On 19. June this year, the long-time President of International Chopin Societies, Prof. Dr. Theodor Kanitzer, had his 100th birthday celebrated at the Vienna City Hall. Surrounded by around 350 guests from all over the world, Mr. Kanitzer’s presence was no less than a legendary inspiration. His life has been honored as an embodiment of civil courage and cultural exchange through peaceful dialogues and musical activities.
A member of the Austro-Polish Society since 1953, Mr. Kanitzer became its executive president since 1971. This was followed in 1974 by the presidency of the International Chopin Societies. Together with the former Vice Chancellor and Trade Minister Fritz Bock, he founded the “Economic Forum” in 1975 to promote economic relations between Austria and Poland.
Organized by PaN, the umbrella organization Partners of All Nations, the celebrational ceremony on 19. June took place as part of the “Vienna Festive Music Round of Nations for International Understanding, Peace and Freedom” (“Wiener festlichen Musikreigens der Nationen für Völkerverständigung, Frieden und Freiheit”), with the ORF star Silvia Schneider as the moderator.
Founded in Vienna in 1959, PaN has been an important bridge builder between nations. It is a tireless cultural mediator and a passionate advocate for peace and international understanding. When PaN turned 60 in 2019, its President Univ.-Prof. Dr. Hermann Mückler, as well as its Secretary General Senator h.c. Walter J. Gerbautz, were interviewed by the renowned magazine “Diplomacy & Commerce”. At the interview, Mr. Mückler traced back the history of PaN by recalling the time right after the end of the Second World War, when the first bilateral societies were founded, closely aligned with and, in some cases, at the instigation of the four Allied occupying powers. He said that it quickly became clear that while communication between the societies was always possible, a joint, overarching institution coordinating cooperation could increase their external visibility and thus the success of their endeavors. In 1959, therefore, the two general secretaries of the Austrian-American Society and the Austrian-Soviet Society formed a joint working group, part of the work program of the “Palais Palffy – Austria House”. The working group was since then welcomed by more and more existing bilateral societies.
Now that PaN unites over 120 bilateral Austrian-foreign societies, the umbrella organization finds the most visible expression through the PaN Support Awards. Encouragement, advice and support for the societies are the key words mentioned by PaN’s Secretary General Senator h.c. Walter J. Gerbautz. With the PaN Support Awards, Mr. Gerbautz said, PaN regularly recognizes the societies’ projects selected by an independent jury. The funding is not intended as seed money, but rather as recognition of successful work already accomplished.
Joining the celebration on 19.June were the Ambassador of the Republic of Poland to Austria Zenon Kosiniak-Kamysz, PaN President Hermann Mückler, President of the International Federation of Chopin Societies and the Société Chopin à Paris Antoine Paszkiewicz, Vice President of the Austrian-Polish Society and author of Kanitzer’s biography Johann Günther, and the new President of the International Chopin Society in Vienna Donka Angatscheva, to name just a few. They respectively delivered thankful speech for Mr. Kanitzer and made a gift to him, too.
In his speech of gratitude, Mr. Kanitzer emphasized the time before, during and after the WWII, when the world experienced the unforeseen human suffering and NZ cruelty. He called for the reflection of the time and reinforced the importance of bridging over different cultures by dialogues. He praised Vienna as an eternal city since the Roman times, a city of quiet but lasting significance. And he remembered the first time when he entered Vienna’s City Hall after the war around 80 years ago to find that the building was one of the few significant Viennese structures which had escaped the bombings. Despite the current crises and challenges, Mr. Kanitzer remains an optimist for the positive human future.
The festive evening ended with the highlight of a celebrational concert with artists including Donka Angatscheva, Lidia Baich, Natalia Rehling, Zoryana Kushpler, Manfred Wagner-Artzt, Sandra Pires and Filip Trifu. While the program was mostly dedicated to Frédéric Chopin – the composer whose works Theodor Kanitzer has been conveying with decade-long passion, the pieces by Shostakovich and Piazzolla added flavor to the extraordinary evening. (20260628)
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