In 1999, Vienna's Department of Culture invited the Viennese Folk Music Society (Wiener Volksliedwerk, or WVLW) to come
  up with a draft for a festival of Viennese song and Viennese music. Together with renowned Viennese artists and
    musicians such as Karl Hodina and Roland J.L. Neuwirth, the WVLW got the project off to a flying start, and since 2000
      the festival has taken place annually as "wean hean" - "vienna sound".
        Right from the start, the idea was to avoid simply stringing together a collection of widely-heard songs or arranging
          a series of concerts of Viennese music in order to conjure up a "festival". Instead, the aim was to position
            Viennese music in novel contexts, to perform it in unexpected venues, and to invite representatives of other
              styles - jazz and contemporary music, for example - to risk a fresh look at our Viennese "trad". Each event is
                characterised by a specific theme.
                  Regular highlights have been introduced into the festival calendar over the years. There are the eagerly-
                    awaited "City-to-City Encounters" ("Städtebegegnungen"), for instance, in which the music of other
                      cities is confronted with Viennese music. Here, Viennese songs, waltzes and polkas can be heard to
                        merge and mingle with the exotic sounds of tangos from Buenos Aires, musettes from Paris or
                          fados from Lisbon.
                            Under "wean jazz" - "vienna jazz" - Karl Hodina, Alegre Corrêa, Thomas Gantsch und Max Nagl
                              have been instrumental in creating a fusion of Viennese music and jazz - with breathtaking
                                results. In 2003 "wean modern" - "vienna modern" - opened up entirely new perspectives.
                                  Here, Viennese music goes contemporary, as composers are commissioned to write
                                    brand-new works for the good old "Schrammelquartett" (a quartet commonly
                                      consisting of two violins, bass guitar and accordion).
                                        In 2004 there was a parallel exhibition on Viennese music in the Stadtgalerie
                                          Vienna (Vienna City Gallery). Apart from providing an ideal frame for the
                                            festival's opening, the Gallery also played host to a number of events.