CHICAGOANS DEDICATE THE BEETHOVEN MUSEUM
Dedication and Performance
November 20th, 2017 marked the beginning of a celebratory week in Vienna. Between a City Hall reception and the dedication and inaugural performance at the Beethoven Museum, Chicagoans were at the center of the Beethoven Museum’s opening. American Friends of the Vienna Museum board member, John Boyer, and Executive Director, Alice DuBose, were on hand to celebrate this momentous achievement. The real stars of the event, however, were Lincoln Park Music Center students. More than a dozen students and their families were treated to a behind-the-scenes tour of the Wien Museum with Director Matti Bunzl. Matti discussed how proper museum stewardship allows beautiful items from the past to continue educating viewers well into the future. Students peppered Matti with questions about different Viennese landmarks while examining models of the city. After a lunch break, the group met at the Rathaus, or Vienna's City Hall, for dessert and conversation with Viennese City Councilor for Cultural Affairs and Science, Andreas Mailath-Pokorny. Afterwards, the forty Chicagoans boarded a bus for the Beethoven Museum. There, the dedication began. American Chargé d’Affaires ad interim Eugene Young -- whose family hails from Western Springs, Illinois -- lauded the Lincoln Park Music Center guests for their dedication to cultural exchanges between the United States and Austria. Matti Bunzl and Bill Kinderman spoke of the Heilgenstadt's importance on the life and creative trajectory of Ludwig van Beethoven. Eight American music students performed to a rapt audience a selection of Beethoven's pieces. Lastly, Matti unveiled the Whe Do Kim Garden to thunderous applause. The dedication ceremonies continued through Sunday, November 26th.