Blogging about aviation
The former chief pilot of Deutsche Lufthansa AG was not only an outstanding flight captain—he was a face of the industry. He was a voice that people trusted. He stood for safety, humanity, and professionalism above the clouds and on the ground.
He was considered one of the most influential pilots in recent aviation history: Now Jürgen Raps has unexpectedly passed away. Continue reading “The aviation industry mourns the loss of Lufthansa legend Jürgen Raps”
Carl Orff never did what others thought was right or wanted him to do – an individualist who had no interest in classical genres such as symphonies, string quartets, or concertos.
In 1934, the almost 40-year-old Orff was searching for a subject that would help him achieve his major breakthrough. “Fortune had been kind to me,” he later admitted. In a Würzburg antiquarian book catalog, he discovered a title that “attracted him with magical force.” He was referring to the collection “Carmina Burana,” with song and drama texts, drinking songs and love songs, both moral and satirical, a European compendium from the Middle Ages. The authors of the texts are mostly unknown. The only surviving manuscript dates from around 1230. Continue reading “Carmina Burana has delighted audiences at Eberbach Monastery also in 2025”
As every year, the Classical Music Marathon was a fixture at the Rheingau Music Festival in 2025. Every year, young up-and-coming musicians are given the opportunity to present themselves to the international music and festival world. Many young musicians who made their debut here have gone on to become international stars. The Rheingau, with its castles and palaces, churches, monasteries, and wineries, is not only considered the home of delicious wines, but also, with the festival, a springboard for great musical careers. Continue reading “The Rheingau Musik Festival classic marathon – a chance for young classical talents”
In 1957, the Lockheed Super Star, the Lockheed L-1649A Super Star, or Super Connie, as it is colloquially known, joined the Lufthansa fleet and for the first time received the Senator class as the most exclusive travel option.
There was an absolute party atmosphere in the Cuveehof at Schloss Johannisberg on June 26, 2025, when Fred Wesley and his New JB’s thrilled the audience with a mixture of funk, R’n’B and soul. A very special interlude was provided by 80-year-old Martha High, who zipped across the stage with incredible energy, a powerful voice, a striking hairstyle, elegance and a performance reminiscent of Tina Turner, finally getting off the stage and dancing into the rows of the audience. Parts of the audience also got up and danced along.
Funk Legends Reunited
Jazz legend Fred Wesley, the internationally acclaimed trombonist and former musical director of James Brown’s band, celebrated his debut at the Rheingau Music Festival this year. With his concert on June 26, he brought funky grooves to the Cuvéehof at Schloss Johannisberg. Together with the impressive singer Martha High, who also performed with James Brown for 30 years, and the band The New JB’s, he brought the legacy of funk to the stage with new energy. The ensemble impressed Continue reading “Fred Wesley & The New JBs feat. Martha High”
The summer of music in the Rheingau has begun again. The picturesque landscape and wine region stretching along the right bank of the Rhine, from Wiesbaden to the town of Rüdesheim am Rhein, is once again the backdrop for the Rheingau Music Festival, founded in 1988 by Michael Herrmann, the festival’s artistic director. From June 21 to September 6, 2025, there will be 154 concerts at 27 venues in Wiesbaden and the Rheingau.
The Opening Concert II took place in the magnificent Friedrich von Thiersch Hall of the Kurhaus in Wiesbaden. “Une barque sur l’océan in F-sharp minor from Miroirs M. 43” by auMrice Ravel (1875-1937) and his Concerto for Piano
From May 23 to June 1, 2025, the Oberpinzgau in the province of Salzburg became a space, a landscape, where art was to find completely new spaces. Forests and meadows, mountains and lakes, national park valleys, especially the Habachtal valley, villages and hay barns became a stage for ten days. The numerous events, which also focused on the interaction between environmental protection and art, were well attended.
For over a year, international artists explored the Pinzgau region, the westernmost region of the province of Salzburg, did research,
talked to local people, took up themes and issues and developed them artistically.
Damour&The Good at the “Supergau” Festival in Oberpinzgau
The song “Mercy” by Hannes Muhr, an artist who himself lives in Oberpinzgau, the venue of the “Supergau” festival, accompanied by his band, dramatically and forcefully points out the destruction of the environment with sound and lyrics.
Humanity is digging its own grave (“I’m digging a hole, am I digging the grave?”) with its irresponsible treatment of nature and the environment. Nature is reacting: glaciers are melting, mountains start crumbling, sea levels are rising – isn’t that still enough?
The song was very well received by the festival visitors. The “Stadl” served as the band’s stage on May 30th in Uttendorf.
“Mercy” from Damour&The Good:
The festival (cost around 650,000 euros) was 100% financed by the state of Salzburg Continue reading “The “Supergau” festival – interaction between art and environmental protection in rural areas”
Everyone wants to improve the world and could do so – if only they would start with themselves. (Karl Heinrich Waggerl, 1897-1973, Austrian writer)
Merry Christmas to all readers of visionsblog.info and good luck and good health for 2025!
The former Cistercian monastery of Eberbach is the perfect location for the performance of Carl Orff’s musical firework “Carmina Burana”. It was also chosen for the film adaptation of Umberto Eco’s “The Name of the Rose” from 300 monasteries when looking for a suitable medieval venue. It is not surprising that Carmina Burana has been fully booked three times at this year’s Rheingau Music Festival. This was also emphasised by Michael Herrmann, artistic director and managing director of the festival, in his welcoming speech in the basilica. The Rheingau landscape in which the monastery is nestled and the simple, three-aisled Romanesque basilica, built between 1136 and 1186, have a magical attraction. Continue reading “Carmina Burana – A musical firework”
The magnificent Friedrich-von-Thiersch-Saal in the Kurhaus of the Hessian capital Wiesbaden was the place where Bruce Liu, the 27-year-old Canadian pianist of Chinese origin, accompanied by the hr-sinfony Orchestra, conducted by Alain Altinoglu, showed off his skills on June 23, 2024, the second day of the opening concert of the Rheingau Music Festival 2024.
“One of the most fascinating talents of his generation” wrote Continue reading “Beethoven and Smetana at the opening of the Rheingau Music Festival 2024”