ON TOUR: VIENNA TO LONDON

21 April: Last night the orchestra performed in the Musikverein in Vienna. This was the first time the orchestra had performed at this venue for quite a few years because our last couple of concerts in Vienna in 2006 and 2003 were at the Konzerthaus.

It was terrific to see such a young audience at the concert which was impart due to the presenter, Jeunesse, who focus a lot of their marketing attention towards younger generations, but also because the Viennese and of course people from other European cities have such a strong affinity towards classical music and its history. Sport is still important here but it does not dominate the social landscape or the psyche of its people like it seems to in other countries.

Today the orchestra travelled from Vienna to London to perform at the comparatively small but incredibly prestigious venue of Wigmore Hall. Although the Wigmore is known more as a recital venue for singers, pianists and chamber music ensembles, the orchestra still managed to fit on the stage (only just though) to perform to a capacity audience of appreciative listeners.

After the performance Barry Humphries kindly hosted a function in the Bechstein Room before the orchestra moved on to a nearby restaurant called Sofra where they enjoyed a few more celebratory drinks.

Damien Low, Orchestra Manager

ON TOUR: VIENNA & DRESDEN

Courtesy of a little local knowledge from our tour manager, Reinhold Göggel, a small group of us opted out of the ‘all you can eat sushi’ option near our hotel in Regensburg and instead ventured down to the nearby banks of the Danube River to experience bratwurst sausages made my the oldest sausage tavern in the world – the Wurstkuchl. This tavern, which is situated right next to an original stone bridge that was built in the early 12th Century, sells pure pork sausages, their very own special brand of mustard and specially fermented sauerkraut. The recipes for these date back over 500 years to when stonemasons and dockers treated themselves to these refreshments at this tavern.

The concert itself in Regensburg took place at the nearby Audi-Max University. Once again the concert was incredibly well attended by a very loyal subscription base for this concert series.

At the end of the evening the orchestra helped celebrate Sol Gabetta’s birthday with some champagne and cake that was very kindly arranged by the concert presenter.

Yesterday the orchestra returned to Dresden to perform in the magnificently restored Frauenkirche in Dresden. Much of the city of Dresden was completely flattened by allied bombers during the Second World War and due to the government administering this part of Germany immediately after the War, much of this city remained in rubble (including the Frauenkirche) for decades after. In fact although many of the buildings surrounding the Frauenkirche have been rebuilt and restored since the orchestra’s last visit to Dresden in 2006, there are still many construction sites surrounding the main square. You only have to venture beyond the immediate vicinity of the Frauenkirche to be reminded of Dresden’s history since the War concluded as a lot of the architecture is quite distinctively Eastern European in design, and many of the city’s factories remain in a state of disrepair and are unused.

Similar to 2006, the concert in the Frauenkirche was completely sold out. This not only added to the great atmosphere of the concert in this incredibly beautiful church, but also markedly improved the acoustics which are normally extremely reverberant.

This morning the orchestra had a very early departure from Dresden in order to make the journey to Vienna. It is a shame that we are only spending one day in Vienna this time, but the orchestra is still very excited about performing in the famous Musikverein tonight.

Damien Low, Orchestra Manager