Kurier 26th May 2007

Goisern, ambassador for Capital of Culture Linz, wishes to make a contribution to the destruction of prejudices with the "Linz Europe 2009" ship expedition, which begins on 20th June.

Photo: Martin Gnedt

What can the journey achieve in concrete terms?

We want people to become acquainted and to be able to build a good feeling for my music. This process is very valuable for all who take part. None of us will be the same when we leave the ship. And Europe will be an importance experience richer too.

Why is this journey necessary at all?

There are great fears. And not from the west to the east, but rather in the opposite direction. If we are able to relieve these fears, which are being stoked by demagogues, then we will have a success on our hands.

Where do these fears come from? Isn't the Danube region both geographically and historically a cohesive region?

The people there were delivered Communist propaganda. And we had our propaganda about the Balkans, according to which everything there is run by the mob. The history of the Danube region has also been a violent one for centuries. People there have done a great deal together and anything new triggers resistance. Everybody wants their security - and that unites us all!

What do you think of the "idea of Europe"? On the one hand internal borders are coming down, but on the other, external borders have become tighter.

I don't think that - simply because there are unpleasant phenomena - that one should distance oneself from this large-scale European thinking. My dream would be a cooperation, but not such an exclusive one.

As an artist you have personally never accepted boundaries. Why do so many people like boundaries so much?

Because they mean security. The walls of this room here are boundaries, borders, too and they offer protection. Freedom is not to everybody's taste.

You have dealt with musical traditions, from Africa to Tibet. Why are you only now coming to what lies much closer - the music of our neighbours?

It perhaps comes down to the fact that every movement that comes from a youthful energy is so impetuous that you only come to a standstill when you are far away. There are still things that are closer than southeast Europe, like Switzerland for example. For years I've been dreaming of getting to know the music and yodelling of Switzerland better. That's still to come.

Is the music of the Balkans related to ours, or very different?

I think it's very different, very foreign. Unbelievably complex, the rhythm is very, very difficult. With our music the complex element is the harmony. I often feel that our music is a bit clumsy, for example compared to African, Caribbean things, Indian too, and the Balkans as well.

Are you expecting a musical clash on your journey, or a collaboration?

I think that everything is compatible. But if it's not two people who are interested, one can work as hard as he wants, there still won't be a cooperation. Artists basically have more openness. But cooperation works in sport and economics too. But where things get hairy is politics. There are simply people who say for reasons of power politics that they are against any change.

What is your opinion of the term "patriotism"?

Like the word itself says: it is something very fatherly, masculine. I miss the female side in just the word. Homeland is used positively as far as I am concerned, patriotism less so, that's used politically.

What does homeland mean to you? Music?

Music certainly. Homeland for me is also the Inner Salzkammergut, the intonation, the dialect that creates a sense of security.

You have dealt with many fights with traditionalists in the Salzkammergut. Is grating a part of homeland for you too?

I live that everywhere though. Homeland certainly doesn't mean "everything is fine there" for me.

That sounds stressful.

It is. I'd rather not have conflict, but it doesn't make me happy when people avoid conflict to maintain a sense of wellbeing either.

That stands you in contrast to the Austrian culture of consensus.

In order to live this consensus, you need a conflict first!

You had a conflict with the FPÖ, because they used your music at an election rally. Couldn't you have just forbidden it?

I don't want to forbid my music to anybody! I asked the FPÖ to distance themselves from it and gave a statement. But I am happy when my music is listened, no matter by whom. The only important thing is that those who listen to it know what my music stands for. Because I believe in the power of music, that the thoughts of those making music have an effect.

Did you follow "Dancing Stars" with your former musical partner Zabine?

I watched the first programme and hoped that she would go a long way. All those who go to Dancing Stars are strong personalities. And now the strong women should lead, to ritually submit themselves is very difficult for them! And Klaus Eberhartinger is now of course the Austrian Fred Astaire.

