PHOTOS FROM LEFT: ANDREAS FRIESS, SHMALTZ.
orchestra. Rehearsals are held at their
iconic venue, and once a year they per-
form in the storied Goldener Saal
(Golden Hall) of New Year’s concert
fame. The Konzerthaus also sponsors
an orchestra: the Wiener Konzert-
vereinigung, which performs three
concerts a year, usually in March,
June and December.
I have to catch my breath! The list of
available ensembles continues: The
Concentus21, the Wiener Tonkunst-
vereinigung and the Camerata
Musica Wien are all large symphony
orchestras that welcome anyone, as
does the Akademischer Orchester-
verein. The last, which also looks back
on a history of more than 100 years, is
currently looking for string players
and percussionists.
Thirteen years ago, the Camerata
Medica Wien was founded to resur-
rect the “Vienna Doctors’ Orchestra,”
a renowned ensemble in the early
20th century. Playing under the motto
“violins, not scalpels,” most of the
members work in the health profes-
sions, including pharmacists. Many
are also trained musicians – music and
medicine having traditionally walked
hand in hand in Vienna.
One more great little ensemble is
the Vienna Klezmer Orchestra, initi-
ated by Roman Grinberg, director of
the Vienna Jewish Choir. They’re “not
kosher,” meaning you don’t have to be
Jewish to join. It has the advantage
that even relative beginners are wel-
come: Grinberg, who creates jazzy
and showy klezmer arrangements,
simply writes a “tailor-made” part
matching each player’s ability. But it
does help if you can read music.
As an avid amateur violist friend
told me, these cross- generational
orchestras are great for “speed-friend-
ing,” giving you chances to meet peo-
ple you wouldn’t otherwise get to
know. And after rehearsals there is
plenty of informal socializing.
But what if you quit the piano and
never learned to play anything else?
Lift up your voice! The Konzerthaus
has a series of “Sing Along” con-
certs, from folk songs and Christmas
carols to an audience-sung perfor-
mance of Bach’s St. John Passion next
March. And the city hosts more
choirs than you can count. But that’s
another story...festivalKlezMore
Two weeks of Yiddish celebration from around the world show
the versatility of a classic folk traditionExpressive melodies that draw from Yiddish
and eastern European music characterize
klezmer, an Ashkenazi music style that is
seeing a steady revival in both its traditional
form and fused with jazz and other influ-
ences. Now in its 14th iteration, the Klez-
More festival celebrates versatility steeped
in Jewish tradition, with an abundance of
international and regional musicians per-
forming at 12 locations around the city.
A double concert will kick off the festivi-
ties at Porgy and Bess, featuring Troi, an
Austrian supertrio comprised of Tino
Klissenbauer, Franziska Hatz and Vladimir
Blum, who will put the words of Yiddish writ-
er Rajzel Żychlińsky to song. They will be fol-
lowed by the Argentinian duo Lerner and
Moguilevsky, who work from a solid klezmer
foundation to create an eclectic mix of Latin
folk, jazz, tango and free improvisation.Other acts announced are the renowned
Vienna Klezmer Orchestra; Israel’s Gulaza
quartet, who will play some rare Yemeni
women’s songs with cello, acoustic guitar and
Saharan strings; Nirit Sommerfeld featuring
the Trio Shlomo Geistreich, who intertwine
their klezmer roots with pop and hip-hop or
the idiosyncratic Shmaltz (pictured), who
will be closing the festival.
Besides concerts, various lectures, films
and workshops round out the program, in-
cluding a screening of Melissa Hacker’s touch-
ing My Knees were Jumping, which remem-
bers the children who escaped the Holocaust
with the “Kindertransport,” a British charity
that rescued thousands from central Europe;
two workshops on klezmer culture held in co-
operation with the Austrian Folk Music Asso-
ciation and an afternoon of Yiddish drinking
songs with Benjy Fox-Rosen.Oct 4-19, various locations. klezmore-vienna.at