Dreh-Moment / The Moment Everything Goes into a Spin
This year, St. Mary’s Cathedral and the adjacent Domplatz, the Cathedral Square, will once again become the vibrant epicenter of the Ars Electronica Festival’s Opening. Waltzes, toccatas, and partitas—performed by outstanding ensembles like the Bruckner Orchestra Linz, the vocal group Company of Music, and organist Wolfgang Kreuzhuber—will fill Austria’s largest church with movement and sound.
The layered meanings of “Dreh-Moment” [roational force]—of force and moment, cause and effect, motivation and change—set the tone for this year’s festival that is centered around the theme of PANIC – yes/no. They evoke two historical moments: the birth of Austria’s cultural icon Johann Strauss II, known as “The Waltz King,” 200 years ago, and Austria’s accession to the European Union 30 years ago.
“Happy is the one who forgets what cannot be changed,” reads a line from Johann Strauss’s operetta Die Fledermaus—a composer whose musical legacy we honor this year. The world won’t stand still much longer—but then, it never has. Happy is the one who remembers to keep moving. In the words of Augustine of Hippo: “I praise the dance, for it frees people from the heaviness of matter and binds the isolated to community.” The Ars Electronica Opening 2025 invites us into a space of movement and sound—a celebration of the power of dance to momentarily dissolve the self and rekindle our shared capacity to shape the future.
One of the highlights of the opening evening is a performance of excerpts from the Walzersymphonie project, developed by the Ars Electronica Futurelab in collaboration with four international music universities and commissioned for Vienna’s Johann Strauss Year 2025. Students were invited to submit artistic concepts that engage both critically and creatively with the musical legacy of Johann Strauss II and explore the role of Artificial Intelligence in musical composition.
The Bruckner Orchestra, conducted by Ingmar Beck, will perform this innovative new musical piece, as well as the overture to Die Fledermaus and the rarely heard Traumbild I by Johann Strauss. The vocal ensemble Company of Music, under the direction of Johannes Hiemetsberger, will present Partita for 8 Voices by American composer Caroline Shaw—a contemporary piece rooted in the tradition of Baroque dance movements inspired by Johann Sebastian Bach. Also featured in the program is Bach’s iconic Toccata in D minor, performed on the grand cathedral organ.
Navid Navab (IR/CA) explores an experimental approach to organ sounds with his performance Organism: In Turbulence, that won the Golden Nica at the 2025 Prix Ars Electronica. Based in Montreal, they challenge conventional ideas of classical church music. The installation will be on display at St. Mary’s Cathedral throughout the festival, with additional performative interventions to look forward to. Meanwhile, the percussion ensemble MOTUS Percussion offers a preview of this year’s Linzer Klangwolke, URBAN PULSE.
Beforehand, deaf musicians from the inclusive children’s and youth choir White Hands Chorus NIPPON, together with singers led by Johannes Hiemetsberger, will perform the European Anthem at the Cathedral Square. Everyone is warmly invited to sing and sign along. In honor of the 30th anniversary of Austria’s EU accession, this performance celebrates international cultural connections and lived inclusion as a shared experience.
Alles Walzer!
Co-Curator Norbert Trawöger (AT), Artistic Director of the Brucknerhaus/LIVA
PROGRAM
Domplatz (starting 7:30 PM)
Luca Malina (AT)
White Hands Chorus NIPPON (JP): Visible: “An die Freude”
European Anthem in Sign Language, hosted by Norbert Trawöger (AT), performed by soprano Erika Colon (JP/VE), featuring the Sign Language Choir of the Parish Community Urfahr-St. Josef (AT), accompanied by Company of Music (AT) under the direction of Johannes Hiemetsberger (AT)
St. Mary’s Cathedral (starting 9:00 PM):
Teaser Concert: Linzer Klangwolke 25 URBAN PULSE with the Ensemble MOTUS Percussion (Nico Gerstmayer (AT), Lorenzo Manquillet (FR), Jaroslav Letiagin (NO))
Johann Strauss II (AT): Overture from Die Fledermaus, Traumbild I, Bruckner Orchester Linz (AT)
Ars Electronica Futurelab (AT), Ali Nikrang (AT): Walzersymphonie, with Bruckner Orchester Linz under the direction of Ingmar Beck (DE)
Caroline Shaw (US): Partita for 8 Voices, performed by Company of Music (AT) under the direction of Johannes Hiemetsberger (AT)
Johann Sebastian Bach (DE): Toccata in d-Moll, interpretation and improvisation by Wolfgang Kreuzhuber (AT)
Lynn Mayya (SY): Sound Bridges
Navid Navab (IR/CA): Organism: In Turbulence
