he once called himself, both in his "Ode to Napoleon" (which draws on Beethoven´s "Eroica" Symphony) and in his string quartets (with their structure modeled on Beethoven´s). Schoenberg even has recourse to Beethoven´s "Pastoral" Symphony to account for his dissolving of traditional tonality.

Five Orchestral Pieces. Composer: Arnold Schoenberg
Prelude and Liebestod from Tristan. Composer: Richard Wagner

Performers for the entire concert:

Orchestra: Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra.
Conductor: Daniel Barenboim

Bartók/Bruckner
Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra/Simone Young

Wednesday 18/12/2002 18.30 GMT. Grand Hall, Konzerthaus, Vienna
http://www.konzerthaus.at

Piano Concerto No. 3. Composer: Béla Bartók

Soloist: Zoltán Kocsis, piano

Interval programme: "Vienna - the way it sounds" . An acoustic postcard from the Austrian capital by Gerhard Rühm.

Symphony No. 6. Composer: Anton Bruckner

Performers for the entire concert:
Orchestra: Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra.
Conductor: Simone Young

A "Waltz" evening: Wiener Spuren

Thursday 19/12/2002 18.30 GMT. Austrian Radio Broadcasting House, Vienna
http://www.oe1.orf.at/kulturhaus/

A "Waltz" evening: Wiener Spuren

Seltene Vögel, fantasy on Josef Strauss' waltz 'Dorfschwalben'
No, I Never Left Home, fantasy on a Viennese melody
Der seltsame Traum des Herrn Strauss (Mr Strauss' strange dream)
Composer: Helmut Jasbar

Du, der Wein und I (You, wine and me)
Composer: Gustav Luksch
Arranger: Helmut Jasbar

Wiener Spuren (Traces of Vienna)
Neuwirths Herbst ( Neuwirth's Autumn), thoughts on a melody by Roland Neuwirth
In memoriam - The Third Man
Composer: Helmut Jasbar

Encore: Tango in der Beethoven-Septett Nachfolge (Tango after Beethoven's Septet). Composer: Harmut Pascher

Performers for the entire concert:
Ensemble: Jasbar Consort
Lorenz Raab, trumpet
Heinz Ditsch, bassoon, accordion
Reinhold Brunner, clarinet
Joanna Lewis, violin
Hartmut Pascher, viola
Melissa Coleman, cello
Helmut Jasbar, guitar

The guitarist and composer Helmut Jasbar wondered what was so uniquely "Viennese" about Viennese music. A few years ago he began to trace the musical development of this tradition. Now he will present his arrangements and ideas on Viennese music. Traces leading to Vienna, traces of Viennese music, from small 19th-century treasures to unusual waltz adaptations and curious arrangements: these are his themes. The ensemble will play a selection of Viennese "Lieder" as well as the following well-known pieces.

Jazz : Saxofour and Gansch n'Roses

Friday 20/12/2002: Jazz 21.30 GMT. Porgy and Bess Jazz Club, Vienna
http://www.porgy.or.at

Part I Saxofour

Soloist: Maria João, vocals
Ensemble: Saxofour
Christian Maurer, saxophone
Klaus Dickbauer, saxophone
Florian Bramböck, saxophone
Wolfgang Puschnig, saxophone

Four of the best Austrian saxophonists have formed the group Saxofour: Florian Bramböck, Klaus Dickbauer, Christian Maurer and Wolfgang Puschnig. What this foursome celebrates in its music has very little to do with similar American saxophone ensembles. Saxofour's repertory is dominated by humour in the deepest sense of the word. Puschnig & Co succeed in making great music effortlessly while still having a great deal of fun. Their programme ranges from borrowings from the treasury of Austrian folk songs to all sorts of tasty musical tidbits. To raise this art form even one level higher, Saxofour has invited as its special guest for this evening's concert the Portuguese singer Maria João, renowned for her masterful handling of the fine art of harmonics.

Interval: A feature about the history of jazz in Vienna and its most famous jazz clubs, such as "Porgy and Bess" and Jazzland".

Part II Gansch n'Roses

Ensemble: Gansch n'Roses
Thomas Gansch, trumpet
Ed Partyka, trombone, tuba
Dominik Stöger, trombone
Florian Bramböck, saxophone
Harry Sokal, saxophone
Herwig Gradischnig, saxophone
Georg Breinschmid, double bass
Mario Gonzi, drums

Gansch n'Roses, led by trumpeter Thomas Gansch, is the stage band of the "Porgy and Bess" jazz club in Vienna. Founded in summer 2001, the band plays modern, powerful jazz with a touch of musical humour. The members are young but experienced, like drummer Mario Gonzi, bass player Georg Breinschmid or saxophonist Harry Sokal. Most are members of the famous Vienna Art Orchestra.

Two websites with biographical material:
http://www.vao.co.at/
http://www.ganschandroses.at/

Beethoven: Fidelio
Vienna State Opera Orchestra / Herbert von Karajan
From the ORF archives. Historic recording from 1960.

Saturday 21/12/2002 18.30 GMT. State Opera, Vienna
http://www.wiener-staatsoper.at/

Fidelio. Composer: Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827) Librettist: Joseph von Sonnleithner (1766-1835).

Fidelio (Leonore, or The Triumph of Married Love), opera in two (originally three) acts

Première: Vienna, Theater an der Wien, 20 November 1805 (first version); Theater an der Wien, 29 March 1806 (second version); Kärntnertortheater, 23 May 1814 (final vers.)

Performers
Wolfgang Windgassen, tenor, Florestan
Aase Nordmo-Loevberg, soprano, Leonore
Otto Wiener, bass, Rocco
Hans Hotter, bass-baritone, Don Pizarro
Ensemble: Vienna State Opera Chorus
Orchestra: Vienna State Opera Orchestra. Conductor: Herbert von Karajan

Interval programme: Robert Werba talks about the Viennese career of Herbert von Karajan, with excerpts of his recordings of "Tristan und Isolde", "Ariadne auf Naxos", "Carmen", "Lucia di Lammermoor" and the "Egmont Overture".