Beethoven 3, 4, 6 and 7, plus two overtures

I've given up the idea of posting in chronological order. I'll finish the 10 day break posts soon, hopefully, but I have been doing a lot lately and want to post about it.

I'm in the IES computer lab now waiting for workshop to start at 4:30. I just got out of a coaching with Albert. We are playing Navarra, and it's such a fun piece. It's difficult to tune but we are working through it slowly and efficiently and we sounded much better today than Friday. Barbara (our teacher and coach) is really funny and always gets the best sound out of us.

Speaking of last Friday, though, after our coaching I went home and changed. I met Charlotte at the Naschmarkt where we walked around until we decided to get Chinese food. It wasn't only Chinese, since I couldn't resist getting Bulgogi. I think the name of the place was 'Pineapple.' ha.

Then we went to the Konzerthaus to get last minute student tickets at 6:30ish. We ran into Chelsea and Westrey was there, too. We swapped seats with them because Charlotte and I wanted to sit in the Organbalkon, behind the stage. It was incredible! We sat right behind the bass section.

The Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen was phenomenal! They had a small string section (only 3 basses) but it allowed them to play as a chamber ensemble more than an orchestra. The precision of the group was astounding. We were literally giddy with happiness.

They started with Coriolan Overture, which I have loved ever since we played it at Vanderbilt under Leon Fleisher. Then they played Beethoven 6, had intermission, and finished with Beethoven 7. It was the best concert I think I have ever been to.

Our favorite part was probably watching the viola section as they played. The first stand, and in particular, the principal violist, was so incredibly happy to be alive and playing Beethoven. He was smiling and laughing and having fun with his colleagues. He exhibited pure joy as he played. To a lesser extent I think you could tell all the musicians were enjoying the music and the sounds they produced were genuine and alive. They really exemplified the ideal of chamber music: many people acting as one unit effortlessly.

Dean had called me in a panic before the concert. He was running late and forgot his ID, so he wanted me to try to get him a ticket. The line was really long, but some random lady offered me a ticket and I bought it from her.

After the concert Dean showed us a nice little restaurant / bar near where he lived, and it was great catching up with him. We actually ran into him the next night.

Charlotte and I had to go back the next night. I told Eva we had to postpone our Skype time until Sunday so we could go.

Saturday I slept in, then went down to the first district to explore and just wander around. I started at Karlsplatz and went to Karlskirche. Karlskirche is a really beautiful church that's unique in that they have built an elevator inside that takes you up to the dome. You climb some stairs up and you can see 360 degrees.

Then I wanted to finally go to the Hofburg, since I hadn't even seen it yet. It's a beautiful place with gardens and several national museums, including the national library. I was going to see the Silberkammer but was told that there wasn't a lot of time and I would be rushed. I came back Sunday and really enjoyed it, plus the Sisi (Empress of Austria and wife of Emperor Francis Joseph I) museum and Kaiserappartements. I thought mom would definitely love to see the Silberkammer, with all the court silver and porcellan.

Then I wandered and found myself by the Belvedere, but it was just closing (everything here closes at 6), so I went to the Prater to ride the Reisenrad (the ferris wheel). I decided it was too dark and left. I ended up going back the next day and rode it, getting another great view of the city, this time as the sun set.

I went home and made tortellini and got a text from Charlotte telling me to hurry up. I shoveled pasta into my mouth and ran out the door. We wanted to be early to snag the best seats that were left. Unfortunately they didn't have the Organbalkon open this time so we sat on the right side on the orchestra level. The seats were pretty good but we weren't sitting together. Oh well, it wasn't a big deal.

I actually brought my microtrack to this concert and tried to record it. The Creatures of Prometheus Overture and Beethoven 4 didn't turn out so well, because my microtrack is having issues. But I finally got it to work correctly and recorded all of Beethoven 3, which sounds amazing! Charlotte had her earphones so we listened to the first movement again on the U bahn back to Hietzing, haha.

Anyway, that was most of my great weekend. I should get ready for workshop, Albert and I are playing half of Navarra in class today. I hope it goes well.

Tosca, Donkeys, Museums, and Wine

I apologize for not posting as often as I wish I could. I still have most of my stories from my 10 day break to write up. Luckily I kept a good travel journal. I have had so many unbelievable experiences here, it's hard to write everything down! Not a bad problem to have.

But before I forget about this weekend I should blog about it. Then I will finish up the rest of my 10 day break stories.

This weekend was incredible. It started with me going to the Wiener Staatsoper to see Tosca. It was phenomenal. I was blown away. I left at 4:45 (I remember because I got a text from Michelle saying she was getting there at 4:45). I arrived around quarter after and I wasn't too far back in the line. I brought Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl to read during the wait. I sat next to Chelsea who was writing a birthday card to her mother. The card was Norwegian I think. She had trouble licking the stamp she took out of her wallet. haha.

