Week Nine: Goulash, Grinzing, and Composers' Graves

Grüß Gott! (a common Viennese greeting)!


I hope this blog post finds everyone well - I can't wait to see many of you soon!  So much has happened in the past week that I felt I must blog about it - plus, blogging will be a good study break from paper writing and finals studying! 


The first highlight of Week Nine was a trip to the Universität für Musik und darstellende Kunst Wien to hear another clarinet studio recital.  I love hearing students my age play clarinet, and conservatory clarinetists here in Vienna are ridiculously talented.  Before the recital, Matt and I ate at a little Italian restaurant called "Da Capo."  As Austria borders northern Italy, the Italian cuisine in Vienna is quite good. Matt and I had promised ourselves that we would go on a "date night" at a cute restaurant while we were in Vienna, so it was nice to relax in Da Capo's garden while eating delicious pizza and pasta.  


On Tuesday, we visited the Museum of Military History.  Although I was not particularly interested in looking at the old rifles and cannons housed in the museum, I was fascinated by the museum's depiction of Austrian military history and the often complex role Austria played in conflicts such as World War II.  It was interesting to explore military history from a non-American perspective.  This museum also contains the car in which Archduke Franz Ferdinand was killed in 1914 (the incident that sparked World War I) as well as Franz Ferdinand's deathbed.  Once again, memories of my high school history classes (and one of my history teacher's dramatic recreation of this scene from history - hi, Katie Miller!) again floated into my memory as I saw the information I learned brought to life.  

The Franz Ferdinand car

On Wednesday night, we attended the Vienna Symphony's performance of Mahler's Fifth Symphony at the Musikverein.  This was a particularly emotional concert for me: not only was the orchestra playing Mahler, whose symphonies often bring me to tears, but it was our group's last concert in the Musikverein.  I have so loved being able to attend numerous concerts at the Musikverein - hailed by many as the best hall in the world - so this concert was particularly sad.  At the end of the fifth movement of the Mahler, I started bawling, as the incredible orchestration of this symphony combined with my own sadness about leaving the Musikverein really impacted me...and earned me many confused looks from other audience members as I walked out of the Musikverein sobbing!  

Musikverein, Großer Saal

I finally indulged in a treat during intermission!

Luckily, that evening was also Richard's birthday, so my mood quickly improved when my FSP-mates and I threw him a surprise party.  Matt baked him a delicious cake, and we all hid around the flat and jumped out at Richard when he walked in.  After the party, we all headed out to the Prater for a late-night bumper car outing, but all of the rides were closed.  Yet, we were determined to help Richard celebrate, so a few of us went to the Donauinsel (the bank of the Danube river) and sat on a dock in the dark.  Richard and a couple of others jumped into the freezing cold water while I decided to remain on the dock, resisting Richard and Remy's attempts to throw me in.  Although I was not brave enough to swim at midnight, it was nice to sit on the dock and gaze at the city lights in the distance.  

Richard's surprise

The cake Matt baked for Richard

The next day, I had my last lesson with my clarinet teacher (so sad)!  We worked on my scale and articulation exercises as well as my piece for the final recital, the Honegger Sonatine.  After the lesson, our teacher took me and Matt out for lunch (at a delicious falafel restaurant to which we have since returned) and gelato (at our new favorite spot).  It was great to talk to our teacher about life as a clarinetist in Vienna, the transition from a liberal arts college to a conservatory, and our goals for future clarinet playing.  I feel so fortunate that my lessons in Vienna worked out so well; my teacher has helped and encouraged me so much, and I can't wait to further apply the techniques he has taught me.  We have our final recital on Wednesday, and I am excited to show what I have learned!


After the lesson and lunch, Matt and I went to Simmering (at the end of an U-Bahn line) to the Zentralfriedhof (Central Cemetery) in Vienna to visit the graves of Beethoven, Schubert, (Johann) Strauss, and Brahms.  In tribute to our beloved composers, Matt and I walked from grave to grave with a laptop, playing a segment of a piece by each composer.  Thank goodness no one else was around, or else we would have gotten a ton of weird looks, but it was really meaningful to be able to hear the brilliant music of these composers at their resting places. 

