Madame Butterfly was simply stunning- it was held in the State Opera House and the quality of the performance was incredible. The soprano was so fantastic- Un bel di Vedremo never sounded so wonderful. Check out http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Z3-yBlDckY for Renee Fleming's performance of this song for a refresher of how great this aria truly is. The State opera house is seven stories of seats and has a giant crystal chandelier at the top of the ceiling. So cool!
On Tuesday we took a beautiful hike to the Heiligenstadt area on the outer edge of the 19th district of Vienna. It is a beautifully forested area interwoven with vineyards. We began our hike down from the Kahlenberg- a tall hill that the Polish army mounted a counter-attack from that saved Vienna from being overrun by the Turks in 1683. Heiligenstadt means "Holy City" and is so old that scholars believe that there may have been an oracle or sacred place the Romans built when they first settled the area thousands of years ago. There are remains of Roman walls and a cemetery there as well as early Christian churches and settlements. Beethoven lived in Heiligenstadt for a time and wrote the famous Heiligenstadt Testament there. Closer to Vienna, a beautiful monument to Beethoven is located along a stream that was full of ducks and frogs. It is a very peaceful place and it was easy to see why Beethoven loved it.
After seeing Beethoven's hair in a little museum in the town of Heiligenstadt, we went to a traditional Heuriger, a wine-tasting house and restaurant. When there is a new wine being featured, the tradition is to hang a pine branch over the front door. We had the house white wine and it was delicious. To eat we had a chicken salad- which is a little different here then in the states. The salad has a layer of German potato salad on the bottom, a layer of mixed greens with dressing next, and then giant pieces of fried chicken on top. Delicious!
After the wine-tasting, we took a bus back into the city and attended a master class of UM's Pierrot ensemble. Two members of the Pierrot Lunaire Ensemble Wien, Gustavo Balanesco and Silvia Gelos, listened to original compositions written by UM composition students who are also members of MELEe. After hearing the pieces they gave feedback and suggestion to the group. An intense but rewarding process with some of the world's finest musicians.
On Wednesday Katie and I went to the Ensemble Intercontemporain conducted by the legendary Pierre Boulez. This French ensemble is the world's number one ensemble performing modern music. It was so great- we heard pieces by Stockhausen, Ligeti, Berg, and Donatoni. Kammerkonzert by Ligeti is a wonderful (and delightfully modern) piece. Give it a listen sometime. And for those of you who may not enjoy modern music- keep in mind that most movie music we hear today would not be around if wasn't for modern composers like Schoenberg and Ligeti.
Yesterday we had a masterclass with Katharina Klement at the Universitat fur Musik along with some of her electronic music students. The Pierrot ensemble played again and then MELEe performed as well. I got some new feedback on the video art that I create with MELEe and we got ready for our upcoming performance at the Palace Corbelli this coming Tuesday. MELEe and Katharina Klement's students will perform with MELEe and I will also perform with the Flute Choir.
Now its off to another masterclass with Dr. Ulrike Anton at the Palace Corbelli with members of the Flute Choir. Wow! I think it's fair to say that it's been another busy week!
I hope this posting finds all of you well and I'll be seeing you in about two weeks- then I can show you all of my pictures. Have a great day!
CMR
Oh, so just another boring week in Vienna, huh? ;) That all sounds awesome--especially the hike. And the chicken salad. Okay, all of it.
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