Guido Tartarotti
© Kurier - Vienna, 2007

DPA 24th May 2007

Photo: dpa

Regensburg/Passau – Austrian alpine rocker Hubert von Goisern alias Hubert Achleitner has always been someone up for adventure and cultural exchange. As a 20-year-old he emigrated for a time to South Africa, then he learned how to play the nose flute in the Philippines, recorded songs in India with Tibetan artists and toured through West Africa and Egypt.

But his new project should put all that into the shadows: The world musician is planning the ambitious project of a "cultural eastwards expansion" with the language of music.

For months at a time until 2009 he will be travelling along European rivers as ambassador for the future European Capital of Culture Linz and giving concerts from his ship. Goisern needs a total of three ships for this mammoth tour that will bring people together. A tugboat will be pushing the barracks ship for 20 or so members of band and crew as well as a second ship with a large extendable stage, spotlights, light and sound engineering from harbour to harbour. At each stop von Goisern will be playing together with local bands on the floating stage.

"It has a dimension that sometimes frightens me," said von Goisern at the presentation of his plan in Regensburg. The cathedral city (29th June) and Passau (30th June) are the only two places where they will drop anchor in Germany in the first year. The Regensburg Osthafen will be the first stop after the premiere in Vienna (22nd June). In Regensburg Hans-Jürgen Buchner will be coming to the Austro-German double concert with his group "Haindling" and in Passau the globetrotter will be playing with the Claudia Koreck Band.

After this von Goisern will be exploring south east Europe via the Danube. Going from Slovenia, Serbia, Croatia, Hungary, Bulgaria and Romania down to the Ukraine. At least 23 stops are planned, in the east they are free. "We also have some buffer days in between. So we can dock somewhere and give a spontaneous concert," said von Goisern. The 54-year-old father is hoping for many interesting encounters both on board and on land.

Von Goisern has been working on the river tour for two years and has come across all sorts of imponderables: high tide or low tide, or problems with the authorities could spoil the tour. The less water there is in the river, the further from the audience on the shore the boat must drop anchor. A Ukrainian mayor wants to check the lyrics of the songs and have the show approved by the government. "It's very exciting. There are many things where I'm very curious to see how it will all work out," said von Goisern, who, when in doubt, will let "charm and creativity" play.

There is still a large question mark over the reaction of the audience. "In some cases we are playing where they have never had a concert at which entrance was required," said von Goisern. In many south eastern European countries there is no concert culture beyond the capital cities. "Our project could possibly be a starting shot for that."

The river tour that will bring people together will continue next year. Von Goisern will then be making the banks of the Rhine, Ruhr, Neckar, Mosel and Main sound, before he arrives back in Linz in summer 2009. A large finale concert with all participating artists is planned to take place in the city which will then be the European Capital of Culture and which is financially supporting von Goisern's musical Europe project.

DPA

www.oe24.at 11th May 2007

On the occasion of the Wiener Festwochen Opening Ceremony, at which Hubert von Goisern will not only be playing, but also presenting, the artist spoke to ÖSTERREICH about yodelling with Bobby McFerrin, his stage ship tour, the opportunities of integration - and the inclination towards being bad.

[...] What are the current projects you are working on?

For a year and a half I've been the current tour, which will be starting in Vienna on 22nd June. We're converting a ship for it, which will then be going up and down the Danube all summer as a stage ship, all the way down to the Black Sea and back. And next year it goes upstream on the Danube, to the Main-Danube canal and then in the Rhine up to Basel and to Rotterdam and perhaps even Brussels. That has what taken me captive, where all my energy is going. And it won't come to an end until 2009 as part of the Capital of Culture Linz 2009. On this tour I will be playing concerts in all the countries along the route, with artists from each of the countries. I'm also inviting the artists onto the ship. I can accommodate 12 guests, so we can travel a certain way together and rehearse during the journey and then play.

How did this idea come about?