The sign indicating the musicians' corner of the Zentralfriedhof

Me by all of the composers' graves

Beethoven

BRAHMS!

Afterwards, we went to the Austrian National Library, which I had read was one of the most beautiful libraries in the world and was thus determined to see before I left.  Although the reading room was, in fact, gorgeous and covered in books on all sides, it was more like a museum than a library.  Display cases and posters were everywhere, and I didn't get the same kind of cozy "library" feeling that I experienced at the abbeys in Melk and St. Florian.  Nonetheless, I am more than happy in any room filled with thousands of books!

Austrian National Library

Secret passageway!

This past weekend, we traveled as a group to Budapest, Hungary.  I was excited for this trip, as we would have the opportunity to visit another city, learn about its history, eat its food, and hear its music.  After a three-hour train ride from Vienna to Budapest, we began our visit with a bus tour of the city.  We stopped at Hero's Square (a large monument in the center of Budapest commemorating the great leaders of Hungary) and drove by other sites such as the stunning Parliament building and old bath houses.  Budapest actually has two separate sides, Buda and Pest (which were once two separate cities) separated by the Danube.  Most of the tourist attractions are on the Pest side, with the exception of the Buda Castle on the Buda side.  It was neat to see the many Turkish influences (such as the bathhouses and building styles) in Budapest, as the city was occupied by the Turks hundreds of years ago.  After hearing a fascinating lecture about Hungarian music (focusing on composers such as Liszt, Bartók, and Kodály), we ate dinner at a restaurant called Régi Sipos Halászkert Étterem, where we ate goulash and listened to live Hungarian folk music.  The food was delicious, and it was nice to hear more ethnic music (although the musicians did play an arrangement of "I Could've Danced All Night," which was a little disorienting to hear)!

The musicians - a violinist, bassist, and dulcimer player

Goulash

Hungarian honey cakes

The next day, we toured both the Franz List house.  At the Liszt house, we saw many of Liszt's pianos and other artifacts.  Although the museum only consisted of three rooms, it gave a thorough portrayal of Liszt's life and works.  

We had to wear these booties on our feet before walking around the museum

Liszt's manuscripts

One of Liszt's pianos (and the most gorgeous music stand ever)

Afterwards, we visited the House of Terror, which was obviously a completely different experience.  This museum houses exhibitions and artifacts dealing with both the Nazi and Soviet occupations of Hungary.  This was honestly one of the best museums I have ever visited, as it instilled in me a understanding of the profound negative impact of these occupations on these Eastern European countries.  I left the museum emotionally drained but well-informed and deeply moved.  




Upon returning from Budapest, Matt, Amy, and I rushed to Cafe Hawelka, where we had previously arranged to meet Elizabeth, who was visiting us for the weekend from Prague.    We were lucky to be able to spend the entire day on Sunday with her!  Our day began with a trip to the "Pancake Palace" restaurant where we first tried the Kaiserschmarm (the torn-up pancakes with plum sauce).  As Elizabeth is an excellent dessert partner-in-crime, we had to take her!

Kaiserschmarm

The best part of the day was our trip to Grinzing (a little town just outside of Vienna) to visit the grave of Gustav Mahler.  Elizabeth, Amy, Matt, and I perched next to his grave and played the DSO's recording of Mahler's Second Symphony from our concert last spring.  In the middle of the piece, we realized that it was the exact one year anniversary of the DSO concert on which we performed this piece - May 29.  This made the moment all the more magical!  Before leaving, we each took a small chunk of grass from the area near Mahler's grave.  Although this sounds totally weird, we had been planning to do this for a while.  At our last rehearsal before the concert last spring, our DSO conductor pulled out a small teacup with grass from Mahler's grave that he had picked on the DSO's tour to Central Europe the year before.  It was so nice to sit with my DSO friends and pay homage to one of my favorite composers.  

