The guests of the charitable event were visibly thrilled to be able to experience the exceptional Latvian artist Garanča, violin virtuoso Baich and all-rounder Fletzberger in such an intimate setting. In the end, the hall thanked the trio with a standing ovation.

Garanča had already celebrated a brilliant Vienna comeback at the State Opera at the beginning of the week, now she took the time and put herself in the service of a good cause. World star Garanča also attracted the prominent classical music fans, so that quite a few of them attended the event. The 2015 festive evening included: Aid Austria President Othmar Karas with his wife Christa Karas-Waldheim, EU Commissioner Johannes Hahn, the former National Bank Governor Klaus Liebscher and wife Vita Liebscher, host and IV Secretary General Christoph Neumayer, Thomas Schäfer-Elmayer and Christine Zach, star actor Peter Simonischek, state opera baritone Clemens Unterreiner, theater producer and director Peter Weck, Volksbanken AG supervisory board chairman Stephan Koren and many others

Feldmann: "An extraordinary evening"

"Tonight is extraordinary in three ways," said AIK chairwoman Barbara Feldmann, who has headed the committee since 2012, to the guests. “The first reason: Today's gala evening is already the 30th edition of this event. The second reason: It is undoubtedly something special when so many people come together to support Club 21 - an institution for people with disabilities. And the third reason: With Elīna Garanča, Lidia Baich and Matthias Fletzberger, we are also offering the guests of the gala evening something for their money - namely, cultural enjoyment at its best, ”said Feldmann happily.

Praniess-Kastner: "The Imhof Committee deserves a big thank you"

“The Vienna Aid Organization is one of the most important players in the social field in the federal capital,” President Karin Praniess-Kastner explained to the audience present. “However, in some areas - such as our leisure facilities for people with disabilities - we are dependent on support. With the help of the Imhof committee, the donations from the festival evening visitors and the altruism of the artists who perform free of charge, we can do something for others. We would like to say a big thank you for this, ”said the Vienna Aid Organization President. She especially wanted to thank Barbara Kittinger from the Annemarie Imhof committee. Kittinger was able to win Elīna Garanča for the performance. Both Feldmann and Praniess-Kastner also thanked the sponsors who made the evening possible with their contribution.