The Ring is Completed and a Return Home

Vienna Kiss

Different repertoire for an orchestra allows for certain individuals and certain sections to have their moment in the sun. Playing Wagner showcases the brass, and this was particularly apparent as we completed The Ring Cycle. Unlike our two previous viewings of the operas “Das Rheingold” and “Die Walküre”, this time we had seats inside the Vienna Opera House. Sir Simon Rattle continued on the podium, and the Vienna Philharmonic added their firepower which consisted of augmented sections throughout the brass. Hearing the sound of two tubas on opposite sides of the pit, a full contingent of horns and Wagnerian tubas, four brilliant trumpets, four amazing trombones and heroic offstage horn solos was really thrilling! The voices were powerful and in “Siegfried”, the title character acted and sung by Stephen Gould will be a memory that will last for a long time. His scenes of trying to play a crudely whittled reed-pipe, accompanied by an aching offstage solo English Horn and the famous offstage horn calls were both beautifully timed and convincingly mimed. We marveled at the ability of these singers to sing at full voice for an entire five hours, and with “Götterdämmerung”, five and a half hours! One of the things that we especially noticed was the tremendous applause given to the orchestra at the end of the performance. It was as though the audience understood the musicians had also successfully finished this marathon event. In a way, it felt like it had been an accomplishment for us too. Lisa began planting the idea of seeking out other performances of the Ring. We’ll see.

Parliament Building in Budapest

View of Budapest and the Danube River

We decided to go to Budapest. With just a backpack, we checked in to the Danubius Hotel overlooking the Danube River. Our room on the fourth floor offered a great view of the river teeming with cruise ships, barges and other boats. The Parliament building and the bridges make a big impression, but we were still on a “musical journey” and I was eager to see the Bela Bartok home and museum. Bartok didn’t care for the city, and his home for 11 years was on the outskirts of Budapest. We took the #5 bus to the end of the line and walked a bit through a beautiful quiet neighborhood. Bird calls accompanied us on our walk to a two-story home with a surrounding fence. We were buzzed in through the front gate and soon met “Agnes”. Agnes gave us a tour of the home where Bartok composed “Contrasts”, two string quartets, “Mikrokosmos”, the Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta, the 2nd Violin Concerto and much more.

Bartok House, with tour guide Agnes

The home contained the original phonograph Bartok used to record more than 8000 folk songs! A topographical map pinpointed the villages Bartok had visited over a 20-plus year period gathering material. A great photograph of him traveling with his phonograph while riding in the back of a rustic wooden cart hangs on one of the walls. Besides the folk songs, Bartok collected regional costumes, folk instruments from various villages, ceramic pitchers and insects. The bugs were on display and were the inspiration for his piano composition, “Mikrokosmos”. The piece was written for his young son, Peter Bartok, and imitates the sounds made by insects. Lisa remembers playing the piece on piano, but seeing the little bugs gave the composition a little more meaning. The dining room furniture was made up of some beautifully handmade pieces from a maker in Transylvania. They were unique and personal. The maker’s photograph hung on the wall along with family and friends, including Zoltan Kodaly.

Bartok’s home

Many of the photographs show Bartok with a cigarette in hand and it would be lung disease that would cause his death in a New York hospital at the age of 65. The home was a popular place for musical gatherings during Bartok’s lifetime and an attractive recital space is still used today. Lisa bought some Bartok flute compositions that the museum had for sale. Somehow, knowing Bartok as a human being gives us a stronger feeling for his music. We both look forward to performing his music again.

Liszt Academy of Music

One of the more important and most beautiful music schools in Europe is the Franz Liszt Academy of Music in Budapest. Notable alumni include Bela Bartok, Antal Dorati, Zoltan Kodaly, Gyorgy Ligeti, Eugene Ormandy, Fritz Reiner, Janos Starker, Georg Solti and many more. We were aided by a young violinist, O’sz Puspoki Dorottya, from the neighboring high school conservatory in finding the Academy just in time to attend a free vocal recital by Zsofia Stasny. We enjoyed different aspects of the recital, but were distracted by the beauty of the concert hall. The Art Nouveau style is one of the best examples in all of Europe. One recital seemed like it didn’t offer enough time to take in all there was to see. We lingered after the applause died down, giving us time to enjoy the view.

