Apart from regular theater and music
productions, there are numerous arts festivals in
Vienna well worth seeing all year round. The Vienna Festival boasts grandiose and
trendsetting opera, theater and performance art
from early May to mid-June. It attracts ensembles and visitors from far and wide. In 2009, the
Vienna Festival, which is one of the most
renowned art festivals in Europe, will once again
entertain the audiences at Vienna's most important stages (MuseumsQuartier, Konzerthaus,
Künstlerhaus, etc).
A highlight of the gay and lesbian festival calendar is Queer Identities, the biennial "GayLesBiTrans Film Festival". The festival in its fourteenth
year in 2007 was an overwhelming success
which was reflected in almost completely sold
out movie theaters. After a break in 2008, Queer
Identities returns this year.
Tourists in Vienna don’t ever have to feel sorry that they came to the city at the wrong time:
Resonanzenis held each year in January and has
found its following as a high-class festival of
old music. For modern music the festival Wien-
Modernis the adequateplatform. We recommend
getting tickets early. The festival OsterKlang
offers an eclectic program of classical music,
ranging from Baroque style to contemporary classical compositions. The Vienna Philharmonic and
Symphonic Orchestras are, among others, the
performing orchestras.
During summer the Music Film Festivalon City
Hall Square (Rathausplatz) gives audiences the
opportunity to enjoy movies and recordings of
operas, concerts and ballets on a giant video
In 2009, the world commemorates the 200th
anniversary of the death of Joseph Haydn. It is
not surprising that many concert and opera
houses as well as the classical music festivals
are putting special emphasis on the oeuvre of
this famous Austrian composer.
The Jazz Fest Wien tries
to seduce jazz buffs
with big names like the lesbian Celia Mara and
the famous Paul Anka. These great names of jazz
are contrasted, or rather supplemented by the
unusual settings: They will perform in the State
Opera and the MuseumsQuartier.
ImPulsTanz follows a slightly
different concept
than the usual arts festival. The performances of
internationally renowned ballet and modern dancers are not only directed to spectators, but the
festival also offers a platform for research, development and training in the vast field of dance.
During summer the Music Film Festival
on City
Hall Square (Rathausplatz) gives audiences the
opportunity to enjoy movies and recordings of
operas, concerts and ballets on a giant video
wall in a relaxed open-air atmosphere. It is free
and the adjacent food stands serve delicacies
from all corners of the globe.
The Viennale is Austria's biggest film festival
and it is well-known for its non-competitive and
spectator-oriented approach. For years this festi-
val, originally founded in the sixties, has steadily
been growing in size.
Vienna Festival
8 May - 14 June 2009
www.festwochen.at