Mahler

Taking my grass

With our clumps of grass

Afterwards, we sat in a park in Grinzing and had a picnic consisting of falafel sandwiches and pastries.  It was a gorgeous day, and it was wonderful to sit and enjoy each other's company.  Although Matt, Amy, and I had to go to an opera that evening, we met up with Elizabeth afterwards and went once again to the "Pancake Palace," as we wanted to try different kinds of pancakes.  This day was a great way to relax and enjoy the calm before the storm of finals, and of course it was wonderful to see Elizabeth again!

Picnic

This is probably one of my last blog posts, as I return to the States on Saturday!  I cannot believe I am leaving so soon.  I love this city and cannot wait to return.  Not only will I return home a better clarinetist and listener of classical music, but also as a more empowered individual; voyaging around Europe has instilled in me a new confidence and lifelong love of travel.  


But, before I can get too sentimental, I must finish a ton of work!  Tomorrow, we have our Music History final and final recital (I am performing the Honegger Sonatine, and Matt and I are performing the Krommer Double Concerto, mvts. 1 and 2).  On Thursday, we have our final paper, journal, and quiz due for our "Perspectives in Performance" class.  Lots to accomplish!


As always, thanks for reading! 

Week Eight is over already? :(

Greetings, family and friends!

I cannot believe another week has gone by and that in two weeks I will be heading home.  I am so excited to see everyone back in Ohio and New Hampshire, but I am not sure I am quite ready to leave Vienna!  I am also starting to freak out a bit, because between now and when I leave I have to prepare for a recital, write a 12-15 page paper, and study for a Music History final.  Time to hit the books and practice rooms!

This week, we stayed in Vienna all week and thus had the opportunity to further explore the city!  Last Sunday evening, we attended the New York Philharmonic's performance of Mahler's Fifth Symphony at the Musikverein.  This was a really interesting experience; not only was the performance amazing, but we saw our first standing ovation in Vienna.  Audiences in Vienna tend not to give standing ovations, but rather clap for several minutes after the concert while the conductor comes back onstage three or four times.     After the NY Phil concert, however, everyone in the audience stood to clap.  I'm not sure whether this was because it was a visiting orchestra or because there were a lot of Americans in the audience, but it was still really exciting to experience this response.

On Tuesday, the girls in our group went on a shopping excursion.  As a longtime shopping lover, I was particularly eager to shop in Vienna.  We went to H&M (which are abundant in Vienna - one on every street corner!) and another store called Zara.  We all found some cute spring dresses and skirts and enjoyed spending the day together in the city.

The floral skirt that resulted from my shopping trip - the only picture I have from that day!

On Wednesday, we went on a field trip to the Arnold Schoenberg Center in Vienna, a museum and library devoted to the life and works of composer Arnold Schoenberg.  Although I am not a fan of modern music, I enjoyed learning about Schoenberg's life (he worked in Vienna for a large part of his life, but also spent time in Boston - yay! - and California).  He was also an inventor (he invented the tape holder/dispenser) and painter.  I am certainly appreciating how I have been exposed to different kinds of music to which I would not otherwise necessarily listen.

On Thursday (after an exhausting but productive clarinet lesson and coaching!) we toured the Belvedere, the former summer palace of Prince Eugene of Savoy.  It is now an art museum that houses famous Austrian art, most famously the works of Gustav Klimt, who painted the famous work "The Kiss" (shown below).  My favorite painting at the Belvedere (also shown below) was called "Girl Reading" (1850) by Franz Eybl.  I haven't been to an art museum yet in Vienna, so this was particularly enjoyable.

"The Kiss"

"A Girl Reading" - my favorite painting at the Belvedere!

Yesterday, a bunch of us went to the Prater, an amusement park in the city.  We rode several roller coasters and other rides.  Things were going great until my friend Anna and I went on a ride, and the attendant decided to be funny and not let us get off, so we had to go on the ride three more times.  As the ride was a high-up, swingy ride (sorry, not very descriptive), I got quite nauseous afterwards!  All in all, however, it was a nice, summer-y day and fun to be outside!

