“Thought Rays” by Maria Lazar: Reading with Music

On this evening, the work "Gedankenstrahlen" by the Austrian author Maria Lazar will be presented, featuring texts from the late 1930s and early 1940s. Some of these texts have never been published before and address societal and political themes with a sharp eye and dark humor. The reading will be performed by Simone Neumayr, who will read from these intricately composed miniatures of various genres—including crime stories, deep psychological social parables, and ambiguous, prophetic narratives.

The evening will be musically accompanied by Irene Kaltenböck on piano and vocals, who will underscore the atmosphere of the texts with pieces from various genres. Maria Lazar, a significant representative of Viennese Modernism, intensively explored the political and social problems of her time in her works. Her analyses of the roots of National Socialism in Austria are particularly influential. After decades of obscurity, her work is currently experiencing a much-noticed rediscovery.