IN ALMA’S MUSIC SALON

So who would the young Alma Mahler have invited to a musical salon at the Vienna residence where she lived with her husband Gustav? Which composers would she have asked to perform their latest works in this intimate chamber setting? A little-known fact: Alma wrote music herself. But when she married Gustav, she had to give up her dreams of being a composer.  Mahler’ insisted on this. She studied composition with Zemlinksy, and was in close contact with Pfitzner, while Richard Strauss and his wife Pauline were frequent guests at the Mahler home. Sophie Heinrich and Paul Rivinius invite us into Alma’s salon. They play works by some of the “house guests”, and Heinrich is moderator for the evening.

Introductory talk
Alma Mahler had a number of roles – wife, mistress, muse – which defined her solely in terms of her relationship to the men in her life and to other important artists of her day. Her musical talents, and her own artistic output as a composer, have been far less explored. Sophie Heinrich, Concertmaster of the Wiener Symphoniker, was inspired by the music that Alma Mahler created and the roles she played in her life to create this programme IN ALMAS MUSIKSALON. Before the concert Sophie Heinrich will give an introductory talk. Here she will explain the programme selection and explore Alma Mahler’s situation as a female musician as well as the ongoing importance of the struggle for equal opportunities for women.
In the Atelier, 18:30