Liszt Hall

The next day we enjoyed the beautiful spa connected to Hotel Danubius. There was a feeling that many of the Hungarian people using the spa did so on a regular basis. Those tans probably don’t happen sitting on the couch at home!

We returned by train to Vienna in time to hear the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra conducted by one of our favorites, Andris Nelsons. The program featured the Mozart Violin Concerto in D with Baiba Skride, who has played with us in Utah several times. Her playing had style and some expressive use of dynamics. The orchestra did a great job too. In the second half, we heard the Bruckner 7th Symphony. There was some excellent string and brass playing, and the audience expressed their appreciation long after the final fortissimo chord.

We enjoyed spending more time with Alexandra Turk from the University of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna. Her work with physiology and musicians takes her to many important cities, and her stories of life in St. Petersburg were especially entertaining. She also has a discerning ear, and her musical opinions often matched our own.

Danube River

After having enjoyed being on canal, river and boat rides many times previously in Europe, we decided on taking a “three-hour tour” on the Danube River aboard the “Blue Danube”. My childhood memories of TV and the tales of the crew of the S.S. Minnow being shipwrecked on “Gilligan’s Island” were quite different from this three-hour cruise. Our time on board the Blue Danube allowed us opportunities to see how a lock system operates, to take in another beautiful city from a different perspective, eat a delicious lunch and perhaps see graffiti in another way. In Vienna there seems to be an encouragement of graffiti art along the banks of the Danube River. Much of it I would describe as both colorful and creative. I took pictures and sent them to my son in New York City. It’s good to have a second opinion! People might ask whether the Danube is indeed blue? I’d probably say it’s more a muddy sage green, but “The Muddy Sage Green Waltz” by Strauss doesn’t have the same kind of ring! He probably was thinking about marketing.

George Solti statue

Graffiti along the Danube

It’s been suggested that we’ll experience “culture shock” upon returning to the States after three months in Europe. We imagine missing the experiences of Europe, the concerts, afternoon “kuchen” at an outdoor café, the architecture, pedestrian-friendly streets and plazas, the cobblestone charm, etc., but coming home can be nice. There is family, friends, peanut butter, tacos, ice cubes, TV in English, the English language, not living out of a suitcase, smoke-free environments, the Farmers Market, a familiar pillow and ….. I could use a haircut! We’ll look back and smile at having seen “Duck Dynasty” dubbed in German, or seeing the word “Geschwindigkeitsbegrenzung”, which I learned means speed limit in German or reviewing the hundreds of photographs taken in nine amazing countries.

The plane touched down safely in Salt Lake City. We have a nephew’s wedding coming up and Lisa soon heads to Arcata, California to teach at the Sequoia Chamber Music Workshop. I go for a month to Sewanee, Tennessee where I hope to make a difference for twelve young oboe players. For any musician, it’s a lot about the journey, and being “on the road” has many rewards. We always look forward to what’s next. Next for me will be a month on a mountain in Tennessee and what might be one of the more intense musical experiences in America. Stay tuned!

Tucker Weathers, Colleen Hampton Weathers, Lisa and Bob

– Robert Stephenson and Lisa Byrnes

Back in Vienna

Opera on the Square

If you are on a “musical journey” in Vienna, it’s hard to do it all; however, a priority for us was to see Wagner’s “Ring of the Nibelung”. This cycle of four epic operas was first presented at the Bayreuth Festival 99 years ago and changed music as we knew it. We tried to procure tickets for all four performances come rain or shine. Two of them were free, but our seats were outside of the opera house! Being on the wait list gave us another European experience when no seats were available inside. We saw “Das Rheingold” and “Die Walküre” on the plaza in front of a huge screen. As with the HD performances from the Metropolitan Opera, these performances featured different camera angles and interviews from the cast and conductor (Simon Rattle). The graphics made the opening scene of “Das Rheingold” look like the characters were under water. The voices were powerful, and the orchestra was excellent. Seeing a Wagner opera is like watching a long story. You begin to notice that there are few, if any, cadences. Seeing it outdoors means that the story can be accompanied by the sounds of the city. Honking horns, sirens, whirling helicopters, chanting gangs and horses clopping down on the cobblestone streets was the “norm”. The audience outside is much more transient. Sitting for two and a half hours straight can be a challenge, but more so when it rains, which was our experience when watching “Das Rheingold”. Fortunately, we brought our foul weather gear. Thanks, Weather App! “Die Walküre” is more than four and a half hours long but comes with two intermissions. On the second break, we left to get something to drink and returned to see our seats occupied. We stood until an opening presented itself and sat for the remainder of the opera. Two hundred or so fans around us joined those inside to applaud the production.

