Dear Patrons,

 

it is a great joy and honour for me to present myself to you as the new board chairman of the Association of Patrons of the Salzburg Easter Festival. I first attended the Easter Festival as a twelve-year-old in 1974, and since then it has become a regular date in my annual calendar of important musical events.

 

 

 

 

I am therefore all the more honoured to be able to make an active contribution in my new function for this festival which in so many ways is unique.

As members of the Association of Patrons you have very special links with the Salzburg Easter Festival, indeed many of you have been members since it was founded in 1967. Without your loyal support a festival like this would not be possible. You are the decisive pillars of the Easter Festival and I should like to thank you for this.

The Salzburg Easter Festival finds itself at the beginning of a new era. Exciting challenges lie ahead and I am looking forward to facing these, together with you, dear Patrons, so as to ensure a secure future for “our” Easter Festival.

 

Yours sincerely,

Michael Berger-Sandhofer

President

 

The Association

The idea of the Association of Patrons is an important integral part of the founding philosophy of the Salzburg Easter Festival, and the history of the Association is therefore as old as the festival itself. In the late 1960s, by introducing a patronage system as an essential support for the new festival at Easter, Herbert von Karajan set new standards in cultural management which today serve renowned institutions worldwide as a model.

For over 40 years now the members of the Association of Patrons have contributed fundamental financial support as well as non-material support to ensure the continued existence of the Salzburg Easter Festival and to perpetuate the founding philosophy of this unique festival: to present the highest artistic standards and a demanding programme based on exclusivity.

The Salzburg Easter Festival thanks its long-standing Patrons for their loyal support and looks forward to seeing them again at Easter 2013.

The Salzburg Easter Festival offers young people (up to 35 years old) the possibility of joining the Association of Patrons of the Easter Festival for a reduced annual fee of € 50. Besides priority booking for a subscription in price category V, young Patrons enjoy all the advantages of being a patron in full.