"Golden Note by Leona König" 2021 as a glamorous TV gala on ORF 2

Since 2017, the International Music Association for the Promotion of Highly Gifted Children (IMF), under the leadership of its initiator and chairwoman Leona König, has organized the annual "Golden Note" classical music promotion award. This year, for the first time, the prize will be awarded to Austria's most outstanding young talents for piano, cello and violin at a glamorous TV gala on ORF 2. The nine finalists, who will be selected in advance by a jury of experts during a casting session on Saturday (April 17), will perform solo as well as together with renowned stars and the ORF Radio Symphony Orchestra Vienna. The finale of the "Golden Note by Leona König" as a prelude to the Whitsun weekend on Friday, May 21, 2021, at 8:15 p.m. on ORF 2 promises many an artistic surprise. The first details were presented today, Tuesday, April 20, by ORF Director-General Alexander Wrabetz, IMF founder Leona König and Andreas Mailath-Pokorny, Rector of the Music and Art Private University of the City of Vienna (MUK), at a press conference moderated by ORF 2 Channel Manager Alexander Hofer. Video greetings from Germany were sent by the presenter of the "Golden Note 2021", who was prevented from attending for scheduling reasons:
Show legend and classical music fan Thomas Gottschalk.

"I had to become twice as old as Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart until ORF finally called and asked me: Would you like to host the 'Golden Note 2021'?" says the entertainer and classical music lover, who is thus returning to Austria for a TV show production after eleven years (for the first time since a "Wetten dass...?" edition in Salzburg in 2010). "Of course I want to! On May 21 in ORF 2, hopefully we'll see each other! Unfortunately, I can't be at the press conference, but I'll be at the show - and they'll talk about it, I promise you!" said Gottschalk in the greeting message.

ORF General Manager Dr. Alexander Wrabetz emphasizes: "For ORF, art and culture are not only part of its public service mission, but also part of its DNA. That's why it has always been a matter of concern to us to also offer the greatest possible stage in this country to the next generation of artists through various initiatives, and thus to invest in the future of domestic cultural creativity. The talents we support today are the stars of tomorrow, who will also represent the cultural nation of Austria. With the 'Golden Note 2021', ORF puts young musicians in the spotlight of a glamorous and star-studded main evening show around the classical music promotion prize founded by Leona König."

Dr. Andreas Mailath-Pokorny, Rector of the Music and Art Private University of the City of Vienna (MUK): "The MUK is a Viennese talent pool and trains outstanding young artists year after year. Therefore, the Vienna Music University in the heart of the city is a logical partner for this competition of new opportunities, which opens a first path for the stars of tomorrow and accompanies them responsibly on it. The fact that the final is now getting a big stage on ORF's main evening is an important sign of the high value of culture in Austria, especially in these times."

The "Golden Note 2021" - talents and stars in the country's most spectacular TV studio.

After the Vienna Konzerthaus, the Vienna Musikverein as well as the ORF RadioKulturhaus in the previous year, where the "Golden Note Special" took place due to corona, the most spectacular TV show stage in the country - designed by star set designer Florian Wieder - has now been adapted for the "Golden Note". On 250 square meters of stage space with 210 square meters of playable LED surface, illuminated by 600 spotlights and captured by 21 cameras under the direction of Kurt Pongratz, an atmospherically elegant setting is created for the protagonists of the "Golden Note".

Nine young talents between the ages of 7 and 17, accompanied by the ORF Radio Symphony Orchestra Vienna under the direction of Maestro Rossen Gergov, will present their skills on piano, violin or cello.

A four-member star jury will comment on the artistic performances and, together with the audition jury, select the winners. At the end of the gala evening, which will take place under the highest Corona security standards, the winner of each category will be announced and awarded a prize. For the first time, there will also be an audience award, which will be determined by online voting starting on April 26 - among other things via extra.ORF.at.

The winners of the "Golden Note 2021" can look forward to performances with the artists of the star jury as part of the promotional award. In addition, they, as well as all other finalists, will receive master classes in collaboration with members of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra. These age-appropriate masterclasses will be held at the Musik und Kunst Privatuniversität der Stadt Wien (MUK), where a final concert will take place in the fall. In addition, the young musicians can expect various national and international performances as well as participation in projects by Leona König.

Before the announcement of the "Golden Note" prize winners, star cabaret artist and theater impresario Michael Niavarani, who incidentally is the grandson of a former Vienna Philharmonic member and a pronounced connoisseur of classical music, will provide the best entertainment with a somewhat different classical music performance. Together with Sigrid Hauser and Otto Jaus ("Pizzera & Jaus") as well as the Swoboda Quartett consisting of members of the Vienna Philharmonic - Alina Pinchas (1st violin), Thomas Küblböck (2nd violin), Sebastian Führlinger (viola) and David Pennetzdorfer (violoncello) - he presents a terrific crossover interlude.