Strauss Waltzes at the Kursalon

We also wanted to experience the “Viennese” waltz while in town, so we attended a concert of Strauss waltzes in the touristy Kursalon where Strauss conducted during the 19th century. When you say the name Strauss in Vienna, one thinks of a family dynasty that spanned decades. The “Waltz King” (Johann II) was the son and brother of famous composers and is the one that packs in the crowds on a daily basis. Personable Viennese gentlemen in period costumes stroll the streets selling tickets to as many as six different nightly concerts featuring the music of Strauss, Lehar, Mozart, Von Suppé, etc. The one we attended was sold out, and there was a second small orchestra (also playing waltzes) two floors below us that played to a full house as well. The show was entertaining, and I kept thinking that this might be a good city to be a freelance musician if you like Strauss.

We enjoyed a wonderful performance of Rossini’s opera “La Cenerentola”. It was set in 1950’s Italy and starred Serena Malfi in the title role with some great sets and costumes. After hearing such wonderful music, it seemed sad to think that Rossini spent so much of his life NOT composing. His love of food and entertaining was legendary.

Beethoven Memorial

Statues, streets, cafes and bakeries honor the many composers who called Vienna their home. We enjoyed seeing the apartments of Mozart and Beethoven, having cake and coffee at the Mozart Cafe, snapping pictures next to memorial statues of Schubert, Mahler, Brahms and more and hearing their music. It was often played in stores and restaurants.

We made a trip to the Esterhazy Palace where Haydn worked for more than forty years! His home was modest, but the palace was not. Our tour of the palace made it possible to see the beautiful concert hall where many of “Papa” Haydn’s 104 symphonies were first performed. We often imagined being able to travel back in time to hear such concerts.

Esterhazy Palace

One of the more interesting concerts of our sabbatical was hearing the Vienna Philharmonic conducted by Simon Rattle where the second half of the performance consisted of eleven movements from different Haydn symphonies. The variety of musical personality and inventiveness was really amazing and highlighted why I love hearing Haydn’s music. The orchestra played so beautifully, especially in the slower movements. There is pride in their music-making and the “Viennese” sound. This sound is reflected in the carryover of musical instruments, most notably the oboe. Often when I hear an oboist from Vienna, my first reaction is that the tone quality is like the English Horn but with higher notes. The instruments themselves are more creatively designed than French oboes. They have bulbous curves and keys which make me ask, “What does this do?” Still, beautiful phrasing is beautiful phrasing.

Musikverein in Vienna

Since our sabbatical began, our tally of performances has hit one hundred, and we are still going strong. Number one hundred was a performance by the Vienna Symphony conducted by Jaap van Zweeden. The program featured Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 2 and Shostakovich Symphony No. 5. David Frey was the soloist and played with a strong degree of technical accuracy. The Symphony was exciting, especially the tutti passages.

We enjoyed seeing the art collection at the Belvedere Palace and the Secession Museum. Gustav Klimt was the featured artist in both museums, “The Kiss” in one and the “Beethoven Frieze” in the other. Like all great artists, his work draws you in. Another significant work was the large painting of “The Philharmonic” by Max Oppenheimer. It took him 26 years to complete and measures about 20 feet across. Gustav Mahler is on the podium. We both agreed that turning the Belvedere Palace (or any palace) into an art museum seemed like a good idea.

