Austria 2017 (Music)

Living in Eisenstadt for 2 weeks, the students will be easily immersed in the musical culture of that important city. Furthermore, the interaction they will have with the other 28 "elite" college pianists will be significant.

In its 42nd year, this well established orchestral/choral program has recently added a seminar for collegiate pianists. Admissions to the program is competitive. Pianists submit live solo performance DVDs as auditions, and Only 30 Students are selected. Wenqian Hu, Jon Treadway, and Jonathan Coleman are among those who won places in the seminar this year.

An exciting feature of this festival is its location in Eisenstadt, the city where Joseph Haydn served the Hungarian nobility for over 30 years. All events occur at the Haydn Conservatory where pianists will practice and perform. They will also perform in the Esterhazy Palace, One of the great historic and acoustically perfect concert halls in Europe.

The Festival itinerary includes daily practice time for students in the conservatory, attendance at lectures on teaching and performing music of classical composers, participation in master classes given by distinguished artist teachers, and attendance at evening concerts presented by artist faculty and by the festival chorus and orchestra. There are also two day-trips to Vienna that will include performances at the Mozart Haus and at St.Stephen's Cathedral, and tours of the Bosendorfer Piano factory and of the famous Vienna opera house. Another day is designated trip to Hungary to Franz Liszt's home, the Liszt Museum, Esterhazy's Summer Palace.