Hi Prater!

The famous Riesenrad ferris wheel

Danielle and Amy on the bumper cars at the Prater

Me, Danielle, and Amy with our ride tickets

The girls on a rollercoaster!

I am actually writing on a bit of a high today, as I just returned from a Vienna Philharmonic concert at the Musikverein.  After indulging in a trip to the famous Café Sacher (home of the famous Viennese Sacher Torte), Matt and I headed to the Musikverein to hear the Vienna Philharmonic perform the Berg Violin Concerto (with soloist Rainer Honeck, one of the concertmasters of the Vienna Phil) and Beethoven's Third - the "Eroica," or "Heroic" - Symphony.  I am thrilled to say that this was one of the most memorable musical experiences I have ever encountered.  Although we could see basically nothing (we were sitting behind the orchestra, next to the organ), the sound from behind the orchestra was incredible.  The loud sections were especially powerful, and we could even hear the conductor breathe!  The Vienna Philharmonic has a particularly clear, unique sound, and I was amazed by their flawless execution of the symphony, one of my favorite Beethoven works.  Franz Welser-Möst, the conductor of my hometown orchestra (The Cleveland Orchestra), once said in an interview, ""I have one big love in my life, which is my wife.  But I have two wonderful love affairs.  One is The Cleveland Orchestra, and the other is the Vienna Philharmonic."  I am beginning to realize that many similarities exist between The Cleveland Orchestra, which is and always will be my all-time favorite orchestra in the world, and the Vienna Philharmonic, and this made hearing today's concert even more personally meaningful.  

Sacher torte - dark chocolate cake with an apricot jam filling!

Matt and me in Cafe Sacher

The Vienna Philharmonic's star on the Music Mile in Vienna

From the balcony behind the stage (hi clarinets)!

Me with a statue of Mahler in the Musikverein

Anyways, I am off to make dinner, practice, and do some work, but I am glad I was able to update about my week!  I am SO looking forward to seeing everyone when I return to the States!


Thanks for reading!

Weeks Six and Seven - Pastry Heaven!

Hello, everybody!  I apologize for my lack of posts over the last two weeks.  I honestly have no excuse, as life has actually quieted down a bit!  Except for a day trip to two other Austrian towns, we have been in Vienna since we returned from Prague two weeks ago today.  Although I have loved traveling around Europe, it has been really nice to enjoy Vienna.  

I think I must first address the title of this blog - although all of our excursions have included shameful amounts of pastry consumption, I feel that we have outdone ourself during these past two weeks.  Upon returning from Prague, I realized that I must try to take further advantage of Vienna's legendary café and pastry scene, as I only have a few weeks left to sample some of the most decadent desserts in the world!  I therefore will share some of the most mouthwatering treats I have enjoyed these past couple of weeks.  Last Wednesday, in order to celebrate the completion of our Music History midterm, Matt and I visited the famous Café Demel - renowned for its rich hot chocolate and sumptuous desserts.  We treated ourselves to hot chocolate with whipped cream and a Schokobombe, a thick chocolate mousse cake with a rich chocolate fudge-like layer on top.  I really wished my mom, from whom I have inherited my love of all things sweet and caffienated, could have accompanied me to Demel! (Hi Mom!)  

Demel hot chocolate

Schokobombe

Our next dessert adventure took place last Monday at another famous Viennese cafe, Café Hawelka, a more artsy, Bohemian-type café frequented by writers and artists.  At Café Hawelka, we sampled the famous Buchtel desserts, sweet yeast buns with "powidl," a thick plum jam.  These Buchtel are only released once a day at Hawelka - at 10 pm.  Thus, Matt, Shivani, Remy, and his sister Anne Caroline, and I settled into a cozy booth and waited for these steaming buns to emerge from the oven.  In my opinion, the Buchtel are the best desserts I have tasted in Vienna thus far.  One more fun fact: as we sat in the dimly lit café sipping hot chocolate and munching on Buchtel, a man at the next table over was sketching us!  We felt very Viennese!

