Backstage at the Chinese New Years Concert

Dressed in magnificent costumes and equipped with traditional Chinese instruments, roughly eighty musicians crowded into the backstage area of the “Großer Saal” of Vienna’s Musikverein this morning. The musicians, many of them under the age of thirty, are from Peking and are currently on a tour of Europe. In order to bid farewell to the year of the dog and to welcome the year of the pig, the musicians of the Chinese National Orchestra Huaxia play only traditional Chinese music.

A meeting yesterday afternoon with the event organisers allowed for an exciting inside look at the lives of the musicians while on tour, and their everday lives at home in China. The lives of the star musicians are, however, very different to those of western musicians. During his rule, Mao initiated the preservation of ancient Chinese music by having an orchestra founded in every large city - an idea for a new film, perhaps?

junge Medienschaffende trinken zu viel Bier

Im Café Alt-Wien, in der Bäckerstraße 9 im ersten Wiener Bezirk, findet heute das dritte “junge Medienschaffende trinken zu viel Bier” statt. Eingeladen sind die üblichen Verdächtigen.

Today “young mediamakers drink too much beer” take place for the third time at the pub Alt-Wien located in the Bäckerstraße 9, in the first district of Vienna. The usual suspects are invited.

“Tokyo fortissimo” is making progress

Conductor Fabio Luisi in a temple, trombonist Wolfgang Pfistermüller in a karaoke bar, cellist Kentaro Yoshii eating sashimi with friends, and concerts, concerts, concerts - it takes a generous portion of patience and finesse to create a harmonious film from forty film tapes worth of material. However, the work in the editing studio at the Filmwerkstatt Wien is making unstoppable progress. For the past week, producer Barbara Weissenbeck and director Maximilian Stelzle have been busy composing the documentary “Tokyo fortissimo - The Vienna Symphony Orchestra on tour” from the many images, scenes and interviews.

Dejando Argentina

Nach einem entspannten Sylvesterabend auf dem Dach eines Hauses in der Avenida Córdoba muessen Gisela und ich heute unsere Heimreise in die Alte Welt antreten. Adios Argentina - wir kommen wieder!

Después de una relajada Noche de Anio Nuevo en la terrasa de una casa de Avenida Córdoba en Buenos Aires, Gisela y yo tenemos que emprender nuestro viaje de regreso al viejo mundo. Adios Argentina, volverémos!