Galloping Gypsy
  • Home
  • Contact
  • Blog
  • About
  • Music
    • Repertoire
  • Events
  • Links
  • Gallery
  • Blog 2

Sarajevo: 100 Years Later

28/6/2014

0 Comments

 
Picture
It's been a busy, long-awaited day for me--and nothing has turned out as expected. Partly because preparations for the centennial have not been well coordinated--perhaps because, while everyone considers the centennial worth commemorating, there are so many different takes on it--should we blame the assassin for WWI, or the Austrians, the Germans? Peace groups have arranged some events, the city of Sarajevo others, the East-West forum here in Sarajevo others. Karl von Habsburg, the heir apparent to the Austro-Hungarian dynasty, spoke briefly last night from the bridge closest to the spot of the assassination--and that (as best I've been able to determine) amidst various sound checks for tonight's musical performances at the Latin Bridge. In the picture at left, a member of a peace organization places a wreath at the spot from which Gavrilo Princip fired the fatal shots.
    A hundred or so visitors gathered at the site of the assassination around 10 AM, the approximate time of the assassination, to...? No ceremony, but there was a car identical to the one used by Francis Ferdinand and his wife on their visit. The actual vehicle is in the Historical Museum in Vienna. A number of bystanders complained that that one should have been on display; other commented that Vienna no longer has much love for the Habsburgs and that the arrangements would have been difficult and expensive--so it goes for controversial history. So, as if expecting ceremonies that were never in the plans, people stood around and improvised, taking selfies in front of the car and commenting on the lack of organization. A young couple appeared as the archduke and his wife (below) while a man in a modern Austrian uniform stood on the riding board as if protecting them with his body (somewhat true to history).

Picture
The real highlight of the day was the performance of the Vienna Philharmonic at the Town Hall, which is now re-opened after destruction during the Balkan Wars in 1995. The VIP-only event was broadcast live to a spot just across the river. Here is a clip from their final performance of the evening, "Ode to Joy" from Beethoven's Ninth Symphony. With its theme of universal brotherhood, it was fitting music for a day of reconciliation.

Ode to Joy - Vienna Philharmonic - Sarajevo - 28 June 2014 from Mark Nuckols on Vimeo.

0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Archives

    December 2022
    December 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    January 2018
    November 2017
    August 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014

    Musical & Literary Wanderings of a Galloping Gypsy

    Mark Eliot Nuckols is a travel writer from Silver Beach Virginia who is also a musician and teacher.

    Categories

    All
    Austria
    Birthday
    Central Europe
    Czechoslovakia
    Czech Republic
    Folk Music
    Francis Ferdinand
    Grand Budapest Hotel
    Hungary
    Martin
    Mozart
    Music
    Pécs
    Prague
    Requiem
    Sarajevo
    Slovakia
    St. Cecilia
    Stefan Zweig
    The World Of Yesterday
    Vienna
    World War I

    RSS Feed

Proudly powered by Weebly