For more information about these and other events, contact the various tourist offices throughout Austria.
January
New Year's Eve/New Year's Day. Vienna's biggest night is launched by the famed concert of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra. New Year's also marks the beginning of Fasching, the famous Vienna Carnival Season, which lasts until Ash Wednesday. For tickets and information, contact the Wiener Philharmoniker Bösendorserstrasse 12, A-1010 Vienna (tel. 01/505-65-25). It's followed by the Kaiserball in the Hofburg. For information and tickets, contact the WKV, Hofburg, Heldenplatz, A-1014 Vienna (tel. 01/587-36-66).
Eistraum (Dream Skating), Vienna. During the coldest months of an Austrian winter, the monumental plaza between the Town Hall and the Burgtheater is flooded and frozen; lights, loudspeakers, and a stage are hauled in, and the entire civic core is transformed into a gigantic ice-skating rink. Sedate waltz tunes accompany the skaters during the day, and DJs spin rock, funk, and reggae after the sun goes down. Around the rink, dozens of kiosks spring up selling everything from hot chocolate and snacks, to wine and beer. For information, contact the Vienna Tourist Board (tel. 01/513-88-92). Late January to early March.
Berg Isel Ski Jumping Competition. One of the country's most daredevil ski-jump competitions kicks off the new year at a platform built for the 1964 Olympics. Early January.
Hahnenkamm World Cup Ski Race, Kitzbühel. Since 1931 this major sporting event has drawn world-class skiers from around the globe to compete for the prestigious world cup. It is televised across Europe and America. Skiers compete over 2 days, but the whole town parties for a week. Entry tickets are available at the gate. Mid-January.
Mozart Week, Salzburg. This festival features opera, orchestral works, and chamber music. Get tickets at the Mozarteum, Schwarzstrasse 26, A-5024 Salzburg (tel. 0662/87-44-54). Late January.
February
International Seniors' Giant Slalom, Saalfelden. Competitors whip around poles stuck into the snow, trying to weave speed, agility, and precision into a winning combination. Late February.
Opera Ball. On the last Thursday of the Fasching, Vienna's high society gathers at the Staatsoper for the grandest ball of the Carnival season. The evening opens with a performance by the Opera House Ballet. You don't need an invitation, but you do need to buy a ticket, which, as you might guess, isn't cheap. For information, call the Opera House directly (tel. 01/514-44-29-60).
Ski Festival. Gaschurn, in the heart of Vorarlberg (6 miles [9.6km] from Schruns), is the resort that lies closest to the downhill runs of the Silvretta-Nova subdivision of the Montafon Valley. It's the site of a 1-week ski festival sponsored by the Belgian-Austrian chocolate manufacturer Suchard. The men's and women's events are the Montafon Valley's most important ski competition. Late February through early March.
March
Bregenz Spring Festival. The Vienna Symphony Orchestra usually appears at these concerts, which usher in the greening of the surrounding Alps. For information, contact the Bregenz Tourist Office, Anton-Schneider-Strasse 4-A, A-6900 Bregenz (tel. 05574/49-590). Early March to late May.
May
Vienna International Festival. This is the premier cultural event of the Austrian capital. The broad, varied program of music is recorded for later broadcast around the world. Musical performances emphasize both traditional and avant-garde compositions. To a lesser degree, the festival features unusual, often cutting-edge theater presentations as well, usually in both German and English. Performances are held in various theaters, churches, and auditoriums throughout Vienna. For tickets and information, contact the Wiener Festwochen, Léhargasse 11, A-1060 Vienna (tel. 01/589-22-22). Runs from mid-May to mid-June.
Haydn Festival, Esterházy Palace, Eisenstadt, in Burgenland. Concerts, recitals, and violin competitions are presented. For information, contact Esterházy Palace, A-7000 Eisenstadt (tel. 02682/63-384). Mid-May through mid-October.
June
Lower Danube Festival, along the Danube River, in various locations and at St. Pölten, the state capital. Dance and theater, music and art, poetry, and ecology are presented at various venues, including a riverboat docking at various towns. Mid-June.
International Schubert Festival, Feldkirch. Known as the Schubertiade, this festival celebrates the music of Franz Schubert and his musical contemporaries. Venues include local churches, auditoriums, and public parks in and around Feldkirch. Mid-June to early September.
Midsummer Night Celebration. This celebration is held all over Austria, with bonfires and folkloric events. The liveliest observances are in the Tyrolean valley towns and in the Wachau region along the Danube in Austria. June 20 and June 21.
Styriarte Graz. This grand annual cultural celebration features a different theme every year. For tickets and information, contact Styriarte Graz, Palais Attems, Sackstrasse 17, A-8010 Graz (tel. 0316/81-29-41-0). Late June to late July.
July
Vienna Summer of Music. This premier event fills the cultural calendar with concerts at City Hall, at Schönbrunn Palace, and at many landmark homes of great 19th-century Viennese musicians. Densely packed with musical options, the festival often features a series of different musical events on any given night. For tickets, schedules, and information, contact the Wiener Musiksommer, Laudongasse 4, A-1010 Vienna (tel. 01/4000-84-722). July 1 to August 31.
Salzburg Festival. Since the 1920s, this has been one of the premier cultural events of Europe, sparkling with opera, chamber music, plays, concerts, appearances by world-class artists, and many other cultural presentations. Always count on stagings of Mozart operas. Performances are staged at various venues throughout the city. For tickets, write several months in advance to the Salzburg Festival, Postfach 140, A-5010 Salzburg (tel. 0662/8045). Late July to late August.
Festival of Early Music, Innsbruck. Everything from plain song to baroque operas to recitals featuring historical instruments characterizes this annual event. Concerts are presented at the Hofburg, the Tyroler Landestheater, and the Castle Ambras. For tickets and information, contact the Innsbruck Tourist Office, Burggraben 3, A-6020 Innsbruck (tel. 0512/5356). Mid-July into August.
Summer Stage, Vienna. Along the quays of the Donau Inlet, adjacent to the Freidensbrücke (U-Bahn: Freidensbrücke), midsummer is celebrated by hundreds of the young, the upwardly mobile, and the trendy who converge on the periphery of the city to enjoy the night air and one another's company. Temporary stages present everything from skits to performance art to live music. Adding to the revelry are the 20 or so seasonal bars that open their doors to the milling summer crowd every night between 5pm and 2am, July and August.
September
Haydn Days, Eisenstadt, in Burgenland. Held in September in Eisenstadt, where Haydn lived for 40 years, this festival presents the composer's trios, quartets, symphonies, operas, and choral works. Venues include the Esterhazy castle, local churches and even the city's public parks. For tickets and information, contact the Burgenlandische Haydn Festspiele, Schloss Esteraázy, A-7000 Eisenstadt (tel. 02682/61-866). September.
International Bruckner Festival, Linz. This festival features concerts, theatrical presentations, art exhibits, and fireworks. For tickets and information, contact Festspiele, Uttere Donaulände 7, A-4010 Linz (tel. 0732/775230). September.
October
Vienna Cinema Festival. This film festival shows everything from the most daringly avant-garde to golden oldies of the (mostly European) silver screen. Check the program to see which films will be in English or have English subtitles. For tickets and information, contact the Wiener Festwochen Viennale, Stiftgasse 6, A-1070 Vienna (tel. 01/526-59-47). Throughout October.
November
Vienna Schubert Festivale. A relative newcomer to the Viennese music scene, this is an all-Schubert celebration. For information, contact Wiener Musikverein, Karlsplatz 6, A-1010 Vienna (tel. 01/ 505-81-90). Late November.