It was ten years ago, when I filmed a documentary about Jane Goodall and I met many refugees in camps at Lake Tanganyika who had fled Burundi, Rwanda, Zaire and the Congo from the war and massacre. I thought to myself that there must be many musicians among these people. So I organised a little festival there, at which people from all these nations and ethnicities sang, danced and played and it left a nice feeling - but in a very small area, very improvised. That's where the thought came of doing it on a bigger scale and to sail up and down Lake Tanganyika, docking at ports and playing music with people there. But unfortunately I haven't been able to realise that yet, because there is still a lot of violence on the western shore and it would simply be irresponsible to organise festivals there. Escalations would be bound to occur. And then two years ago while fishing I had the idea of transplanting it to the Danube. Because there is a need for people to become acquainted with each other here too and to break down their fears of one another.

That starts at the garden fence.

Yes, exactly (laughs).

So you are perfectly suited to the spiritual background of this year's Festwochen, which have integration and cultural variety as their focus. In your opinion how can integration really work here at home on the Danube?

You need to have the courage and the will to get to know others. But you must also respect the fact that there are people who are satisfied with just a small circle of friends and who don't want to meet other people. We live in a time in which everything is changing very fast and that unsettles people and they feel insecure. But that also comes from the fact that we don't know each other. In the last year I've travelled South East Europe twice, that is before the EU accession and I asked people in Bulgaria and Romania for example, whether they were looking forward to the accession. With a few exceptions, they were all very skeptical and were afraid of the EU. I am a convinced European. I'm happy when any border falls, where I don't have to show my passport - or my car boot - and don't have to wait for hours at the checkpoint until everything is done. I think that the EU thinking contributes to more collaboration and to people not eyeing each other up suspiciously.

Do you speak from experience?

Yes, it's all been that way: For example when I am detained at the Walserberg checkpoint going into Germany and the border guard sees the instruments in the car, and I'm looking a bit unshaven and have long hair, then I'm the enemy. And when I then have to have everything checked there, have to unpack everything and prove that I can play and so on, then I think to myself "bloody Germans" and not "bloody border guard", which rubs off unfairly on the whole country. So if just the borders aren't there, at least that is gone. But of course borders also provide protection.

There are problems when people draw the borders too closely around themselves and at the same time define their identity mainly by their country.

It is exactly this definition of identity that is the exciting thing in the European Union. Because people do have a national awareness, but also the European identity. Only, this isn't so noticeable from within. But from outside, for example for someone from Africa there is most likely a European identity, the same way that there is an African identity for us - although east and west and Upper Volta and Lower Volta are worlds apart.

So travelling on prescription wouldn't be a bad idea.

That would certainly be a good idea. But I can imagine that's quite a vision to put something like that into action as a job market model too - and to even say after five years everyone can take a year off, the machines are becoming ever more efficient (laughs).

Apropos efficiency: Will a CD be released for the tour too?

Not for the first tour, but next year around this time before the second stage starts. I'll be producing a CD over the winter.

And a live DVD about the first tour?

An ambitious documentary film project is being planned, but not everything is sorted yet.

Who will be doing it?

The ORF will be co-producing so to speak and I've been able to get Geyrhalterfilm as producers. So we have very good qualifications behind us, but the finances are not yet sorted. There are many days to film, 90 days on the ship and the time beforehand should be filmed too. That costs the earth for a whole team. The ORF want to do it, but for the money that they want to spend, you can only do the half of it. And then the question remains where we should get the other half from. Sometimes it's easier to do things alone, rather than as a group. On the other hand, it's also the exciting thing that you have to find a consensus in cooperation. But there has to be a conflict before you reach a consensus.

Alexandra Zawia
(Read the Wiener Festwochen portion of the interview here)

Tele 19/2007

Leaving for Vienna. With Goisern between Salzburg and Munich.
What moves him (away): his music, his adventures.