Buchtel

Plum filling inside the Buchtel

Anne Caroline, Shivani, and me enjoying Hawelka

Our pastry journey continued the next day when we journeyed into the First District in search of Kaiserschmarrn (translates into "Emperor Mishmash"), another famous Viennese dessert consisting of torn-up pancakes, raisins, and a plum sauce.  Remy, Matt, Ann Caroline, and I first heard about this dessert when we toured the Schönbrunn Palace (more on the palace later), as it was the favorite dessert of Austrian Emperor Francis Joseph I, so of course we had to try it!  Thus, on Tuesday, Matt and I led a bunch of our FSP friends to a place called Heindl's Palatschinken (translates into "Pancake Palace," haha).  Of course, this was also delicious, but way too filling and a little sickening.  

Kaiserschmarrn

Matt and I finished the whole plate!

My final café journey of the week was inspired more by my love of coffee.  Yesterday morning, I dragged Danielle, Amy, Matt, and Paul's friend Jeremy (visiting from the French LSA+) to Café Prückel, famous for its specialty coffees.  Although the pastries were delicious, my favorite part of this breakfast was the Einspänner mit Schlagobers, an espresso coffee with lots of cream, served in a special glass.  It was quite strong but very delicious!

My special coffee!

Me, Danielle, and Amy at breakfast

Now that I have made my readers significantly sickened by my unrelenting sweet tooth, I can now discuss the actual touristy things I have done over the past couple of weeks (believe it or not, we did engage in other activities besides eating!)  Last Thursday, we traveled to two Austrian towns about two hours outside of Vienna - St. Florian and Steyr.  In St. Florian, we toured the abbey in which Anton Bruckner, one of my favorite composers, played the organ.  After touring this gorgeous Augustine abbey (I, of course, fawned over the gorgeous library), we were able to see the crypts underneath the abbey, where we saw Bruckner's coffin, directly under the organ in the chapel.  A little creepy, but very, very cool.  We then had the privilege to hear an organ concert in the chapel; the second organist at St. Florian demonstrated for us how an organ works and then performed several pieces for us (by Bach, Brahms, Schmidt, and, of course, Bruckner).  We then traveled to Steyr, a small town where both Bruckner and Franz Schubert lived and worked (this is where Schubert wrote his famous "Trout" quintet).  My favorite part of Steyr was getting to look onto the gorgeous rivers (Steyr and Enns); these rivers meet in the town of Steyr, and Schubert liked to compose along the banks.  

Another gorgeous library at St. Florian abbey

Chapel in St. Florian abbey

Bruckner's organ!

Such a gorgeous organ!

Where Schubert lived in Steyr

The river in Steyr

The next touristy highlight was our visit to Schönbrunn Palace, the former summer palace of the Habsburgs.  Although it may seem strange that the summer palace is inside the city limits of Vienna (just a few U-Bahn stops away from our flat), Vienna used to consist of only the First District, contained by city walls - so Schönbrunn actually used to be well outside of the city proper.  We took a tour of the inside of the palace and saw the rooms in which several of the Habsburg rulers - most famously, Maria Theresa and Emperor Francis Joseph I - resided.  Although it took me a while to reconfigure the information I had learned in AP European History in my head (about the Habsburgs and their reigns), I enjoyed seeing how the palace brought the history of Central Europe to life.  Each room in the palace had a completely different style; some rooms were more ornate, with gold rococo patterns on the ceiling, while the interiors of others drew from more Eastern influences.  My favorite room was decorated in delicate blue and white and contained drawings that the members of the Habsburg family had created.  We were not allowed to take pictures during the tour, but you can see some of the rooms on the palace's website.  After the tour, we walked outside in the Schönbrunn gardens and hiked up to the Breakfast Palace, from which we could see a stunning view of the rooftops of Vienna.  

