It’s Spendentag!

The cover of the current KLASSIK magazine from radio klassik Stephansdom; download it here.

radio klassik Stephansdom‘s monthly Spendentag will take place tomorrow, September 18, and this month’s theme is Land der Töne, or the “Land of Sounds,” with a day of special programming to accompany the fundraising. I once again suggest that you take out your wallets and send a few euros Vienna-bound. Here are a few details about the day (DeepL gets credit for the translation):

The focus is on the world of Austrian classical music —created by countless geniuses who worked in Austria and performed by the orchestras and soloists that we bring to your ears every day.

On the day of the fundraiser, there will be interviews in the morning with art historian Sabine Haag [former director of the Kunsthistorisches Museum] and young soprano Amelie Hois. Lawyer and former politician Irmgard Griss [former President of the Austrian Supreme Court] will be asking questions about Austria, the land of music … and in the afternoon the Carinthian Singing Community will be visiting the studio live in Vienna! There will be spoken contributions and music from Eva Stubenvoll, the director of the Musikverein Graz, Dr. Michael Nemeth, and many more.

If you listen at the right time, you might even hear a few words from yours truly.

I’ve written before about radio klassik Stephansdom, but it occurs to me that I should probably let you know a little more about what you’ll be supporting. rkS is a 24-hour, seven-day-a-week over-the-air radio station in Austria at 107.3 FM in Vienna and 94.2 FM in Graz. Thankfully, it’s also streamable over a variety of methods, including via the web. Its weekly programming features a variety of daily magazines and musical programs (including three full operas every week at 8:00 pm Vienna time) and live masses from the Stephansdom itself every Sunday, along with other spiritually-nourishing programming. The fine Sunday Musica Sacra program (at 1:00 pm Eastern time) bridges the religious and musical offerings, and the daily CD des Tages features the best of recent releases. Get to know the delightfully personable and knowledgable on-air talent here. You can download both the weekly and the opera schedules here. You can also request your favorite recordings to be played on Sunday’s Wunschkonzert here.

Originally supported and funded by the Archdiocese of Vienna (hence the religious programs), the unique radio klassik Stephansdom now depends on the support of its listeners for its continued health. That means you. So brush up your German and make a contribution to radio klassik Stephansdom this Spendentag. Then tune in and enjoy the show.

Bach from Vienna

I was just finishing up work yesterday when I turned on radio klassik Stephansdom and got something I didn’t think I needed. On a special broadcast to recognize the 50th anniversary of the death of Hans Swarowsky, the Vienna radio station presented a restored recording of the conductor’s St. Matthew’s Passion by Johann Sebastian Bach. I treasure my CD of John Eliot Gardner’s recording, but Swarowsky’s 1967 performance with the Wiener Symphoniker and the Wiener Akademie Kammerchor was absolutely stunning. You can listen to it yourself here. (For those of you whose German is a little rusty, just click on “Sendung nachhören.”)

radio klassik Stephansdom’s September Spendentag is coming up in just a few days and you’ll read more about it then, but the very fact that rkS will present a recording like this without commercial or other interruption — all three hours of it — is one of the many things that make rkS special. You needn’t wait until September 18 to donate, either. I wrote more about radio klassik Stephansdom here.

Sam’s New York hat trick

Samuel Beckett.

If in the next few months you hear the sound of grim laughter on New York sidewalks, it’s because three plays by the legendary grim laugher Samuel Beckett will be presented on Manhattan stages this fall.

First up is a production that I must admit I find a stroke of genius: Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter, of Bill and Ted fame, will be putting Vladimir (Winter) and Estragon (Reeves) through their paces in a Broadway production of Waiting for Godot. Starting previews this Saturday night, Jamie Lloyd’s production runs through January 2026, and good luck getting tickets for this one. Everything that I’ve read about this production suggests that the staging will be pretty straight-forward, but I’ve also heard rumors that the set itself — a tree, a mound — will also feature a distinctly non-Beckettian element. We shall see. Melena Ryzik spoke to the actors and the director in this New York Times profile.

