Wednesday, 11 Sep 18:30,
Museum Dorotheergassedoroth
Dream location Lake Traunsee: Impressive mountains and crystal-clear water form a breathtaking backdrop for the annual summer retreat. In the 19th century, aristocrats and commoners, artists and industrialists, actresses and operetta composers, dukes and even the King of Hanover romp around the lake. Famous Ringstrasse architects plan stately villas in Gmunden, Altmünster, Traunkirchen and Ebensee as befitting summer quarters: for Mathilde Wesendonck, Richard Wagner’s muse; for the Miller-Aichholz family, whose frequent guest is Johannes Brahms; for the jeweler dynasty Köchert.
The year 1938 also means a tremendous turning point here: The Wittgenstein-Stonborough family spent many summers in their magnificent villa, which Magda Goebbels now has her eyes on. Erich Wolfgang Korngold can only enjoy his beloved Höselberg estate for a few years – he finds a safe haven in Hollywood. The Berlin banker family Mendelssohn is exposed to persecution, like many other families around Lake Traunsee. In 1922, Arnold Schönberg had found refuge here: He had been expelled from Mattsee, which had already wanted to be “free of Jews” that year. A story with many facets opens up at Lake Traunsee.
Marie-Theres Arnbom traces the vestiges of these personalities, as well as many whose names are forgotten, with her special sense for human destinies and impressively resurrects the splendor of past summer days on Lake Traunsee.
Marie-Theres Arnbom, Dr. phil., born 1968 in Vienna, is a historian, author, curator and cultural manager. She publishes books and articles on contemporary and cultural-historical topics, which she also stages as a curator for museums, and writes playbills and articles for major concert promoters. She founded the St. Gilgen Children’s Music Festival as an integral part of the Music Summer in Salzkammergut and – together with Christoph Wagner-Trenkwitz – the Research Institute for Operetta and Entertainment Theater. Among other things, she works on the history of Jewish intellectuals and tries to revive their world of ideas. Marie-Theres Arnbom lives with her husband, the genealogist Georg Gaugusch, in Vienna.
Advanced booking requested: Tel.: +43 1 535 04 31-1510 or e-mail: events@jmw.at
Free admission as of 6:15 p.m.
Photo (c) Amalthea
