March 2018

Like every year, all of our floor ladies, our entire breakfast team, as well as our two house technicians have once more "turned the whole house on its head" - "SPRING CLEANING" is in the air. Cleaning cloths and feather dusters were in full swing and our shampoo machines fought many a race with the vacuum cleaners!

After this heavy-duty mission, all that's missing is the first ray of the spring sun to bring out the shine and sparkle!

Our "Man in white" – Mr Dauti, "swiftly" applied new wallpaper and painted the ceiling in two rooms at the beginning of the year!
So as not to feel bored, in the last few weeks, he has been working on several other laminate floors in various room categories – actively assisted by our Mr Richard.

It is not only our allergy-sensitive guests who will be delighted, but also all those who enjoy the multitude of bright and warm colours in their guest rooms!
 

Traditional Easter decorations and artfully decorated eggs, culinary treats and a program of music await you at Vienna's Easter markets in March. There’s all sorts of entertainment for young visitors to the markets.

The Easter market in front of Schönbrunn Palace is considered to be one of the most romantic Easter markets. In front of the backdrop of the palace, 60 exhibitors offer all sorts of culinary pleasures as well as decorative Easter decorations and handicrafts from Austria. Children have fun in the Easter Bunny workshop, where they shape marzipan bunnies and make Easter flower arrangements, in the Easter nest hunt and in the Kindermuseum, while the adults enjoy the entertainment at "Jazz at the Easter Market".

Every year, at the Old Viennese Easter market on Freyung, a pretty old square in the Old City, the biggest tower of eggs in Europe is built with around 40,000 painted Easter eggs. There are also numerous Easter specialties ranging from the Osterpinze Easter bread to the roast Easter lamb, handicrafts, floristry and for the very little ones a creative Easter workshop.

The Am Hof Easter Market is also fully dedicated to Easter customs with skilfully decorated eggs and flower arrangements, and also offers pretty handicrafts as well as hearty food.

At the Kalvarienberg Festival, visitors can not only look for Easter gifts and art objects but also put their own creativity to the test at a range of different art workshops. Live music and a children’s program provide additional entertainment.
 

The "Gründungscodex" (founding codex) of the Imperial Court Library dates to the year 1368. Now the Austrian National Library, it celebrates its 650th birthday in 2018.

The Habsburg Archduke Albrecht III (1349/50-1395) commissioned the "Evangeliar des Johannes von Troppau", which was completed in 1368. Written entirely in gold, decorated with lavish imagery and enclosed in a magnificent binding, it is one of the most valuable objects held by today's Austrian National Library. The Evangeliar, a manuscript that gathers together all four gospels of the New Testament, represents the beginning of the Habsburg book collections and thus the founding of the Court Library. It is just one of the highlights of the anniversary exhibition "Treasury of Knowledge". Also on display are further magnificent manuscripts and valuable early prints, which are representative of European book and intellectual history; moreover, there are precious musical scores, maps, manuscripts, photos and graphics from all of the library's collections, which begin over 3,000 years ago in the Egypt of the Pharaohs.

The anniversary exhibition is accompanied by the event series "Object of the Month": Twelve presentations by in-house experts focus on valuables that are only very rarely seen for conservation reasons. These include the original manuscript of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's Requiem from the year 1791 (on display from 30 March to 29 April 2018), the 1,286 pages of the Gutenberg Bible from 1454 (on display from 1 June - 1 July 2018), as well as the aforementioned "Evangeliar des Johannes von Troppau" (on display from 26-31 January 2018).

The show takes place in the Grand Hall of the Austrian National Library. Built in the 18th century, it extends over a length of 80 and a height of 20 meters. This Baroque jewel houses more than 200,000 volumes as well as an exhibit of four magnificent Venetian globes with a diameter of more than a meter.

650 years of the Austrian National Library: Treasury of Knowledge. 26 January 2018 - 13 January 2018
www.onb.ac.at 

The Viennese watercolor had its zenith in the 19th century. An exhibition at the Albertina traces its history.