Further downtown, Krapp’s Last Tape at NYU’s Skirball Center will throw its “strong white light” on the excellent Stephen Rea starting on October 8 for a limited engagement that ends on October 19. Directed by Vicky Featherstone for the Barbican, this production follows on the Irish Rep’s presentation of F. Murray Abraham in the same role last season. Collectors of Krapps will want to add this one to their galleries too. (If you’re new to this, you can start your own collection with Harold Pinter’s 2006 performance at the Royal Court Theatre.)

Later in October, Beckett enthusiasts will take the subway to the Irish Arts Center in Hell’s Kitchen (appropriate, this) for Beckett’s grimmest and most difficult tragicomedy, Endgame, in a production by Beckett expert Garry Hynes and the Irish theater company Druid. No big names here (with the exception of Hynes’), but it may not be a surprise to find this the most promising of the three. It opens on October 22 and runs through November 23.

It seems that Sam Beckett is newly new again in these fraught times. See you at the theatre.

On the streets of Vienna

Philipp Broinger.

When I need to spend a few minutes in Vienna (which is more often than I like to admit), I just pull out my iPhone and look up the latest video from Philipp Broinger, who under the handle of architectphilipp roams the streets of Austria’s capitol to present Vienna’s unique architectural gems and offer anecdotes associated with those gems. Herr Broinger is a personable, likable chap, possessed of a seemingly encyclopedic knowledge about the city and delighted to be sharing it with others. His videos have garnered over 4,000 followers on TikTok and 25,000 followers on Instagram, and no wonder.

Below is one of Herr Broinger’s videos, about the history of music at the Stephansdom; he interviews the Stephansdom organist Konstantin Reymaier. You can follow architectphilipp at either of the TikTok or Instagram channels linked above, and he’s on Facebook too.

@architect.philipp

Exploring the soul of St. Stephen’s Cathedral, where history and music harmonize in every corner. From ancient organs to modern melodies, this cathedral has always been a place where sound fills the sacred space. Join me and cathedral organist Konstantin Reymaier on a journey through the cathedral’s rich musical heritage. Photocredits: Dombausekretariat St. Stephan, Wikipedia #stephansdom #wien #vienna #viennanow #architecturelovers #historylovers #organmusic

♬ Originalton – architect.philipp

A toast to … Jackson Lamb

Cafe Katja.

The week ends on a moderately high note: the Eagles won their first game of the 2025-2026 season last night, so a little cautious optimism is in order. You still have a few days to hear the Philadelphia Orchestra’s concert production of Tristan und Isolde. And a reminder that Pursuit, the new podcast series from the National Constitution Center, premieres next week.

If you find this a good weekend to cuddle up with a little British TV, you can start it off with the new season of The Great British Baking Show, which launches its new season on Netflix today. Also, I’ve come a little late in the game to Slow Horses, the spy drama which premiered on Apple TV a few years ago, but I highly recommend it. Gary Oldman plays Jackson Lamb, a cynical, flatulent, foul-mouthed, and very likely alcoholic version of George Smiley who oversees a bunch of MI5 agents; they’ve badly screwed up intelligence operations in one way or another and find themselves languishing in a shabby London outpost of the intelligence service. (Oldman has played Smiley, too, in the 2011 film of Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, and he received an Oscar nomination for his performance.)

It’s a well-constructed and fast-moving thriller that enjoys delving into the eccentricities of its characters, not to mention dropping a few shards of social and cultural criticism along the way; it’s won some awards here and there, and Oldman himself has been nominated for an Outstanding Acting Emmy this year (it’s also been nominated for Outstanding Drama Series, as well as Writing and Directing nods). As Lamb describes the men and women under his supervision, “I think they’re a bunch of fucking losers. But they’re my losers.” My kind of spymaster.