Belvedere Palace

We have seen more than twenty operas since the sabbatical began, giving us a wide range of repertoire. “Salome” by Richard Strauss was especially exciting. Gun-Brit Barkmin sang the starring role, and the Vienna Philharmonic was in top form. The costumes and sets looked like the art work of Gustav Klimt. The director did a great job of capturing the madness of Salome.

Arnold Schoenberg Center

We saw the Arnold Schoenberg Center, which happened to be located near our apartment. There was a room which duplicated his studio in L.A., numerous videos of his orchestral and chamber works being performed and interviews with the players and conductors. It was very interesting.

Big cities attract big orchestras from around the globe. The Philadelphia Orchestra came to town, so we went to hear them play the Shostakovich Violin Concerto and Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 5. Oddly enough, this was our fifth time hearing the Shostakovich Violin Concerto since the sabbatical began! This doesn’t matter when you are hearing such a great soloist (Lisa Batiashvili) and a great orchestra. Ms. Batiashvili’s playing was poetic and exciting. I was especially thrilled to hear Mark Gigliotti (bassoon), David Cramer (flute) and Holly Blake (contra bassoon) play starring roles in the demanding Shostakovich Concerto. Mark, David and I were friends/classmates at Curtis, and their beautiful sounds have only gotten better with time. On the second half, Yannick Nezet-Seguin led the orchestra in a fabulous performance of the Tchaikovsky. There are so many star players in the Philadelphia Orchestra, but I have to mention clarinetist Ricardo Morales, oboist Richard Woodhams and horn player Jennifer Montone. All had inspiring moments. Former Utah Symphony musicians Jeff Kirschen, Shelley Showers and Dara Morales all contributed with typical excellence. During the days that followed, we enjoyed spending time with Dara, Mark, Holly, David, Jonathan Blumenfeld and his close friend from Berlin Ina Lontorfos. With all the Austrian pastries available, it wasn’t too hard filling our social calendar and my sweet tooth.

Jonathan Blumenfeld, Ina Lontorfos, Bob, Lisa and David Cramer

The University of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna is one of the leading music schools in Europe. Antonio Salieri founded this school in 1817, and some former instructors on the roster include Paul Hindemith, Pablo Casals, Fritz Kreisler and Pierre Boulez, to name a few. A large student body of over 3000 study music, theater, film and more. One of the instructors is Alexandra Turk, who Lisa has known for many years through family connections. Alexandra is a physiotherapist who helps musicians understand breathing, mental health and physical health as it relates to playing their instruments. She gave us a great tour of the school, and we met some of her colleagues. Playing an instrument is more involved than just playing the right notes, and this school seems committed to helping young musicians in every way possible.

Lisa, Mark Gigliotti, Holly Blake and Dara Morales

Two hundred and one years after it’s premiere in Vienna, we went to see “Fidelio”by Beethoven. It was another exciting production where one of the main characters was the orchestra! When the Vienna Philharmonic played the “Leonore” Overture No. 3 before the final scene, the applause following the final chord was startling! It is part of that “Viennese pride” mentioned earlier. The voices were superb and the orchestral writing thrilling. One could understand the argument that this is the best opera ever written. We felt very fortunate to have been there.

Alexandra Turk and Lisa Byrnes

We’ve decided to make a trip in two days to Budapest, home to Bartok and Kodály. We are trying to pack it all in before our flight back to the States in a few days. Someone recently suggested we might experience “culture shock” upon our return. Maybe if I learn how to make a good apple strudel that will help.

– Robert Stephenson and Lisa Byrnes

More Prague

Astronomical clock from 1410

Even without the Moldau River, the beautiful bridges and the imposing palaces in the distance, you might still know you’re in Prague. Firstly, there are a lot of Americans! It is a popular destination for students and the study abroad programs. Older visitors may be attracted to the abundance of fascinating architecture or perhaps the goulash, sausages and pork knuckle. Antique stores, well-fed pigeons, Segways, “change” stores, mimes and vintage automobiles are most everywhere.

Near one of the main squares is an astronomical clock that still runs and attracts attention. Not bad for something built in 1410! One of the common sights are the “Trdelník” (turtleneck) vendors. This tubular pastry treat, cooked on a rotisserie, can be covered with sugar, almonds or chocolate and can be a mess to eat! I still tried. Groups of men, 10 to 15, are also a common sighting. We’re not sure if they are part of a sports team, drinking club or men on the prowl! We nicknamed them “Bro Gangs”. There didn’t seem to be a female equivalent.

