1969

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“The purpose of steirischer herbst is to account for our own cultural achievements and to juxtapose them in rivalry with the cultural accomplishments of other nations. The international component stems from the particular attention given to the populations at our southern and southeastern borders. The aim is to lead neighbors toward a new and deeper understanding in art and scholarship. This understanding should also appeal to the north and west of Europe.”
—Program booklet ’69

steirischer herbst ’69 opened with the trinational exhibition trigon 69, under the direction of Wilfried Skreiner, at the Künstlerhaus Graz. A call for ideas had been organized on “Architecture and Freedom,” a topic that, according to Skreiner, was “intentionally general.”1 Seven of the ten promotional prizes of 50,000 schilling each were awarded, and twenty other artists were invited to participate in the exhibition. At the thematic exhibition of the trigon biennial, held concurrently, there was also a retrospective solo show, called Personale, which this year featured the sculptures of Heinz Leinfellner. In subsequent years, the trigon Personale would alternate with the biennial.

The 1969 edition of musikprotokoll continued the approach of “calling attention” to the pre-avant-garde that had taken place the previous year, with an introduction to Neue Musik. Three names were integral to the program: Josef Matthias Hauer, Krzysztof Penderecki, and György Ligeti. The presentations of Mauricio Kagel’s Phonophonie with William Pearson and John Cage’s Variations III should also be highlighted. The concert program included works by Schubert and Haydn, a gala evening with the soprano Teresa Stratas, whose presentation included arias by Verdi, Puccini, and Tchaikovsky, and an Ernst Krenek Festival with the fifth performance of the opera Karl V. (Charles V) and a symposium.

The theater highlights included the premiere of Ödön von Horváth’s Zur schönen Aussicht (The Belle Vue), directed by Gerald Szyszkowitz, and the first Austrian premiere of Elias Canetti’s Hochzeit (The Wedding), directed by Jan Biczycki. The literature program was separated from the Steirische Akademie (Styrian Academy) for the first time in 1969 and became a separate event with the Literature Symposium titled Profile und Perspektive: Literatur heute und morgen (Profile and Perspective: The Literature of Today and Tomorrow).

Program