Austria Dedicates A Special Musical Piece To UAE’s 50th Birthday

Austria celebrates its National Day on October 26 every year with a number of events and activities in Austria and at different locations around the world. This year, the Austrian National Tourist Office in UAE together with Austria’s Expo 2020 pavilion, have invited the famous Schoenbrunn Palace Orchestra to Dubai to perform live concerts at the Pointe on Palm Jumeirah and at the Dubai Millennium Amphitheatre inside Expo 2020 Dubai.

During the visit, the Schoenbrunn Palace Orchestra played a number of traditional Austrian classical musical pieces under the theme “The Sound of Austria” between the 21^st and the 23^rd of October, one of them was the famous “Blue Danube Waltz” which was accompanied by the dancing fountain and a light show inspired by the colours of the Austrian flag, Red and White, creating a spectacular scene. The shows were attended by a high level delegation from the UAE and Austria, among them His Excellency Saqr Ghobash, Speaker of the Federal National Council (FNC), and His Excellency Wolfgang Sobotka, the President of the Austrian National Council. The most special piece of the evenings was a newly composed musical piece named “On the Dunes of Arabia” which was dedicated to the UAE on the occasion of its 50th anniversary. This special Waltz is highly influenced by Arabic music with quotes from the famous song “Layali il-Uns” and many old Viennese melodies in reference to the great relations between UAE and Austria. This musical piece was played for the first time on October 23 at the Pointe. Peter Hosek, Managing Director of Schoenbrunn Palace Orchestra said: “Since the foundation of our Orchestra, we were always pointing at spots on the world map where we want to perform and bring our Viennese Music to. Dubai was on this list as we get inspired by the music tradition of the Arab World. We are bringing greetings from Vienna to Dubai by performing new music in the Viennese Style to the UAE”. Peter added, “The international language of music connects our cultures for a peaceful together”.

Commenting on this occasion, Helmut Doeller, Deputy Commissioner General of the Austrian pavilion at Expo 2020 elaborated, “Our motto at Expo 2020 Dubai is “Austria Makes Sense” as we aim at presenting experiences that allow our pavilion visitors to feel Austria with all their senses. The Schoenbrunn Palace Orchestra shows reflect the rich offerings at our pavilion where guests are invited to get a closer look at the diversity of Austria and to learn about its leading role in innovation, creativity and sustainability. Attendees to the musical events were able to enjoy the beautiful melodies, and when they visit our pavilion they will have the chance to create their own music inside the Hearing cone where sound changes with every movement they make”. Helmut added, “We will celebrate Austria’s National Day at Expo 2020 Dubai on the 19^th of November 2021 as part of the Expo’s Nations’ Day programme for each participating country. We are looking forward for this date as we are planning many events in the Austrian Pavilion in addition to cultural activities on the entire Expo site. The celebrations will be attended by the Austrian Federal President Alexander Van der Bellen, Austrian Minister of Digital and Economic Affairs Margarete Schramböck, President of the Austrian Economic Chamber Harald Mahrer, and Austrian Pavilion Commissioner General Beatrix Karl, besides a business delegation from Austria”.

Austria is one of the leading tourist destinations for the residents of the United Arab Emirates as it is well known for its myriad offerings when it comes to nature, culture, history and unique shopping opportunities. Robert Groeblacher, Director of the Austrian National Tourist Office in the Middle East said, “Austria is known for its rich cultural and musical heritage. Together with our partners, Expo Austria and the Nakheel Fountains, we wanted to bring a unique piece of Austria to Dubai with this very special performance in which the orchestra introduced a selection of classical music highlights to the audience. The Austrian themed fountain show that accompanied “The Blue Danube Waltz“ performance will be played further in the repertoire of the Nakheel Fountains which will give the fans of classical music and Austria the chance to watch it later on. This of course will give them a glimpse of the experience awaiting them when visiting Austria where they can enjoy classical music in all its variations in addition to many other sides of the holiday destination”.

Robert added, “The UAE is a very important market for the Austrian tourism industry with perfect flight connections between the two countries. Thanks to the excellent pandemic management on both sides, Austria started welcoming tourists from the UAE again since the 1^st of July 2021. In the UAE, Austria is known mainly as a summer destination, but the winter season has a lot to offer too. No matter if the travellers prefer an active holiday with skiing, discovering a winter wonderland, visiting the winter markets in December or enjoying the culinary and culture of the country they will definitely find what they are looking for in Austria’s winter”.

You can watch and download the Schoenbrunn Palace Orchestra show at the Pointe by clicking here.