Austrian embassy organises concert

Islamabad: The embassy of Austria organised a concert by the famed Austrian duo, Elisabeth Lohninger and Walter Fischbacher in collaboration with the Marriott Hotel. The event was attended by a select number of music aficionados from the diplomatic corps and Islamabad’s civil society.

After a delay of about twenty minutes to allow invitees who may have been delayed by the heavy rain, General Manager, Roy Kappenberger came on stage and welcomed the guests; apologized for the delay and said he was happy to have collaborated with the embassy for the Austrian cultural evening. “After the concert you can try the delicious Austrian cuisine prepared by our chef who is also from Austria,” he said. “Enjoy the evening.”

Ambassador of Austria, Dr Brigitta Blaha welcomed the guests and said she was ‘very excited’ about introducing the Austrian jazz musicians who are based in New York and performed at the EU Day celebrations in Islamabad. “The best part is that they wanted to come here and asked me to invite them, so here they are,” she said. “It gives me pleasure to share our passion for good music and delicious food with our friends,” she said and concluded by thanking the Marriott management and staff for their cooperation as well as her embassy staff for their help in organising the show.

The concert began with a smile and a cheery hello from Elisabeth - who has a powerful, ‘throaty’ voice - who sang her first number titled, ‘It’s a little bit tricky but not so hard!’ This was followed by about a dozen numbers among them one on marriage ‘and why we are still together titled ‘Because;’ “Rooster’ about the mysterious end of a rooster who kept crowing all day; an Austrian Folk Song; ‘Change;’ ‘The most qualified’ and so on. It was a mixed bag of compositions - a few of them her own. Some were melancholy; others joyful and still others humorous -and altogether it was a treat for those who were there. She also made the audience sing along a couple of times and most of the audience obliged.

Later dinner was served and the culinary delights on offer were another treat. Not only was the variety diverse but plentiful - guests recommended specialties to each other and a little bit of this or that added up to a substantial amount of delicious food. The deserts were also mouth watering and had to be tasted despite diets, so altogether it was a very satisfying and enjoyable affair.

While interacting with the guests Elisabeth explained that their music had been shaped according to the musical experiences they have had in their life and it is mostly experimental jazz with a tinge of ‘country exuberance.’

The duo has been making music together for over twenty years. A plethora of projects and albums lie between their first duo album and their latest release. In between the two of them explored diverse musical avenues, wrote music for other projects, came into their own as artists. Now they step out again as a duo and a suitcase filled with a wide variety of musical influences and revelations. This is the backdrop for an atmospheric, intimate and colourful arc that tells the story of two people who went out into the world to find themselves and each other. Poetry, passion and groove!