The term "watercolor" has been in use since the middle of the 18th century. It implies that the color is dissolved in water. In Vienna, painting with watercolors became especially popular in the 19th century. The works of this time also developed a particular radiance of color and atmospheric impact. The watercolor reached its zenith in the Biedermeier period, the time between the Congress of Vienna in 1814/15 and the bourgeois revolution of 1848. Jakob Alt, Matthäus Loder, Thomas Ender, Peter Fendi and Moritz Michael Daffinger numbered amongst the most important artists of this time. At the head of the pack, however, was Rudolf von Alt, who created countless works in his more than 70 years of creative activity. His clients included the imperial household and court nobility. Later on it was the artists Anton Romako and August von Pettenkofen who announced the arrival of Vienna Modernism with their watercolor art.

The rich wealth of motifs found in Viennese watercolor painting produced virtuoso city views and landscapes, lovingly detailed portraits, genre paintings and flower pieces. Around 200 works out of the total of about 2,500 watercolors in the collection of the Albertina can be seen in the exhibition "The Vienna Watercolor". In terms of content, the show ranges from the Biedermeier period to art in the years around 1900.

The Art of the Viennese Watercolor. February 16 to May 13, 2018
www.albertina.at 

Andrew Lloyd Webber’s rock opera comes to the Ronacher as an Easter special for nine performances. Musical star Drew Sarich plays the roll of Jesus in this concert performance of the English version.

In the rock opera Jesus Christ Superstar Judas tells the story of the last seven days in the life of Jesus in Jerusalem. The story is about Mary Magdalene's love for Jesus, the Last Supper, King Herod's verdict and Judas' betrayal which in the end leads to Jesus' death. Webber's sweeping music (I Don't Know How to Love Him, Superstar, ...) still inspires the audience throughout the world - the rock opera was performed in 42 countries.

Drew Sarich assumes the role of Jesus, as he did in 2015 at Raimund Theater and 2017 here at Ronacher. The orchestra of the United Stages of Vienna will play the music.

The cornerstone of the piece was laid in 1969 by Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber, who was only 21 years old at the time, with their single called "Superstar." By 1971 they had developed it into a rock opera that first came out as an album and then was performed, in July 1971, as a concert in Pittsburgh. In October 1971 it premiered in New York. This was followed by Universal's filming in 1982.

Jesus Christ Superstar in Concert. March 23 - April 2, 2018
Tickets: www.wien-ticket.at, www.musicalvienna.at

The accordion is very popular in Vienna. Traditional Viennese songs are unthinkable without this fascinating instrument, and it plays an important role in World Music too. The Accordion Festival will present accordion music in all its many facets starting on February 24 and continuing for a whole month at numerous well-known Viennese venues. It’s amazing all the things you can listen to there.

The Accordion Festival in Vienna has been around for 19 years. Fans of the Quetschn, as the Viennese call the accordion, can look forward to both traditional styles as well as experimental sounds. And no matter the style, the music at the 40 or so events is certain to be intoxicating.

The Accordion Festival will kick off on 24 February with Scurdia: The brilliant band is at home where Orient meets Occident, where classical music blends with new sounds. The next day, Otto Lechner, the artistic figurehead of the Accordion Festival, can be experienced – together with the Moroccan singer and songwriter Kadero Rai and with Florian Zack. On 11 March, Lechner meets the Finnish band Sväng.

This year’s festival has two main themes: "Saitenweise" explores the interaction of stringed instruments and accordion, while "crazy moments" doesn’t shy away from the shrill and piercing.

A few highlights from the colorful concert series: The Brit Hannah James performs on 27 February, the second half of the double concert is contested by the Gebrüder from Austria. The Austrian accordionist Walther Soyka plays on 3 March in the band Molden/Prozorov/Soyka/Stirner/Wirth and one week later in a duo with Karl Stirner on the zither. The traditional concert by Dobrek Bistro takes place on 5 March.

Definitely devoted to humor is the innovative New Folk Music duo Attwenger, which uses voice, accordion and percussion on 23 March. The following day, it all happens with the Russian Gentlemen Club: Aliosha Biz, Roman Grinberg, Georgij Makazaria and Alexander Shevchenko.

The closing gala on 25 March promises great things, when the Austrian Donauwellenreiter and the Italian Riccardo Tesi – one of the most inventive performers on the button accordion – appear together. The Trio Tesi – Geri – Mirabassi performs in the second half of the concert.

What’s more, the Accordion Festival Lounge takes place in Café Mocca on Saturdays, hosted by musician Franziska Hatz, and there are silent film matinées with live musical accompaniment on Sundays.

International Accordion Festival 2018. 24 February - 25 March 2018
Various venues
www.akkordeonfestival.at