On March 1, Heinz Schaden, Mayor of Salzburg, opened the exhibition “Stefan Zweig – An Austrian from Europe” in the presence of Consul General Karin Proidl at Scripps College in Claremont, CA .

The exhibition has been organized by the Stefan Zweig Centre Salzburg under director Klemens Renoldner and is sponsored by the City of Salzburg as well as the Austrian Consulate General in Los Angeles.

It displays photographs, portraits, facsimiles of manuscripts and documents, including recently discovered material of novelist, playwright, journalist and biographer Stefan Zweig (1881 Vienna - 1942 Petrópolis).

Please read more about the Stefan Zweig Centre here and do include it in your next trip to Salzburg.

For further information about the Clark Humanities Museum, including location and opening hours, please click here.

To read the speech of Professor Hans Wagener (Emeritus Faculty at the Department of Germanic Languages at UCLA), given at the opening ceremony of the exhibition, please click here.

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The composition COLORS, written by Austrian composer Gernot Wolfgang, a member of Cool Change Composers Collective (CCCC), was commissioned by Harvard Westlake High School for its concert orchestra. It will premiere on April 12, at 7:00 pm at First Presbyterian Church in Santa Monica. The piece is a concerto grosso of sorts, juxtaposing a jazz trio led by vibraphonist Jake Chapman with a symphony orchestra. HEAR NOW, a festival co-organized by Gernot Wolfgang focusing on new music by contemporary Los Angeles composers, will hold its annual fundraiser on March 21, at 6pm at the Royal/T Cafe on 8910 Washington Blvd, Culver City, CA 90232. Please join the Lyris Quartet, LA Times critic Mark Swed and KCSN's Martin Perlich at this event for tapas and wine, followed by the Swed/Perlich interview, and closing with an 8pm concert by the Lyris Quartet, consisting of Sara Andon, Stuart Clark and Judith Farmer. Music by Stephen Hartke, Andrew Norman, Igor Stravinsky, Hugh Levick and Gernot Wolfgang. Furthermore, Gernot Wolfgang also just finished an arrangement for three tenor saxophones, bass and drums of his jazz composition "Rocket" for Austrian saxophonist Harry Sokal - a founding member of the Vienna Art Orchestra - and his new ensemble “Free Tenors”. The group will tour Europe this spring. Parma Recordings will release two albums on their Navona label this summer, which contain his chamber music pieces. More about Gernot Wolfgang and his future concert on www.gernotwolfgang.com.

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Set in Vienna in 1938 and London during the Blitzkrieg, "The Pianist of Willesden Lane" tells the story of Lisa Jura, a young Jewish pianist who is dreaming about her concert debut at Vienna's Musikverein concert hall. But with the issuing of new ordinances under the Nazi terror regime, everything for Lisa changes, except for her love of music and the pursuit of her dream. Featuring some of the world's most beloved piano music played live, "The Pianist of Willesden Lane" is the family story of performer Mona Golabek, chronicling hope, survival and how through our darkest times, music has the power to help us survive.

The performance on May 2 will be introduced by Consul General Karin Proidl. For readers of this newsletter, the Austrian Consulate General reserved a number of seats on this particular performance for a discounted price. To take advantage of this offer, buy your tickets via this link or by calling the Geffen Playhouse at 310.208.5454 providing the code AUSTRIA for the May 2 performance.

To read more about the Geffen Playhouse, directions and parking, please click here.

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The Getty Museum presents "Gustav Klimt: The Magic of Line" from July 3 – September 23. The exhibition marks the artist's 150th birthday and is the first North-American exhibtion to focus entirely on Klimt's drawings. It is also the biggest cooperation ever between the Getty Museum in Los Angeles and the Albertina in Vienna and co-curated by Lee Hendrix (Getty Museum) and Marian Bisanz-Prakken (Albertina). To read more about the exhibition, please click here. For information about the ongoing Klimt drawings exhibition at the Albertina, please click here. "Gustav Klimt: The Magic of Line" is one of two forthcoming exhibitions at the Getty Museum on Austrian art. "Messerschmidt and Modernity", an exhibition of the so called "Character Heads" produced by Franz Xaver Messerschmidt (1736 – 1783), a renowned sculptor at the Habsburg court in Vienna, will take place from July 24 - October 14.

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For the second year in a row, the Austrian Trade Commission in Los Angeles presented the „US-Biz Award“, the Economy-Oscar for Austrian companies particularly successful in the US. The "US-Biz Award 2012" was awarded for the following categories: Start Up, Market Entry, Trendsetter, Innovation, Investment and Spectacular Achievements.

“Austrian companies distinguish themselves in the US through their innovation and entrepreneurship. Often they are market-leaders in technology niche-markets”, says Rudolf Thaler, Austrian Trade Commissioner in Los Angeles. The United States are the biggest overseas-market for Austria, the third-biggest importer of Austrian products worldwide and an attractive investment location.

The awards for Austrian success-stories in the USA are meant to encourage pioneering companies to enter the US-Market with its 307 million consumers.

Please read more about the nominees and the winners in the main article.

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Austrian Chef/Owner Bernhard Mairinger opened his BierBeisl on February 27 in Beverly Hills. Bernhard was most recently the Chef de Cuisine for Patina. A Beisl is the homey Austrian version of the Italian Trattoria and the German Kneipe. Special features of Bernhard's restaurant include a sausage and beer tasting menu, a Stammtisch, which serves as a communal table for regulars and a Sunday “family and friends night out” four course menu (by reservation only) where guests have the opportunity to try Austrian delicacies and enjoy great conversation. “I'm excited about having this wonderful opportunity to share my passion for Austrian cuisine and traditions with Angelenos,” says Bernhard Mairinger. “My hope is that BierBeisl becomes a place where old and new friends gather regularly to catch up and of course enjoy terrific food and drink.” To readers of this newsletter, Bernhard offers a 10% discount on their first visit at his BierBeisl! BierBeisl: 9669 Santa Monica Boulevard (btw Bedford + Roxbury), Beverly Hills. Hours: Monday - Friday 12 noon to 12 midnight Saturday from 12 noon to 2am Sunday by reservation only. Valet Parking: available at dinner Telephone: 310.271.7274 Website: www.bierbeisl-la.com Picture: Bernhard Mairinger, Austrian Trade Commissioner Rudolf Thaler and Austrian Consul General Karin Proidl

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The Austrian province of Upper Austria administers a website dedicated to Upper Austrians abroad. If you are from Upper Austria yourself or are interested in Upper Austria in general, please go to www.ooe-international.at (German only).

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