Inspiration:
Lake Attersee.
Star conductor Franz Welser-Möst
He conducts the Vienna Philharmonic, is a regular guest at the Salzburg Festival and has made an international name for himself in the music world: star conductor Franz Welser-Möst is one of the most notable conductors of our time. He lives a secluded lifestyle on Lake Attersee, likes to eat Marillenknödel and will bathe in the lake even when the water temperature is in single digits. Originally bought by his grandfather when it was just a “soggy patch of land”, the conductor has turned his home in Litzelberg am Attersee into his own little retreat. It’s a place where he finds his muse and from which he draws strength.
What does Lake Attersee mean to you?
I go for a dip early every day, even when the water temperature is in single digits. You could say that for me the bathing season lasts from March to November. I often go out on the electric boat with my wife to enjoy the peace and quiet. It’s an area that seems to have everything the heart could desire, and although I’m not an angler, I do like mountain climbing.
Mountain climbing? Where do you go?
Either the Schafberg, the Schoberstein or the Hochlecken. I know the whole of the Höllengebirge mountain range like the back of my hand and I also regularly spend time at Lake Langbathsee. There are some trips that you just make over and over again ...
In the summer season the culture in the Salzkammergut is very diverse too. What are your personal cultural highlights?
My lifestyle is actually a very secluded one. When I do go out, I go to the Gmunden Festival. One evening not so long ago I attended a solo performance by Michael Heltau – I really enjoy events like that. I don’t tend to go to concerts so much – I prefer exhibitions or readings. I get more than enough music in my professional life. I’m interested in the theatre and fine art as well.
Talking of “too much noise”, you’ve written a book entitled “Als ich die Stille fand”. What’s it about?
It’s a plea for a general slowing down of life, with autobiographical elements. By “noise”, I don’t just mean in terms of volume itself, I mean the permanently hedonistic society in which we find ourselves as well. The book is about what Goethe called “the muse” – the fact that rather than constantly distracting ourselves with noise, we should sometimes take time for introspection. But lots of people are afraid of doing that.
You’re very busy. But slowing down is clearly important to you...
In 1995 I took the decision that for 12 weeks of the year I wouldn’t conduct. I was constantly living out of a suitcase and was on the road non-stop. It gets to the stage where you can’t look at an aeroplane any more. Since then I’ve always stuck to this agreement I have with myself. During those 12 weeks I have a holiday here at home.
What does that kind of holiday involve?
So, for example, every year I do a mountain tour with Ferdl Hirscher and I also like to go out on the mountains with Franz Harnoncourt. The Harnoncourt family has a home on Lake Attersee as well. Generally my wife and I live in almost hermit-like seclusion. But during the festival I become an ambassador for Upper Austria, directing colleagues or journalists to the Aichinger Hotel in Nussdorf and trying to open people’s eyes to the region’s charms. It’s quite clear to people that my heart is at home here on Lake Attersee.
What’s your favourite place at home?
My library. I have a whole house full of around 8000 books, ranging from crime novels to musical scores. Although the crime novels are more my wife’s thing. It’s mainly philosophical, political and historical books that appeal to me – everything from Shakespeare to Jelinek. I’ve just devoured “Das Wunder des Überlebens” (“The Miracle of Survival”) by Ernst Lothar. I’d definitely recommend it to anyone interested in art. When I’m not in the library, I also like sitting by the boathouse and watching the waves and the fish. That’s my real muse.
UUpper Austria has plenty of culinary delights to offer too. Are there any dishes you’ve always liked since you were a child?
Marillenknödel (apricot dumplings) und Mohnnudeln (poppy seed noodles) – I’ve always liked eating them, ever since I was a kid. My family wasn’t rich and we only had meat at weekends. I still like both of those dishes to this day. I might not cook very often, but even I can manage Marillenknödel (he laughs). It has to be dough made with curds though! My wife is a very good cook though and she often delegates the menial tasks to me. I tend to wash the vegetables or cut up the fruit. I’m getting quite good at it now (he laughs). I can manage Wiener Schnitzel as well.
You actually have part of Upper Austria in your name. What’s your connection with Wels?
So “Welser”-Möst was my former manager’s idea, because I originally come from Wels. My parents’ home was there, my brother still lives in the area and naturally I have friends there. But these days the Wels connection is mainly in my name.
What do you like about Upper Austria’s cultural scene?
To be honest, I don’t follow it that closely. But I do question what will be left of it after Covid. The big players like the Salzburg Festival, the Landestheater and the Vienna Opera House will continue to exist. But you’ve got to think about the smaller cultural initiatives as well. They are the breeding ground where art takes root. That’s why initiatives like Jeunesse are especially important. We bigger players need to show our solidarity with them. Young people especially need to be encouraged artistically, that’s something close to my heart.
More about the Attersee-Attergau region
Artists and Lake Attersee
For many artists, the Attersee-Attergau region has been a place to holiday in summer, a retreat and often even the place their life revolves around. At the start of the 20th century, world-renowned artist Gustav Klimt was drawn to Lake Attersee, where he produced the majority of his more than 50 famous landscape paintings. Attergauer Kultursommer, led by artistic director Mechthild Bartolomey, is a festival of culture that is particularly popular today and attracts global stars to the region each summer. And the Gustav Mahler Festival and international Nikolaus Harnoncourt days are well known far beyond the region’s borders.