Trdelník treat

In Prague, as in much of Europe, there are no laws on walking etiquette. The streets and sidewalks can be very crowded, and walking on the right is not a universal precept. Consequently, run-ins with strangers are common. A game of “Chicken” can ensue unless YOU get out of the way! It might remind someone of “The Zaks” by Dr. Seuss where the south going Zak meets up with a north going Zak and they both refuse to deviate from their path. While their stubbornness continues, the world builds itself around them. Attempting to avoid an “international incident”, we would most often yield the right-of-way.

Leading the “Bro-Gang”

We found time to visit the Dvorak and Smetana museums. Besides his years in the United States, Dvorak was a world traveler. “I would give all my symphonies to have invented the steam engine!” he said. He seemed devoted to his family and proud of his Czech heritage. Smetana’s papers were in good supply and, like Mendelssohn, he was a talented artist. Several of his drawings supported that reputation. Our opinion of the importance of the Czech influence on classical music has been elevated when we’ve learned that this area of the world produced composers like Zelenka, Hummel, Mahler, Janacek, Martinu, Smetana, Dvorak and others.

Dvořák Museum

Our second apartment in Prague was near the Charles Bridge, a popular pedestrian walkway over the Moldau River. Artists and musicians line the long bridge competing for the tourist dollar or Euro. Seeing groups of musicians playing together became an everyday occurrence. Maybe a Slavonic dance by Dvorak or a folk song by Janacek? No, it was most often American jazz! Hearing a Czech bassoonist play jazz on the street was fun!

Our concert-going schedule continued with a performance of the Academy of Ancient Music Berlin, one of the premiere baroque ensembles in the world. The ensemble of about 20 musicians were a delight to hear and watch. They mostly stood while they played, including the cello players. Their instruments however rested on the seats of cushioned chairs. One fellow playing a straight contra bassoon got to have a seat. His ten-foot long instrument looked more like a rocket launcher! Fortunately, his “sights” were pointing at the opposing balcony! The conductor was also the concertmaster, and he danced his way through every movement of Lalande, Telemann and Handel, insuring some beautiful ensemble playing. Hearing the baroque oboes was a treat for me.

Historical Contrabassoon

The Prague Symphony Orchestra, with Pietari Inkinen conducting, played an interesting program of music by Hanus, Rautavaara and Mahler. The Rautavaara was a movement from his 6th Symphony and had us wishing to hear more. The Mahler was his 5th Symphony. There were various highlights like the Adagietto movement for strings, the horn playing or the bass drum solo in movement 2, but for the most part the performance was rather rough around the edges, with suspect intonation and ensemble.

Smetana Museum

The Czech Philharmonic was definitely a step up in quality. Another “Jiri” (there are 16 musicians in the Czech Phil. with the name Jiri!), Jiri Belohlavek, conducted an exciting Mahler Symphony No. 3. Oddly, for the fourth time in four nights at the Smetana Hall, there was a medical issue which required attention amongst the concert-goers. This time the performance stopped. A woman in the second row fainted. Medical personnel came to the rescue and shortly thereafter, four healthy men lifted the woman off the floor and then rushed her down the center aisle of the hall and out the back doors. Afterwards, Maestro Belohlavek resumed the first movement, giving the audience an opportunity to hear the beautiful trombone solo a second time! The evening featured some terrific brass playing, excellent string work and the gorgeous alto voice of Elisabeth Kulman. The concertmaster solos were also excellent and what seems to be the custom, flowers were awarded to the conductor, soloist and concertmaster at the concert’s conclusion.

Estates Theatre where Mozart premiered his “Don Giovanni”

I told Lisa I thought it was easier to get lost in Prague than a place like Venice. I shouldn’t have said that! In our only concert debacle (so far) in Europe, we were unable to find the venue for a flute recital up by the Prague Palace. We walked around for more than an hour trying to find this particular hall. Maybe if it had been an oboe recital instead? But what’s a few miles when you’re consuming Trdelníks and chocolate every day!

