The Grafenegg Music Festival

A FIVE NIGHT HOLIDAY | 16 AUGUST 2023

Grafenegg’s varied and starry festival in Lower Austria, just one hour from Vienna, runs throughout the summer and always closes with a feast of music-making. Concerts are given in the spectacular Wolkenturm – the Tower of Clouds – an open air space with a stunning acoustic which is much loved by all the musicians who play here. The Austrian pianist, Rudolf Buchbinder is the Director of the Festival and regularly brings the world’s great orchestras and soloists to the Festival. The holiday includes a number of excursions into the beautiful surrounding countryside.

Wolkenturm

the itinerary

1

We fly to Vienna and transfer to Krems, a journey of about an hour. Krems is an attractive town on the banks of the Danube and is in the heart of the Grüner Veltliner wine producing region. We stay above the town at the 4* Steigenberger. The hotel has a spa, indoor and outdoor swimming pools and you can walk to the centre of the quaint village of Stein in 15 minutes.

2

This morning we drive to the village of Kirchstetten, close to St. Pölten. Here we visit the house where W. H. Auden lived with Chester Kallman from 1957, when he bought the cottage, until his death in 1973. We will see the house much as he left it, with his books and with photographs of many of the distinguished visitors who came to Kirchstetten, including Benjamin Britten, Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Spender. Auden is buried in the tranquil churchyard in the village.

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MUSIC PROGRAMME

17 August, 19.30: Estonian Festival Orchestra Paavo Jãrvi, conductor Rudolf Buchbinder, piano Beethoven: Piano Concerto No.30 in C minor, Op.37 Tchaikovsky: Symphony No.1 G minor, Op.35 ‘Winter Daydreams’

18 August, 19.30: Budapest Festival Orchestra Iván Fischer, conductor Selina Ott, trumpet Haydn: Trumpet Concerto Hob.VII:1 in E flat major Beethoven: Symphony No.3 Op.55 in E flat major ‘Eroica’

19 August, 19.30: Tonkünstler Orchestra Yutaka Sado, conductor Denis Kozhukhin, piano Gershwin: A Symphonic Picture of Porgy and Bess Gershwin: Rhapsody in Blue from An American in Paris Bernstein: Symphonic Dances from West Side Story

20 August, 19.30: Philharmonia Orchestra Santtu-Matias Rouvali, conductor Christian Tetzlaff, violin Elgar: Violin Concerto in B minor, Op.61 Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 5 in E minor Op.64

DAY 3

Today we spend the morning cruising a beautiful stretch of the Danube between Krems and the magnificent Benedictine abbey at Melk. After a tour of the abbey we will return by coach to Krems.

4

We will drive alongside the Danube to nearby Dürnstein, an attractive village perched high over the river. We have lunch at the Relais & Châteaux hotel overlooking the river.

5

During the morning we will visit the art gallery in Krems which holds more than 40 works by Egon Schiele, who was born in nearby Tulln.

6

On the way back to Vienna airport we visit the mighty 12th century Augustinian Monastery which overlooks the Danube river in Klosterneuburg.

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TOUR INFORMATION

DEPARTURE DATE & PRICES

DATE PRICE SINGLE SUPP 16 August £3,196 £250

Our prices are per person, based on the shared occupancy of a twin/double room. Supplement for single occupancy as shown.

FLIGHT DETAILS

Flights with British Airways: Depart from London Heathrow 12.25, arrive Vienna 15.45. Depart from Vienna 14.50, arrive London Heathrow 16.10 Flight times subject to change – regional departures available on request.

WHAT WE INCLUDE

• Return flights • Five nights’ accommodation with breakfast • Tickets for performances as described • Five dinners and one lunch • All sightseeing, entrance fees and gratuities as described • The services of the Kirker Tour Leader and local guide