Klarinet Archive - Posting 000677.txt from 2002/05

From: Neil Leupold <leupold_1@-----.com>
Subj: Re: [kl] Study in Salzburg
Date: Wed, 29 May 2002 18:50:26 -0400

--- joshua460@-----.com wrote:

> I will be studying in Salzburg, Austria, for the next 5 weeks with one of my professors. If
> anybody is in the general area, drop me an email. Also, for those who have been there (or are
> there), what should I see and do while I'm there? I've heard it's one of the most beautiful
> areas in the world.

One of the obvious things to do, of course, is to visit the house in which Mozart
was born. While you're on that side of the river, seek out a small restaurant called
Der Wilde Mann, which serves the best, most authentic Bratwurst mit Sauerkraut und
Kartoffeln I've ever tasted. I never thought I would taste it like that again after
my mom passed away -- I thought perhaps she'd been resurrected and hired to work in
their kitchen! Have it with a glass of Diebels Alt (or any of the other incomparable
Pilsner beers they have there), and you have a wonderfully affordable and satisfying
lunch or dinner!

When you're done with lunch, head over to the other side of the river and take the
audio tour of the opulent apartment in which Mozart and his father & sister lived
while they stayed in Salzburg. It's beautiful, and the audio tour is actual very
interesting and informative. Then take a hike up to the castle and catch a chamber
music performance in one of the grand halls. Or walk a piece down the road and see
if you can get student tickets to an orchestra performance at the Mozarteum concert
hall. Amidst the modern football stadium-sized elliptical concert halls to which
we're accustomed, the small rectangular Mozarteum takes your breath away with its
sheer beauty -- gorgeous crystal chandelier hanging from the ceiling, gold leaf
adornments all along the walls and balcony, and very good acoustics.

Salzburg is, as you've heard, truly a treasure among cities of antiquity in the
world. You'll have a memorable five weeks while you're there, to be sure. If you
can swing it timewise, perhaps on a weekend, you might catch a train to Vienna for
the chance to visit Eroica Haus, where Beethoven composed his third symphony (of
course). Oddly, they have a little stereo setup with written commentary while
you listen to Eroica -- each movement performed by a different orchestra and
conductor. I don't know why, but I find that a little silly. Regardless, to
stand in that house, look at the artifacts, and simply know that you are in the
place where Beethoven produced one of his best known and most enduring orchestral
works is inspiring. A short streetcar ride away, to Probesgasse I believe, is
the house in which Beethoven spent his final moments of life. His death mask
is probably still there, encased in glass, eery in its ability to capture the
torment that characterized his life. Buy a copy of the Heiligenstadt Testament,
which should still be available at the house, and read it while you're there.
You will derive a palpable sense of his inner turmoil and the odds at which
he lived with humanity, ever in anguish and misunderstood.

'Gotta head to a Sunday morning rehearsal of Rachmaninov Symph. No. 2 now. I
envy you your five weeks in Austria. Balance your practice time with opportuni-
ties to soak in the history and heritage that is all around you while there. Your
musical education will be sorely incomplete if you fail to do so. Have a wonderful
time!

~ Neil

Do You Yahoo!?
Yahoo! - Official partner of 2002 FIFA World Cup
http://fifaworldcup.yahoo.com

---------------------------------------------------------------------