Vienna Orchestra to play in Sarajevo

VIENNA - Agence France-Presse

The Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra will be in Sarajevo in 2014. AFP Photo

The Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra will perform a concert in Sarajevo next year to commemorate the start of the First World War, 100 years after the assassination that sparked the four-year conflict.

The concert on June 28, 2014 will be performed jointly with the choir of the Sarajevo National Theatre at the former city hall, Vijecnica, the orchestra said in a statement. This will be the first event to be held at the renovated building, built in the 1890s and severely damaged in 1992 during the conflict that tore the former Yugoslavia apart.

“The orchestra, the city of Sarajevo and their television partners want to not only commemorate the historic tragedy but also celebrate the birth of a new Europe and a new century,” the Philharmonic said in its statement. “The commemoration should be tied with hope for a peaceful future on a reunited continent.”

The concert will be shown live on wide screens in front of the Vijecnica and conducted by the Vienna Opera’s music director Franz Welser-Moest with works by French, Austrian and German composers on the program.