raabjerg

A grand night

august 25th, 2008

Saturday evening, we booked tickets for a classical concert in the Vienna State Opera (Staatsoper) with the Vienna Mozart Orchestra. Sadly, Marit had to remain at the hotel and take care of the sleeping Benjamin, so we were 2 people short. As it turned out, we got seated on the second row, even though we had not booked seats in this category, so that was quite nice

The building itself is an experience. Somehow, I had the feeling I had seen it in some movies, but I have a suspicion that I was really thinking of a larger place somewhere in eastern Europe.

The greatest experience, however, was the music. The first 15-20 minutes I could not even make myself take a picture, as I just wanted to listen to the music. It struck me that this should not be something you capture for having a special memory, but rather the only way you enjoy classical music – live. It really is a totally different (and much nicer) sound experience, and you catch nuances of the famous works that you have not noticed before.

The Vienna Mozart Orchestra played extremely well, and both the classical costumes as well as the musical qualities contributed to making it a fantastic experience. The preferred mode of play seemed to be a somewhat understated, but still very nuanced sound, lying just beneath the real breakthrough of an audial (if that’s even a word) climax. It made me wonder if they could actually play with full strength or if the orchestra was simply too small, but in their very final extra-performance where they offered us “An der schönen blauen Donau” and “Radetsky March”, they seemed to be of the opinion that while Mozart apparently cannot be played in full strength, Strauss can

Along the concert, I was wondering if their somewhat understated interpretations were not purposeful and thus would have awarded them 9 out of 10 points, but clearly I was mistaken, so in my mind, they now have gotten full marks for playing in a very controlled just-below-breakthrough mode all through the classical works of Mozart.

In the end, a great evening. And so much more fun to listen to the works of Mozart than visiting his house. This is where Mozart truly comes alive!

Entry Filed under: Family, Life, Travel