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!