Grossschönau – Reading with Fritz Karl: Literature and music with humor and charm

On Friday, February 2nd, Fritz Karl's reading at the sold-out Cultural Workshop may be rescheduled The December date of “All About Christmas” had to be postponed due to extreme weather conditions. Josef Gratzel from “GroßARTig Großschönau” thanked the guests for their patience and emphasized: “Fritz Karl is here today, even if he was shot a few days ago in the ‘Landkrimi’ on the ORF.”

Titled “Zorro, Avenger of the Sausage Men,” the popular performer took audiences on a trip to Vienna for a café book about Alfred Polgar, Friedrich Torberg, Peter Hammerschlag, and Anton Koh, but also brought pieces by HC Artmann and Daniel Glatauer. The selected texts tell stories, among other things, of lunchtime acquaintances on a park bench, of secret signs for free train rides, of experiences in pawn shops, and of “Auntie Julich” that Kaiserschmarn orders plum toast and never compote. .

Literary objects from Koh to Artman. The language and choice of words in the performances are humorous, very direct, ironic, sometimes almost trivial and heartfelt, with a certain lightness, but always making you smile. Examples include two merchant ships tattooed on their backs in the “Maritime Archive” by Anton Koh and the poem “Herzbrüderlein Bobo” by Peter Hammerschlag.

The title of the program is inspired by a story from the film “In the Shadow of the Burenwurst” by HC Artmann, in which the sausage man gets “angry” at an unpleasant customer and stamps a “Z” on his jacket with mustard, who in turn drives his companion away. To say the same thing: “How could you be so stupid and mess with Zorro?” Fritz Karl knew how not only to read these stories, but also to breathe “life” into the people described using gestures, facial expressions and voice, so that the viewer sometimes felt as if they were directly present in the individual episodes.

Schrammel's music sets the right mood. Upper Austria designed the musical framework. Concert-Schrammeln, which created the right atmosphere for literary ballads with typical Viennese Schrammeln music.

After enthusiastic applause, Fritz Karl performed Anton Koh's “Der Kapellmeister” as a comeback, in which the actor demonstrated his acting talent, playing the role of Kapellmeister perfectly” and concluded with the words: “Tristan's three acts are brilliantly finished.” A very entertaining evening of literature Music with an enchanting look at the spirit of Vienna and Austria.