Langenlois literature and music festival celebrates 20th edition

The Septemberlese literature and music festival in Langenlois, a wine town in the Krems district, has celebrated its 20th edition. The two-day event, reported by ORF, featured readings, music and a concert among the town’s vineyards.

This year’s programme included readings by Katherina Braschel, Cornelia Travnicek and Claudia Rossbacher. The festival ended with a concert by the Viennese song duo Die Strottern.

The event began in 2007 after the local cultural association proposed holding a festival during the grape harvest. Its distinctive feature is that audiences walk between different locations as the programme progresses, organiser Wolfgang Kühn said.

Over the past 20 years, about 3,000 people have attended 72 readings and 30 concerts at 15 different locations, some of them more than once. On Sunday, visitors walked to the so-called Riedenportrait am Weinberg.

Local resident Sonja Fragner, who has attended the festival regularly, said she initially saw it as an experiment but now believed it could continue for another 20 years.

Alexandra Kaminek travelled from Vienna to attend the festival for the first time. She said she enjoyed Langenlois as an important wine town and liked the combination of good weather and music.

Kühn said one of his favourite moments was a 2018 reading by Peter Turrini.

Die Strottern, comprising Klemens Lendl and David Müller, have appeared at the festival since its first edition in 2007. They also performed at its 10th anniversary and returned this year for the closing concert.

The duo said they had made many friends in Langenlois and were always pleased to be invited back. They added that the festival’s longevity showed its organisers must have done many things right.