"Die Presse" - Samstag, 9th August 2008
About Town
Beethoven Enthusiasts from Japan visit Vienna
With
the Olympic Games and China in the news every day, one tends to forget
that there is also news from other countries. Take Japan, a country not
so far from China. There is news about a celebration having to do with
Austria. Next year the two countries will celebrate 140 years of
diplomatic relations. And both have big events in mind. For this
reason, a small delegation of culture-minded Japanese came to Vienna.
Headed by Prof. Masakuni Tako,
President of the Okinawa Beethoven Society, they had talks with
representatives of the local Beethoven Center. Together with Japan's
ambassador Akio Tanaka and Mr. Tako, Susanne Rittenauer,
chairwoman of the Beethoven Center Vienna, set out plans to organize a
concert featuring Japanese and Austrian musicians. During their visit,
the guests were shown several places of memory with relation to
Beethoven such as the "Greiner House", one of Beethoven's residences in
Vienna's 19th district. And finally there was a hint of home: visiting
the Japanese Gardens at Hohe Warte.