Also: “The Culture Week” with a look at summer festivals – from 9:05 a.m. on ORF 2
Vienna (OTS) – The “matinee” on Sunday, June 23, 2024, at 9:05 a.m. on ORF 2 and on ORF ON will initially provide insight into the demanding craft of bow making for string instruments with the documentary “Perfect Sound – The Art of Bowmakers” and explore its origins of the raw materials required for this. Afterwards, the portrait “Richard Strauss – Sketch of a Life” (9.35 a.m.) focuses on the world-famous composer, whose birthday is 160 years old. At the end of the ORF cultural morning presented by Teresa Vogl, “Die Kulturwoche” (10.30 a.m.) provides an exciting outlook on the country’s summer festivals in an extended edition.
“Perfect Sound – The Art of the Bow Maker” (9:05 a.m.)
Every string instrument has its own unique sound. Not only the body but also the bow and its properties play a significant role in this. The production of exclusive bows is still true craftsmanship; almost all work steps are carried out by hand. For this purpose, valuable materials such as mother-of-pearl, ivory, gold, silver, ebony, whale bone and tortoise shell were and are processed. Exclusive bows for string instruments have been made from Brazilian pernambuco wood for more than 200 years. But bow makers like Thomas Gerbeth from Vienna have had to rely on their stocks for new bows for years, because since pernambuco wood – also called “Pernambuco” or “Pau Brasil” – was put on the CITES list of endangered species, it has been almost impossible to do so legally to get supplies. The majority of the species, which is native exclusively to the Mata Atlântica, was cut down by the Portuguese from the 16th century and used as a red dye. Therefore, 250 bow makers worldwide joined together to form the international initiative IPCI, which aims to save the pernambuco tree through reforestation. With tireless efforts, IPCI has managed to overcome numerous obstacles and to date have planted 250,000 seedlings. But how do the young pernambuco trees thrive? In October 2019, a group of Austrian and German IPCI members visited the Brazilian Mata Atlântica for the first time to check this. Peppo Wagner’s film provides insights into the art of bow making and asks musicians about the importance of the bow for sound quality.
“Richard Strauss – Sketch of a Life” (9:35 a.m.)
Richard Strauss is considered one of the most outstanding German composers of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The documentation by Barbara Wunderlich and Marieke Schroeder sheds light on his private life, his thoughts handed down in many writings and his musical work. The opening of the Strauss family archive by grandson Christian and his sister-in-law Gabriele Strauss-Hotter creates intensive, almost intimate insights into the extraordinary life of the exceptional artist. Richard Strauss’ role as President of the Reich Music Chamber is also presented in a new light. The film outlines Strauss’ personality primarily through two focal points: the villa in Garmisch, which became the center of his life, and the symphonic poem “Sinfonia Domestica “, which reflects his contradictory artistic personality better than any of his other works.