- January 23, 2006
100% Mozart

I�ve mentioned that this is the Mozart Year and since his actual 250th birthday is on the 27th of January this is Mozart Week. So it won�t come as a surprise to hear that the concert we went to yesterday at the Villa Musica was 100% Mozart. We arrived fairly early because I�m always afraid of missing the turn off, which is hidden behind a building on a curve on a one way street downhill. If you are going faster than about 10 mph it�s very difficult to make the turn into the parking lot. And if you miss the turn you have to wind around forever to get back. Before we had our navigation system we once missed a concert because we couldn�t find our way through the maze of one-way streets. Anyway, although we were there early, the parking lot was pretty full. This is unusual even though the concerts are always sold out. When we entered the building we could hardly make our way through to the cloakroom. People were standing around with disappointed looks on their faces because there were no more tickets. Didn�t they realize that Mozart is a pop star here? And anyway, you can�t expect to get tickets at a classical concert without a reservation unless you�re just lucky. However, they put a few extra chairs in the concert room and about 20 or so outside on the landing to accommodate everyone.

There were several children in the audience, which is unusual but promising. Then maybe it was also because the concert began at 5 o�clock so there was no problem getting them to bed on time afterwards. Otherwise it was the usual mix of ripe middle aged, older and elderly people � I�m not saying where we belonged.

As are most of the concerts in the Villa Musica, this one was the end product of a �Meisterkurs�, a course taught by a top rank professional to young musicians who receive a fellowship for the course. They played a piano trio (KV 442) and two piano quartets (KV 478 and 493) with different musicians in each of them. One of the violinists had the longest arms and hands I think I've ever seen. He would probably have made a good basketball player. That's not to say he wasn't a very good violinist, it's just that he made the violin look miniscule, like one of the half-violins that young children use.

The �Meister� here was a Harvard professor, an expert on Mozart and a very well known concert pianist. He sat right in front of me a little to the right so that I was able to observe him during the first half of the concert. He was totally engrossed in the music and I commented to Frank that I thought he must be the course teacher. Frank scoffed at the idea and said he was much too young, but I was right (HA!) because he played the piano in the third and final piece of the evening. It was fun to watch him because he was having such a good time. Germans are usually terribly serious about music and often look like it�s forbidden to smile or look happy. At the same time he was extremely good.

I�m no expert on classical music by any means. Except for school concerts given by the local symphony orchestra when I was growing up, I had very little exposure to classical music before I came to Germany. Things really changed then though because Frank loves music and usually has some sort of music on most of the time. Then there are the hundreds of concerts we�ve been to over the years and of course all the music I�ve heard him play. The two Mozart quartets are among his favourites and I�ve heard him play them many times, so it was a little like meeting old friends again.

After the concerts there is always free wine or champagne and �Brezeln�, a big fat soft pretzel that people in this area love. So a lot of people stand around talking and enjoying a glass of wine and it�s nice because it underscores the feeling that you�ve just been to a friend�s house for a concert.

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Paradise Now - February 01, 2006older_entries%%

Donating blood - January 31, 2006older_entries%%

An Eventful Sunday - January 30, 2006older_entries%%

The Broker by John Grisham - January 26, 2006older_entries%%

The Winds of Change by Martha Grimes - January 24, 2006older_entries%%