Matt and me in front of the palace

The back of the palace

The Breakfast Palace

The back of the palace and a gorgeous view of Vienna

On Thursday, I had another great clarinet lesson with my teacher, who also gave me and Matt a "reed lesson" on how to work on clarinet reeds.  I am learning so much about clarinet here and, since we have been back from Prague, have had a lot more time to practice.  I am thankful to be making a lot of progress on getting rid of my "anchor-tonguing" habit, which, as many of you know, has plagued me for years!  

After the lesson, my friends and I went to the banks of the Donau, or Danube, River, as it was a gorgeous day.  We perched along the grassy banks and relaxed under the sun (don't worry Mom, I wore plenty of sunscreen)!  I waded into the water a bit; it was pretty frigid, but I am fairly used to this given my experiences swimming in New England waters!  I then laid back and read for a while; reading on the banks of the Donau on a sunny, summer-like day was about as idyllic as one could get!

Shivani, me, Amy, and Paul's back, haha, relaxing along the bank of the Donau

On Friday, Matt, Shivani, and I traveled to the Sigmund Freud Museum, at Berggasse 19 in Vienna.  Although the museum was quaint, it contained many of Freud's personal items and manuscripts, including first editions of works such as "The Interpretation of Dreams" and "The Ego and the Id."  Freud lived at Berggasse 19 with his wife Martha and their family for 47 years until he had to flee Vienna in 1938.  It was at Berggasse 19 that Freud accomplished most of his monumental work.  At Berggasse 19, the Wednesday Society, a group of intellectuals who discussed psychoanalysis, met.  The Wednesday Society later became the International Psychoanalytical Association.  The museum (a project pioneered by Freud's daughter, Anna Freud) opened in 1971, and is operated by the Sigmund Freud Society.  I enjoyed visiting the house in which Freud wrote so many of his important works (so many of which I studied in my Literary Theory class last fall and have used in many subsequent English papers)!

I know, I'm weird for being this excited about Freud's house.

19 Berggasse

Freud's practice hours sign

Freud's hats and cane

Freud's waiting room

"The Ego and the Id!" 

Yesterday, we visited the Crypt in St. Stephen's Cathedral.  St. Stephen's is the tallest structure in Vienna (a law established long ago mandates that no building in Vienna can be taller than St. Stephen's), and it is the center of Vienna.  Inside the crypts, we saw the jars that contained the entrails and other body parts of the Habsburg rulers; bodies used to be taken apart when people died, so the hearts of the Habsburgs are in a different church in Vienna, while the intestines and other organs (or guts, to put it more bluntly) reside in the catacombs of St. Stephen's.  We also saw the pile of bones from the Black Plague, as the bodies were just thrown on top of each other.  This all sounds really creepy, but it was actually really cool to be underneath the city (the catacombs are eight meters underneath Vienna) and to see historical remains up-close.  

Inside St. Stephen's - I thought it would be tacky to take pictures inside the actual crypt

I know this post is getting ridiculously long (I apologize to whoever has made it this far!), but I would be remiss if I didn't mention some of the incredible concerts we have attended in these past few weeks.  Last week, we had the privilege of hearing the Sächsische Staatskapelle Dresden perform both Brahms's First Symphony and Bruckner's Fourth Symphony on two different concerts.  Last Thursday, Amy, Matt, Richard, and I attended the Budapest Festival Orchestra's performance of Tchaikovsky's Fifth Symphony - a work near and dear to our hearts, as we performed it in DSO this past fall.  On Friday, we traveled to the Volksoper to see Johann Strauss II's opera "Die Fledermaus," which was incredible!  This might have been one of my favorite performances we've seen so far.  Not only was the story line hilarious, but the music, stage setting, and costumes were all incredible.  The opera also takes place in Vienna during the late 1800s, so I felt that I was able to get a sense of Vienna at that time.  

Me, Amy, and Danielle at the Musikverein 

Inside the Volksoper - this is one of my favorite performance houses so far!

I can't believe how long this post has become, but I am so excited to be in Vienna and so sad that I only have three more weeks here, so I wanted to share everything!  

Thank you so much for reading!