Austria is everywhere in US culture. Classical composers like Haydn, Schubert, Strauss, Beethoven and Mozart are staples. Artists like Gustav Klimt, Carl Moll and Otto Wagner decorate our walls from the best museums to college dorm rooms. Thinkers like Joseph Schumpeter, Ludwig von Mises and Friedrich Hayek are the giants we stand on in formulating economic theory. Viennese-born Peter Drucker is the premier management guru of the 20th century. We’re introduced to Freud long before we have our first slip of the tongue or puff of a cigar. Austria introduced us to Alpine skiing, bodybuilding governors, apfelstudel, wiener schnitzel and Sacher-Torte.
From Wed. Oct 5 through Wed. Oct 19, Austria is popping up in Nolita at Openhouse Gallery. The Austria Pop-Up Store will be open Sunday through Thursday from 12 pm-9 pm and Friday through Saturday from 12 pm-10 pm and feature food, art, film, fashion and more. Guests will be able to experience true Viennese coffeehouse culture as the Austria Tourist Office recreates the Sacher Cafe complete with marble tables, Sacher cups and traditional Sacher wallpaper. Come and enjoy Sacher-Torte, the sinfully delicious chocolate cake and apfelstrudel. You’ll feel like you just crossed the Atlantic. Meet fellow travelers, Austria aficionados, come do some work and meet with business clients and friends. Part of the proceeds will be donated to City Harvest.
Visit the Austria Deli to sample delicious pumpkin seed oil, artisanal vinegars by Gölles, Austrian cheeses by Rupp, handcrafted Zotter cookies, Manner wafers or original Austrian Christmas cookies by the Vienna Cookie Company.
Recreate Gustav Klimt’s The Kiss at the Austria Pop-Up Store. A photographer will capture the moment and send you your picture.
The Austria Pop-Up Store will be draping Openhouse Gallery with beautiful art, too. Gustav Klimt’s most famous painting, The Kiss, will serve as the backdrop for an interactive reenactment. Steal a smooch of your own and Austria will snap a pic and send it to you to share.
They’ve coordinated with the Kunsthistorisches Museum Wien to showcase masterpieces in a preview of the museum’s reopening of its Kunstkammer or Chamber of Arts and Wonders in December 2012. Swarovski Crystal Worlds is putting on a display, as are WIEN PRODUCTS with items from Lobmeyr, Augarten porcelain, Wiener Silber Manufactur silver and WOKA lamps.
Discover the traditional charm of the baroque city of Salzburg through traditional clothing like dirndl and lederhosen. At the Austria Pop-Up Store, have a look at the intricate patterns on loan from one of Salzburg’s oldest leather and clothing store. Jahn-Markl has been in business since 1408 and boasts a client list from Louis Vuitton to Mick Jagger.
The pop up also features an Austrian Travel Lounge where you’ll get personal guidance, get to browse travel and photo books and easily plan a trip to Austria. Throughout the two weeks, the Austria Pop-Up Store will be home to concerts, food and wine gatherings and film screenings. Check out the events calendar below. With the exception of A Taste of Austria, all events are free. Be sure to register for all events — seats fill up fast!
The Talea Ensemble will perform Oct. 8 at Openhouse Gallery during the Austria Pop-Up Store.
October 8th, 8-9 pm:
The Talea Ensemble will present highlights of Austrian classic and contemporary music ranging from Franz Schubert to Olga Neuwirth. One of the up-and coming new ensembles in New York City, the Talea ensemble has recently performed works by Olga Neuwirth to high critical acclaim at the Bohemian National Hall in New York. Read more
October 9th, 4-5 pm: Sound of Music event
Join Sam von Trapp, grandson of Maria and Georg von Trapp; Bert Fink, SVP/Communications for Rodgers & Hammerstein: An Imagem Company; and Michael Gigl, Region Manager USA & Australia for the Austrian Tourist Office, for a discussion on the real story versus the musical tale, the musical’s global popularity, and its place in 21st century popular culture. Read more
October 10th, 1-7pm: Sissi Marathon
On Monday, October 10th we invite you to indulge in a marathon viewing of the movie trilogy “Sissi,” “Sissi: The Young Empress” and “Sissi: The Fateful Years of an Empress”. Made between 1955 and 1957 by the German director Ernst Marischka, the movies about the romance and early marriage of Emperor Franz Joseph and Elizabeth of Bavaria (played by Romy Schneider), continue to be a huge favorite with audiences today and enjoy cult status in Austria and beyond. Read more
October 11th, 7-7.45pm: Friends of Mozart
Join us for a performance of the Claring Chamber Players, who will feature the Mozart Quartet for Oboe and Strings and music for varied instrumental ensemble by Michael Haydn, Franz Schubert as well as Mozart. The Claring Chamber Players, the resident ensemble of Friends of Mozart, encompasses musicians from New York’s most prestigious orchestras and chamber groups and performs music from the Baroque era to the present day. Read more
October 12th, 6:30 pm, and October 15th, 3pm: Visions of Austria
Taking a cue from the relaxed pace of the cafés that are a hallmark of the Viennese lifestyle, Visions of Austria produced by WLIW 21 – offers a serene tour of the country that invites you to linger, perhaps with a cup of coffee in hand for the total experience of a virtual vacation. Stunning high definition footage shot in winter and spring captures the idyllic essence of Austria: you can almost smell the waft of strudel as the helicopter-mounted camera glides over picturesque streets and spacious squares. Read more
October 15, 8pm: Peter Wortsman Reads Altenberg
A reading of Altenberg’s selected prose by writer and translator Peter Wortsman. The prototypical Bohemian Coffeehouse poet who designed his own clothes and lived like an urban nomad, Peter Altenberg was a favorite of Thomas Mann, Arthur Schnitzler and Karl Kraus. He was a virtuoso Fin-de-Siecle Viennese innovator of what he called the “telegram style” of writing. Read more
October 16, 8-10 Dorit Chrysler whom the village voice dubbed the “Theremin Queen.” Born in Graz, Austria Dorit has shared the stage with great musicians such as Marylin Manson, Lee Hazelwood and many more… Read more
October 19, 7-10 pm: A Taste of Austria
Join us for a culinary journey to Austria, sampling the creations of New York’s celebrated Austrian chefs Kurt Gutenbrunner (Wallsé, Blaue Gans), Wolfgang Ban (Seasonal) and Edi Frauneder (Edi & The Wolf), and Erwin Schrottner (Café Katja). Sample a selection of excellent Austrian wines including Austria’s signature grape, Gruener Veltliner, and learn more about traditional varietals and the best pairing options.
Autumn in Austria’s legendary wine country is a closely guarded secret among veteran travelers. Thinner crowds, the rush of harvest, a bevy of world-class cultural events combine to create an unforgettable trip. At “A Taste of Austria”, we will bring the wine country to you:
Sample unique varietals such as the Grüner Veltliner, Austria’s flagship variety grown on broad riverbanks along the Danube. Be surprised by the sophistication of Vienna’s unique varietal called Gemischter Satz, a traditional white field blend. Or discover the wines of Burgenland, which is Austria’s red wine capital. Among the wines featured will be one of Austria’s best kept secret, the Sauvignon Blanc from Styria, a beautiful white wine that entices with scents of just-ripe red currant, white pepper and lime. Order your spot at the table.
Join Austria’s Facebook event page and on Twitter for up-to-the-minute information.
Join Openhouse Gallery on Facebook and Twitter for event pictures and special deals.
Greg Spielberg | September 28 2011
greg@openhousegallery.org