The Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra is to mark the 100 year anniversary of the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir apparent to the throne of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
The Archduke was assassinated on 28th June 1914 by Bosnian-Serb nationalists.
In mainstream histories of the First World War, Franz Ferdinand’s assassination was a central cause of the conflict.
The Vienna Philharmonic Austria will play at Sarajevo Vijecnica (city hall) on 28th June 2014.
The orchestra is to be conducted by Franz Welser-Möst. The Opera Choir of the National Theatre of Sarajevo will also participate in the concert, according to a press release by the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra.
The “memorial concert” is the result of a collaboration between the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, the city of Sarajevo, and three public television broadcasters: BHRT (Bosnia and Herzegovina), France Télévisions (France), ZDF (Germany), which will broadcast the event.
The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) will also be transmitting live and delayed radio and television coverage of the concert to a worldwide audience.
Vienna’s Philharmonic Orchestra stated that the concert aims “to remember not only the historic tragedy, but the birth of a new Europe and a new century to celebrate”.
The concert programme will include works by Austrian, German and French composers as the event aims to serve as a “reminder of the hope for a peaceful future in a reunited continent”.
Images courtesy of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra website.
Posted by: Daniel Barry, Centenary News