New day. Salzburg, Hauptbahnhof, time: 11.03. Hubert von Goisern boards the EC 68, heading for Munich. It is a departure after years of inner peace. The folk musician, who has long since distanced himself from the "Hiatamadl" image will be travelling the Danube with a convoy of three ships in 2007 and 2008 as ambassador for the Capital of Culture Linz. And he will be giving concerts from the lightly swaying stage - starting on 22nd June this year. The highpoint: 2009 in Linz, where the cargo of sound will be unloaded at a mega festival. In the meantime: 14 countries - about 100 artists - more than 12,000 river kilometres - more than 300,000 people live!

Fiddle up and ... But before that Goisern has been asked to open the Wiener Festwochen alongside Joe Zawinul and Bobby McFerrin, on Friday 11th May (ORF 2, 21.15). "I will be singing a duet with Bobby, I don't know which yet, we'll sort it out on the spot, I think he can do that", Hubert smiles in the dining car.

Back then. The idea of going to people with music, building bridges and breaking down barriers, came to him ten years ago in Africa. But Hubert Achleitner, his civil name, felt somehow "that that's not my own terrain, you need a figurehead, someone who's from there, like Nelson Mandela". While fishing on the Danube with the ship owner Franz Brandner then came the idea to relocate the project to the Danube.

Over and under. His adventure, the river and the people who live on and with it, exploring particularly the new EU countries - these are the things that have occupied the father of two for the past two years. Over, that is the journey from Rotterdam, down the Rhine-Main Canal to Passau, which will take place next year. Under: the journey by ship from Regensburg via Melk and Vienna to the Danube delta at the Black Sea and back again. "We're starting under. I've covered thousands of kilometres by car and by ship, I've seen what I'm letting myself in for - it will be a journey on which I can be at home, only the surroundings will change." Nearly ninety days on the ship, not leaving it, inviting guests such as Haindling, Willi Resetarits and many more, playing music, meeting people in their localities, understanding them - that's what moves him.

Can't you hear. "We'll travel down, play and watch - a test of faith for me." A three hour repertoire is ready for 90 minutes on stage. In the "East" the motto is: free admission. The people don't need to pay anything, because five Euros hurts them and doesn't really bring us anything. The 20 concerts we're playing will be 20 completely self-sufficient constructions." And the money? "Linz 09" is paying a third, the musician will generate a third himself and Dietrich Mateschitz has taken responsibility for the remaining third. "He said to me: 'Plan it the way you think is right.' He has also put his infrastructure at my disposal."

Far, far away. The one time founder of the Alpinkatzen, who decided at the age of 27 to become a musician after all sorts of other attempts, has always been fond of travelling. Out of the mountains and into the world. There were many reasons for doing so for the now 54-year-old. "Personal experience was always important to me. It's about the power of imagination and the horizon of experience. Travelling is verification. I wanted to see for myself whether it was all as kaput as the media tell us."

Shame. Goisern also discovered that it's too late in Tibet, where he didn't just play, but also made contact with the Dalai Lama (in his exile in north India). "There's no small talk with him, only big talk. He's very straightforward and has a super down to earth attitude. You can see with him what meditation and immersion can bring forth. The fact that he doesn't become a grump despite so much responsibility in such a hopeless situation makes him a saint.

Goisern. Experiences that have also shaped him. For his positive outlook on life, his approach to music. "I'm happy when I sing. Music is a drug, I really let myself get involved, with all consequences. Then I go into rehab and then throw myself back into it completely again. The rehab begins when everything is just revolving around the same thing. When it starts to be a big bubble from which you can't escape. When you get the feeling that you can no longer comprehend life as a gift in all its beauty. Then it's time to stop and start anew."

Getting better. There is no fear of standing still. "It is rarely a singular situation that brings forth change. It starts with the thought: this is going in a direction I don't like. It's time to change something. And then I say to myself, either left or right. Or straight ahead." And he can't pause when going straight ahead. That is when music makes it possible to leave the material behind and to dip into the spiritual world, to feel the connection with the trees or the Ukrainians. Hubert von Goisern will soon know of it ...

