"Bilder im Kopf" (Pictures in the Mind) is the motto of the 30th Wien Modern festival, which takes to the city's stages from 31 October to 1 December 2017. Ninety events present the music of the present day. New music is puzzling and complex - and gets under the skin.

The Wien Modern festival has 32 performance dates and 26 venues to offer in its anniversary year 2017. The event was founded by Claudio Abbado in 1988. On the program are 48 productions and 90 events, in which film, video, painting, photography and multimedia play a role alongside the music. All of this can be heard and see not only on the city's stages but also in museums, galleries and in movie theaters.

The start to the festival with the Wiener Symphoniker is formed on 31 October by the silent movie "J'accuse" (Abel Gance 1919) with orchestral music and electronics by Philippe Schoeller. The opening concert with the RSO Vienna on 2 November is dedicated to an alarmingly current issue: The "Floß der Medusa" (Hans Werner Henze) remembers the 140 people who lost their lives off the coast of Mauritania in 1816.

At the Claudio Abbado concert on 4 November, a new orchestra from Vienna and Paris presents world premieres and debut performances by Iris ter Schiphorst, Georges Aperghis and Hugues Dufourt. A central topic of Wien Modern is devoted to French contemporary music, Musique spectrale and Musique concrète.

The young audience is addressed with workshops and performances created with Dschungel Wien and the ZOOM Children's Museum. In addition to the general pass, which gives access to 44 of the 48 productions, there are also two discounted packs with 4 and 5 events respectively in 2017 ("French Touch" & "Ganz großes Kino" (Really great cinema)).

Wien Modern 30. 31 October - 1 December 2017
26 different venues
www.wienmodern.at