Music in the Alps©

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Love Always Wins. 

Busy thoughts, busy schedules, busy lives. We chase goals, we race through seasons — and stop only when something larger calls us back. 

Beneath all these moving layers lives a quiet force that underlies all our intentions: love. We feel it when we wake, and throughout the day, until we fall asleep — and even then it does not disappear, but reveals itself in our dreams.

We always feel its presence — in a person or in nature; in a view or a scent; in a touch or a sound. Here, in these mountains, that presence becomes impossible to ignore. Even when love seems to leave us, it only transforms, returning in a new form to embrace and guide us.

We think we generate its energy ourselves — but it chooses us, and fills whatever we lack in the moment.

Even in the darkest hour, it pulls us back to the surface and points us in the necessary direction. Our task is simply not to miss the sign — to listen to the inner voice, and to let body and mind move in alignment with who we truly are.

Are we true to ourselves? What is navigating us at this very moment? Do we love how we feel about who we are right now?

Music, like love, does not explain itself. It arrives, it moves through us, and it leaves us changed.

Love always wins.

- From Dr. Irena Portenko, Director of “Music in the Alps” International Festival and Academy

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Die Liebe siegt immer

Hektische Gedanken, volle Terminkalender, ein geschäftiges Leben. Wir jagen Zielen hinterher, rasen durch die Jahreszeiten – und halten erst inne, wenn etwas Größeres uns zurückruft.

Unter all diesen sich bewegenden Schichten verbirgt sich eine stille Kraft, die all unseren Absichten zugrunde liegt: die Liebe. Wir spüren sie, wenn wir aufwachen, den ganzen Tag über, bis wir einschlafen – und selbst dann verschwindet sie nicht, sondern offenbart sich in unseren Träumen.

Wir spüren ihre Gegenwart immer – in einem Menschen oder in der Natur; in einem Ausblick oder einem Duft; in einer Berührung oder einem Klang. Hier, in diesen Bergen, lässt sich diese Gegenwart unmöglich ignorieren. Selbst wenn die Liebe uns zu verlassen scheint, verwandelt sie sich nur und kehrt in einer neuen Form zurück, um uns zu umarmen und zu leiten.

Wir glauben, wir würden ihre Energie selbst erzeugen – doch sie wählt uns aus und füllt alles aus, was uns im Moment fehlt.

Selbst in der dunkelsten Stunde zieht sie uns zurück an die Oberfläche und weist uns den notwendigen Weg. Unsere Aufgabe ist es einfach, das Zeichen nicht zu übersehen – auf die innere Stimme zu hören und Körper und Geist im Einklang mit unserem wahren Selbst bewegen zu lassen.

Sind wir uns selbst treu? Was leitet uns in diesem Moment? Lieben wir, wie wir uns gerade fühlen?

Musik erklärt sich, genau wie die Liebe, nicht von selbst. Sie kommt, sie durchströmt uns und hinterlässt uns verändert.

Die Liebe siegt immer.

– Von Dr. Irena Portenko, Leiterin des Internationalen Festivals und der Akademie „Music in the Alps“

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MUSIC in the ALPS is a unique multicultural, artistic, and educational experience in the hearts of the Austrian Alps.

The goal of the Music in the Alps festival is to unite international professional and talented young musicians so they can share their valuable experience in music; performing alongside each other, participating in lectures, workshops, and chamber music sessions, while enjoying their togetherness and making lifetime friendships. 

Music in the Alps provides young participants not only opportunities to perform, but also opportunities to explore additional areas of their interest such as technology and recording, art management, accompanying, teaching, directing, and production. 

The Music in the Alps festival has significantly broadened its horizons within a short period of time, it has grown from a modest number of students in 2013 into a burgeoning summer program, hosting thousands of participants and guests in beautiful Bad Gastein, Innsbruck, and Salzburg.

FROM THE ARTICLE BY JEFFREY PALMER: "MAKING MUSIC IN RIDICULOUSLY BEAUTIFUL AUSTRIAN ALPS",
WRITTEN FOR WWW.CUTCOMMONMAG.COM IN 2019

 I was fortunate enough to be asked by concert pianist and festival director Dr Irena Portenko to participate in the 2019 Music in the Alps Festival – a gathering of professional musicians and students from across Europe and North America, who come together in the idyllic Austrian spa town of Bad Gastein to learn, perform, and participate in collaborative music-making. I had met Irena earlier in the year in New York, where both of us spend the majority of our time. To say there was an immediate connection is a bit of an understatement, and before I knew it, I was making plans to join her and her merry troupe of musicians in the Austrian Alps.
Founded in 2013, Music in the Alps has grown from a small meeting of classical musicians in Bad Gastein into a robust program of lectures, lessons, masterclasses, and concerts – including a jazz component – that extend out to Innsbruck, Salzburg, and the neighboring villages. I arrived about halfway through the festival for the Bad Gastein portion and set up camp there for a week. Most activities were centered around the stately Grand Hotel de l’Europe in the heart of Bad Gastein, where we would gather for lessons and to hear student and faculty concerts each afternoon and evening respectively in the hotel’s elegant Wienersaal.

Something that makes this festival so special is the diversity in its participants and the freedom and encouragement to collaborate and explore. While everyone’s technique and level of musicianship were extremely high, our differences in style and background made for a rich blend of programming. Having the opportunity to work with the talented students – including the chance to perform with a fantastic young countertenor, and my fellow esteemed faculty – was incredibly inspiring and enriching.

Bad Gastein itself, nestled in the back of an Alpine valley, served as a womb of creativity, protecting us from the cares of the outside world and allowing us to fully focus on our musical explorations. It was easy to lose track of what time or even day it was, as we all surrendered to the deliciousness of uninterrupted music-making and the inspiration of the surrounding natural beauty. However, having the chance to leave our haven of creativity and venture into Salzburg to perform a group concert in the famed Mirabell Palace’s Marmorsaal, where Mozart himself played for the imperial family, was also welcome. Hikes were part of our routine as well, including one up Austria’s highest peak, the stunning Großglockner, as were evenings spent at the local Betty’s Bar (run by a New Zealander!) for wine and flatbread after the concerts.

Having a host of talented, innovative, open-minded individuals thrust together in a place that might be as close to heaven on earth as one can get, unsurprisingly, yields some wonderful results. Dr Portenko has created a supportive atmosphere in which teachers and students share the same goal of creating something extraordinarily beautiful in an extraordinarily beautiful space. The residents of Bad Gastein are also extremely engaged, with many of them regularly coming to each performance. This festival really does feel like a community, thanks to the wonderful people that make it possible, and, I suspect, the loving embrace of the Austrian Alps.