The Opera house is gorgeous. There's not really much else I can say about it. I was told a story about one of the two architects of the Opera house committing suicide after Emperor Franz Josef told them he thought the building looked like a train station. The other died of a heart attack.



The production was beautiful. Obviously the music was incredible and the singers were so good. I brought my binoculars which weren't really necessary but it was cool to see all the details of the sets and costumes. The candles and the drinks (and I assume the food) were real. The costumes were fantastic. The sets were huge but no detail was skimmed over. I wish I could have taken pictures of the sets.



Honestly, Tosca isn't my favorite opera. I didn't really know the story before I went. But when Tosca kills Scarpia I was wondering how it would end. The antagonist is dead, so now what? Obviously the lovers have to die, and I knew that Tosca jumps off a cliff (or just a high building?) at the very end. I immediately thought that for some reason Cavaradossi would actually be shot during his 'fake' execution. I wanted to have an explanation, but one wasn't really provided. So the ending for me seemed a little curt: "And then everyone died."

Anyway I got home around 11 and packed for the IES trip to Styria. For whatever reason I didn't get to bed until 1 am. The bus left at 7:30 in the morning so I set my alarm for 6 am. It was kinda rough, but I made it there right on time.

We stopped at Stübing to see the open air museum. They basically took apart representational buildings of villages all over Austria and put them back together in this valley. It's really cool. A description in The Story of the Trapp Family Singers really fits: "If I think of the villages in Europe," Rupert entered the conversation, "in the Alps or in France or England and Scandinavia, there the houses fit into the landscape, and the people do, too. They seem to be a part of it."

It's a wonderful place and I am glad people are taking care to preserve a special part of history. I overheard a conversation later that they were having financial problems and might have to close down. I hope that doesn't happen.





Anyway, during our time there - we had a few hours to wander around - we came across two donkeys. They were right up against a fence and we went up to them and started petting them. They seemed docile enough. I was petting one and it swung its head around and bit my left arm!



This is the donkey that bit me.



A picture of my bicep that I took later.

At first everyone just thought it bit my sweater but it got some bicep as well. It didn't hurt too much but it was surprising and when I pulled up my sleeve I had a nice big bruise. It's not serious, luckily. I am thankful it wasn't a finger. It's a fun little story and before lunch just about everyone had heard of it. I guess that's one way to be famous.

So that night (Saturday) was the Long Night of Museums (Lange Nacht der Museen). After a very nice tour of Graz and dinner at the hostel everyone went wherever they pleased. I went with Joncie, Katy, Amanda, and Elizabeth to Schloss Eggenberg first.

Sadly no pictures were allowed and I'm too lazy to upload pictures from online, so just Google it if you want. From the outside the palace isn't that impressive, but the rooms are absolutely gorgeous, with paintings all over the walls and ceiling and beautiful crystal chandeliers. I thought it was cool that they still used candles with the chandeliers. The tour was a bit briefer than what I expect they normally are, since it was such a busy night. Also, it was only in German, so I only caught bits and pieces.

The next thing we did was we went to the Kunsthaus, the museum of modern art. There were only two exhibits open that night and I am not so keen on modern art.



I can get behind expressionism or works by Klee, Kandinsky, and Kokoscha. Jackson Pollock is probably pushing it for me (though I think I have only seen one piece by him). One exhibit was by Franz West. The art was somewhat interactive. It was a cool idea but I was too weirded out by the strange shapes he put together. I didn't have any guide, either, which might have helped. Oh well. The photography exhibit was pretty cool at least.

Next I ran into Albert and Rochelle and we decided to go see the Armory. I had heard that it was something you had to see in Graz. I was not disappointed. It was like a department store for if you were going to war in the 16th century. Rows upon rows of armor, swords, spears, pikes, and a very cool set of horse armor. After a tour auf Deutsch, which I didn't get anything out of, we wandered around and took pictures even though we weren't supposed to. We decided that this was THE place to be if a zombie apocalypse ever broke out.





I wanted to climb up to the top of the Schlossberg, the mountain which overlooks the city. Rochelle climbed with me but we stopped at the bell tower, which had a nice view. Night pictures are hardly ever worth it with my digital camera, unfortunately. I think there is a castle up higher on the hill but it was late so we went back to our hostel. We took a cab and got back right at 1 am.

I'm sorry this post grew uncontrollably long, so let me just say that today we got up and drove to a nearby wine festival. It was pretty fun. Glühwein is excellent, as is Sturm. The parade was kinda slow; it kept stopping and starting for some reason. But overall it was a good time. Here are a few pictures.