In 2026, the ACF London celebrates its 70th anniversary. Rather than celebrati ng the ACF itself, we want this to be an ACF – A Celebration of Friends, of anniversaries and birthdays of ar tists and scienti sts who make 28 Rutland Gate a vibrant hub for cultural and scienti fic exchange between Austria and the United Kingdom.
On the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the exil.arte association and the 10th anniversary of the Exilarte Center of the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna (mdw), we are honoured to announce a gala concert at Senate House, University of London, in cooperation with the Royal College of Music (RCM), and the Alumni Office of the mdw, Members of the ORF Radio Symphony Orchestra and pianist David Hausknecht, will perform works by Austrian-born composers whose lives and careers were profoundly shaped by exile, displacement and new beginnings in the UK such as Hans Gál, Erich Wolfgang Korngold and Joseph Horovitz.
The highlight of the evening will be a performance of Horovitz’s String Quartet No. 5 (1969). For this concert, the Royal College of Music has made available the original manuscript of the work from the Joseph Horovitz estate for research and performance purposes. The London performance will be followed by further iterations in Vienna, including as part of the ORF Radio Symphony Orchestra Vienna’s chamber music series “Aus nächster Nähe” ("From a close distance").
The concert concludes with Korngold’s Piano Quintet in E major, Op. 15, a masterpiece of early twentieth-century chamber music.
Welcome addresses will be given by Ulrike Sych, Rector of mdw, and Anita Taschler, Alumni Office of the mdw. Presentations by Gerold Gruber, founder of exil.arte and Director of the Exilarte Center of the mdw, and Peter Linnitt, Librarian of the Royal College of Music, will provide insights into the international collaboration dedicated to the research, preservation, and rediscovery of music in exile.
Performers:
Łucja Madziar, violin
Manon Stankovski-Samano, violin
Raphael Handschuh, viola
Katharina Steininger, cello
(Members of the ORF Radio Symphony Orchestra Vienna)
David Hausknecht, piano
The concert will take place during the Exile Centre's Triennial Conference at Senate House, University of London, and will be followed by a reception.
To register your interest, please email us: office@acflondon.org.
