Concert: Conductor Liesinger is a master of sound worlds

Conductor Clara Bauer-Wagsteiner, who hails from Mauer, is artistic director of the Alma Mahler Orchestra. The orchestra can be experienced on November 19 at Berchtoldsdorf Parish Church. Exquisite pieces can be rediscovered in the “Out of World” cosmic concert programme.

Vienna/Lessing. Clara Bauer-Wagsteiner doesn’t often use the term “classical music” – although the conductor, who comes from Mauer, certainly knows something about the subject. But she does not want her work to be limited to what belongs to this “style” and what does not. The concerts of the Alma Mahler Philharmonic Orchestra, which she founded, are therefore more than just classical concerts. They must constantly introduce new worlds of sound and make exciting tracks from the past a new experience. Residents of Liesinger can also take part in this musical adventure at the concert with the program “Out Of The World” at the Perchtoldsdorf Parish Church on Sunday, November 19.

Wagsteiner prefers to say “orchestral music” rather than “classical music.” The current gig includes a large cast. The concert lineup ranges from over 30 players to intimate chamber music. This time Alea’s choir is also present. More than 50 young musicians will perform at the church.

Lots to discover

Wagsteiner grew up in Mauer. Music is no stranger to the family, as her mother also taught at a music school. “I started making music at an early age, and I knew about ten years ago that I wanted to lead a band,” says the 30-year-old, who graduated from the University of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna. She conducted the orchestra for about a year and a half. She plays the flute and piano and sings in the choir.

She invented the name of the orchestra “Alma Mahler” because she likes to perform pieces by women, but also by composers whose great works are less played for some reason. The time of composer Alma Mahler, in the 1920s and 1930s, also held some treasures. “There’s still so much to discover!”

The universe is magic

The concert program is inspired by a fascination with the universe, distant galaxies and questions about being human. The centerpiece is Fanny Hensel’s hymn “My Soul Is Silent.” Hensel, née Mendelssohn, was the sister of the composer Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdi. For the conductor, the Praise Song is a jewel of orchestral choral literature and a “wild work.”

Discovering the evening of works by Imogen Holst, daughter of composer Gustav Holst, the choir and orchestra will perform Holst’s music in Berchtoldsdorf for the first time in Austria. The choir rehearsals are led by Matthias Schoberwalter, whom the conductor actually met while singing children’s musicals together in the Wotruba Church. There is also an exciting outlook at the end: on January 28, “artificial snow” will be trialled in Berchtoldsdorf.

prom “Out of the world”: Sunday 19 November, from 3pm to 5:30pm, Berchtoldsdorf Parish Church, Marktplatz 14. Tickets (€39): www.viennaticketoffice.com

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