Text: Werner Rass
Photos: Peter Burgstaller

Thanks Stefan

Echo 1st May 2007

Foreign cultures and bringing people together have become the elixir of life for Hubert von Goisern. The multi-faceted artist will now be breaking down the fears of the EU held by people in the east with his newest project along the Danube.

This year you are going on a ship tour through Eastern Europe as ambassador for Linz Capital of Culture 2009. How are the preparations going?

I haven't done anything else for two years. The idea of doing a concert tour with a ship and musicians from different countries came from back in 1989 though. I asked the manager Martin Heller whether he would be interested in doing something together and he said yes.

What will this journey entail?

I will be setting out from Linz with my new band - musicians from Austria and Ladinia - along the Danube to the Black Sea, giving about 25 live concerts. The whole thing will be accompanied by a camera team who will be documenting the journey on film. At each concert and in each country we will be inviting along local musicians who can play alone as well as together with us. Anyone who desires can participate. I have already been down to the Danube delta and have spoken with many people and done a lot of asking around.

What did you find there?

That despite or because of their poverty the people there have a serenity and good attitude towards life. And they are just as worried about the EU as people here, who are worried that the southeastern European countries will come along and take something from us. In countries such as Romania and Bulgaria for example, which constitute a large proportion of the banks of the Danube, there is great scepticism felt by the man on the street. They say that the EU will make everything worse than the policies in their own country have already.

Will conquering the fears of these people also be a part of your mission?

Yes, because I am a convinced European, someone who delights in every fallen boundary. In the same way that a piece of music consists of small phrases that join together, in the political there is also the family, the village, the country, the nation and continents. But I don't see the need to protect as exclusion. We are part of a marvel and dependent on one another. We must show solidarity.

So the Danube ought to be this link?

Rivers have had an enormous significance for human civilisation since the year dot. Think of Mesopotamia or the Nile. After two side a river has an open end. I grew up on the Traun, but a river like the Danube or Rhine is different again. I've noticed that people who live along the Danube have a certain humility and laid-back nature, something like "being in the flow" and not against it. Because you can't swim against the current for long. I want to capture this spirit and make it sound.

You've also built bridges in music with the fusion of traditions. What does folk music mean to you?

Folk music is something that is handed down, something matured and polished over many generations, sometimes unintentionally caricatured too.

So not a "museum piece" without a connection to the present?

As I said, folk music is something that has been handed down to our time, which must continue to develop. There are so many important insights that have been passed down the generations. The music has developed, the languages, our clothing, architecture. It's exciting when traditions meet and pollinate something like the Occidental harmonic for example, which came from folk music.

But you have also been accused of taking all the credit for yourself with CD recordings of traditional African and Tibet music.

The sources were always given. I have always financed the project by my own means and shared royalties and copyright with the artists. But when my name is on it, it has the advantage of bringing it to the attention of more people.

How would you describe your music?

My roots are in the folk music of the Salzkammergut, that's a special language of sound and melodics. But I have many approaches, whether in blues, rock, soul, funk, pop, or jazz or electronic music too. They are audible attitudes towards life. My music comes from the compulsion to make something new and is the fruit of the way I deal with the world. Not only my narrow homeland belongs to that, but also distant lands, people and their lives.

Is there not a bit of egotism in that?

In a certain way I am egocentric. But not always and not as badly I see in many others either.

Have you ever doubted in what you are doing?

I know the whole bandwidth from disappointment and frustration to self-doubt, I've questioned a great deal and not known how I should judge what I'm doing. For a long time I thought that music was impractical. Less practical than a cobbler who makes shoes in any case. But I know now that you have these phases, like when you're lying in bed with flu. I see the sense of my creativity now.

The concept of homeland must change often through travelling.

There are many definitions of homeland and many are right. For me it is always a bit of coming home, when I go somewhere I've been once before. The more often I'm there, the more I feel at home. But the narrow concept of homeland for me is the Salzkammergut.

