Also: “The Culture Week” – on April 14th from 9:05 a.m. on ORF 2
Vienna (OTS) – The “matinee” on Sunday, April 14, 2024, at 9:05 a.m. on ORF 2 focuses on Czech music and culture: In keeping with Friedrich Smetana’s 200th birthday this year, the documentary “The Moldau – Smetana’s World Success” sheds light on the history of this famous work of the Czech composer. Afterwards, the production “Buchteln, Ziegeln, Polka – Bohemian Vienna” (10 a.m.) explores the forgotten Bohemian heritage of Vienna’s fin de siècle, which shaped the former Habsburg metropolis and continues to influence Austrian cuisine today.
The ORF cultural morning presented by Clarissa Stadler ends with “The Culture Week” (10.45 a.m.) with reports and tips on current cultural events.
“The Moldau – Smetana’s global success” (9:05 a.m.)
No work by Friedrich Smetana is more closely linked to his biography, none more politically charged, and hardly any composition is played more often around the world than “The Moldau”. They are sounds that tell of the Czech homeland and its landscape. The most famous tone poem from Smetana’s cycle “My Fatherland” is still the symbol of the Czech people’s national and cultural identity today. Even in the Mauthausen concentration camp near Linz in 1944, Czech prisoners played “The Moldau” as a symbol of their unbroken will to survive. Since 1946, the piece has been played annually on May 12, the anniversary of Smetana’s death, at the opening of the Prague Spring music festival. But where does the world-famous melody come from and how did Smetana transform it into a global success? What does it mean to the Czech population and why do they continue to draw hope and confidence from it?
An orchestra rehearsal with the Bamberg Symphony under the direction of their chief conductor Jakub Hrůša forms the central theme of Axel Fuhrmann’s film. In parallel montages, the American music researcher and Smetana expert Kelly St. Pierre not only explores the history of the work’s creation and impact, but also questions the Czechs’ concept of fatherland and their connection to Moldova.
“Buchteln, Ziegeln, Polka – Bohemian Vienna” (10 a.m.)
Around 1900, Vienna had a large Czech population. In addition to the workers in the brickworks in the south of the city, many women worked in the city palaces as wet nurses, maids or cooks. Numerous Bohemian recipes found their way into Viennese cuisine, such as Buchteln, Liwanzen, dumplings, and sweet sauces for roasting; also Czech beer as a nutritious drink. Then as now, people meet each other, especially when it has to be “Viennese”, in the “Aida”. Few people know that this traditional Viennese pastry shop has a Czech history associated with it. A few of the old Bohemian recipes are still there.
Even the Viennese sausage stand still offers a Bohemian classic: the Klobasse, a spicy sausage specialty. The recipe for the famous “Prague ham” is now in the fifth generation of a Viennese butcher shop. If you prefer grilled pork knuckles, you will find what you are looking for in Vienna with the well-known Mr. Kolarik. He made a name for himself with juicy, crunchy stilts served with Czech beer.
The Czech diaspora in the Danube metropolis has a long history, even after the immigration around 1900. Numerous Czech cultural associations, music ensembles and a Czech school are still established here today, whose culture is clearly still part of Vienna’s identity today, as is the case in the film by Anita Lackenberger shows.