Is your authenticity and directness to be ascribed to this "narrow" homeland, or does it have a lot to do with life experience?

I don't know what you need for that. Travelling has always contributed to my insight into life. There are people who travel the world and look for a pub that serves Wiener schnitzel. For me travelling always means the search for the peculiarity, the approach to life that each country has.

In your directness you also requested in an open letter that H.C. Strache not to play your music at any future election events.

I asked him to hereafter refrain from doing so and wrote: "I know of the power of music to open hearts and I do not want to be someone who opens hearts to the poisonous words that have been spoken for many years at Freedom Party events."

How does it feel when someone such as yourself plays their own traditional music in front of thousands of people in the West African desert?

You have dare to do it and go to the boundaries. It's like climbing: in the practice room you climb with a rope, in front of the audience you're climbing without a rope. Singing and playing together is an unbelievable outpouring of happiness, you go on a journey together and leave the tangible world for a while.

Doesn't it sometimes hurt that people don't understand you when you're singing in dialect about relations between people, the consumer society and misunderstood faith?

The point of contact is the poetry of the sounds. But on our Europe tour we will be translating the key messages of the songs into the various native languages. To be honest, I haven't given any thought to what will happen when I go down there and hear the many different languages. If I find an approach, I could imagine singing in Romanian or Ukrainian.

Did you ever aim for the career you now have?

I've always imagined that it would be great to be famous. When lots of people would be able to hear what you write and sing and do.

Gerti Krawanja

Kulturküche 27th April 2007

[...] To keep developing, combining different styles with one another is the motto of Hubert von Goisern (54) and the currently planned "Linz Europe Tour 2007-2009 follows this model too. The man from Austria wants to allay fears that have come from the further expansion of the EU - looking for what connects us and making it visible and audible: "But it's not about conjuring up something in common, but rather developing a curiosity for other things too," Goisern told kulturkueche.de. "I believe that the variety does not only lie in the music, but in the clothes, language, in the way of thinking too, that it is something that will benefit all of us. Because when someone thinks differently, they find other approaches and solutions for a problem when we can't think of anything, when we have already got stuck."

At the beginning of July Goisern will board a ship in Linz heading east. Slovakia, Hungary, Croatia, Serbia, Romania, Bulgaria, Moldova and the Ukraine are on his route. For 90 days the ambitious artist will rehearse and play with native artists from the different countries in his floating sound studio to later - when docked - give concerts along the Danube. He has already travelled these countries twice and has asked everyone what kind of music they have there, who the well-known and beloved musicians are, who has something really exciting to offer. "And of course I've looked in the CD shops at home, bought a lot of music and listened to it and drawn my conclusions from it, met with people and the musicians who are now on board, or who can get excited about it, are those who I want to have too."

In Hungary for example a ten-piece electro-acoustic band, Besh o droM, who draw their inspiration from Balkan melodies and Hungarian-Romanian gypsy music will be on the ship stage. Tamara Obrovac, guardian of Istrian music and a leading figure on the Croatian jazz scene is also involved, as is the Bulgarian gypsy brass orchestra Karandila. In the Ukraine awaits Haydamaky with explosive Carpathian ska and during his preparatory trips Goisern has already improvised with the Moldovan ethno rock band Zdob si Zdub, who celebrated their greatest international triumph with participation in the Eurovision Song Contest in 2005.

Nino Ketschagmadse

Südwest Aktiv 27th April 2007

CONCERT JOURNEY / A Danube convoy is to become a travelling stage for the Austrian Hubert von Goisern

Photo: Udo Eberl

At first the concert tour on Europe's river seemed too daring. But the time will have come on 22nd June: the Austrian Hubert von Goisern starts off in Vienna, travelling the Danube down to the Black Sea with changing musicians.

Hubert von Goisern sits in a fairly relaxed manner on the podium in Bayerische Rundfunk's Studio 2 at the press conference for his mega project "Linz Europe Tour 2007-09". A film has just been shown. He was shown with his accordion in a rocking jam session with the musicians from the Moldovan band Zdob Si Zdub, with his dialect hit Hiatamadl in skin-tight leather rather than traditional dirndl. A taster of what the somewhat different folk musician and his new young band can expect on their expedition to the southeast of Europe.

Yet before the dream of a concert ship journey with a floating stage becomes a reality - stopping this summer in Romanian and Hungarian harbours, and in Rotterdam in 2008, or via Neckar in Stuttgart and Heilbronn - there are some financial and organisational paths to smooth first. "I am a convinced European, but I've lost that during the preparations for our project. The EU hasn't lifted a finger to help us along - neither financially, nor with the border formalities," the musician says; the politicians in Brussels are in his bad books.

In the end Hubert von Goisern and his manager Hage Hein realised on their way through the institutions that "we were not able to fulfil the criteria stipulated in Brussels with our partners in the eastern Danube states, because everything there is designed for perfectly functioning western culture offices." Absurdly it would have been much easier to obtain grants on the Rhine and Main. "But we want to get the costs back through ticket sales there", says Hein.

From east to west

The city of Linz has made possible the unusual musical journey of adventure. Linz will carry the title of European Capital of Culture in 2009 and the singer will now be their ambassador. "The project is bringing us a great deal. We can speak of the city in Europe and we want to contribute to that by transporting the images and music from the east to the west," says Martin Heller, Manager of the cultural event "Linz 09", yesterday. At least as important: the result of the two river journeys will be a large harbour festival taking place over several days with most of the artists. Heller is hoping for "a musical melange, the likes of which you have never heard before."

The second big sponsor is "Red Bull". The entrepreneur Dietrich Mateschitz was immediately taken with the idea, although Goisern fans are not necessarily the target group for his caffeine drink. "He supports the ship expedition unconditionally," explains Hein. Without financial help the technical costs could not be met.

A tugboat will transport a barracks ship for the 24 member crew and 12 guests up and down the Danube, as well as another ship with a large stage. A large sound system, LED walls for possible translations of the lyrics and film broadcasts, professional light, electricity generators, rehearsal facilities, a hydraulic stage, which can be adjusted according to the quay height of individual harbours - all this will be possible with this river journey. There will be rehearsals during the journey with the musical guests from the various countries, concerts will take place in the harbours - in the east these will mostly charge no admission.

Indescribable

Before the practical work began, Hubert von Goisern set off twice in his own VW bus with a few addresses in his rucksack, driving to eastern countries unknown to him, to spread his idea and find musicians. He returned, a few kilos heavier - "you have to eat and drink at every meeting - and with many experiences. "I was particularly impressed by the journey on a ship that transports corn. This one week was indescribable," says the alpine rocker, who doesn't want to leave the ship during the first 90-day trip. "I'm so looking forward to it."

The crew has undertaken 25 concerts for this summer, as long as the water level is right, nature and the harbour masters play ball and the borders do not become insurmountable hurdles. "I'm already looking forward to the grey areas. What we are intending to do has a little to do with anarchy too", says von Goisern, who wants to take up the challenge and also support the Danube. The river cannot take any more congestion and concreting. "The Danube is a being to me. Every retaining wall kills it a little more."

The 55 year old also sees himself as a political ambassador, but wants first and foremost to spread his music: "I want to our alpine world of sound, our life blues." He will be playing together with guests who have their own authentic musical language. The verbal - some of the musicians do not even speak English - plays a secondary role: "I believe that you can make yourself understood via music." But not everyone with whom Hubert von Goisern wanted to collaborate will be on the boat. When he realised that some only intended to use him to get their foot in the door of the western market, being on the same wavelength was soon over.

The musical captain has barely given a thought to the marketing via CD or DVD. The main thing is that journey is beginning. On 22nd June comes the starting shot for the tour on the Viennese Donauinsel, in the open air and on the river before an expected crowd of 10,000 fans. The musician is longing for the show and the journey: "I want to know."

Udo Eberl