In the same theater that saw it’s premiere in 1787, we enjoyed Mozart’s “Don Giovanni”. After seeing “The House of the Dead” and “Boris Godunov”, this was indeed a breath of fresh air! The costumes, sets, hairdos and voices were really special. The action included huge masks worn by members of the chorus, dance sequences during the instrumental segments, old black and white film being projected on the back wall, black roses that would suddenly pop up from the floor, a boy dressed like the grown-up Don Giovanni and much more. The small orchestra played very well and balanced the singers at every moment.

St. Nicholas Cathedral

As in Karlovy Vary, we heard a concert of mostly baroque music in a magnificent church, this time featuring voice, organ and the oboe playing of Vojtech Jouza, a member of the Czech Philharmonic. He presented the music of Handel and Marcello and reinforced what I’m oft to say, “I never met a church the oboe didn’t like”! This St. Nicholas Church is a perfect example of baroque art. There are paintings and sculptures on the ceiling, a checkerboard stone floor, an enormous dome and gold everywhere! Mozart performed on the organ there during one of his many visits to the city.

Living next to the busiest bridge in town can be a mixed blessing. A popular sports bar emptied on to our little street and closing time was most often around 3:00am. This would be about the time I’d awaken to hear lively Czech discussions and the sports bar staff dumping beer bottles into the large trash receptacles. The week before, the Americans had beaten the beloved Czech hockey team in the world championship, so it surprised me to hear a group singing “We Are the Champions” by Queen. Maybe one of their countrymen had just won a darts championship! Anyway, Freddie Mercury would have enjoyed the celebration!

Another restaurant recommendation from Lisa’s friend Steven Schultz brought us to “U Fleku”. Imagine going back a few hundred years. The menu is not long but the roasted chicken and beer hall atmosphere was excellent! Thanks, Steven!

Bridal poses

Another peculiar sighting in different European capitals is young brides and grooms taking pictures of themselves. Sometimes there’s a photographer, but often times not. The bride can be seen wearing her wedding dress and, with today’s technology, selfies are the norm. In Venice I remember seeing many young brides in their wedding dresses just strolling about. Maybe their photo shoot was over!

The Spring Festival has been seen by much of the world through live-streaming, and we were fortunate enough to see one of the popular groups live. The Afflatus Quintet performed in an abbey built in 1230. A large film crew covered most every angle of this excellent woodwind quintet. Their program included works by Reicha, Strauss, Eder, Poulenc and Stravinsky. This group has been together for 20 years and consists of players from various orchestras in Prague. Most memorable was the horn playing of Radek Baborak. He sounded like a 5th woodwind with amazing facility, control and musicality! In the “Till Eulenspiegel” and “Firebird” transcriptions he handled what sounded like 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th horn solos with heroic ease! It’ll be a long-lasting memory! Oboist, Jana Brozkova, used some dynamic phrasing that was especially inspiring.

The Afflatus Quintet

It was hard to say goodbye to Prague, but two weeks in Vienna is next. We just might be waltzing before too long!

– Robert Stephenson and Lisa Byrnes

Prague & Karlsbad

Charles Bridge and Stare Mesto (Old Town)

The train trip into the Czech Republic is especially scenic. The alps are gone, but the lush rolling hills remain. Huge fields of yellow rapeseed blanket the landscape. The crop is used to produce canola oil, and back home I seem to use a lot of it. The language changes from the sounds of Switzerland as does the make-up of the words themselves. The Czech language seems to be about consonants and different accents, like Polish or Slavic. It’s the most “foreign” of our foreign languages to speak during our three months in Europe. Like a lot of places we go, their English is better here than my attempts to speak the native tongue, but it’s a good idea to know key words or phrases. We study on the train.

Prague Spring Festival, Smetana Hall, “Ma Vlast” with NDR Hamburg Symphony

We’re in Prague for the Spring Music Festival. The weather is good, and our apartment is in a good location. We’ll use some public transportation but probably walk most everywhere. Our place has a kitchen, so we find several small stores to do our shopping.

The opening night of the festival took place at Smetana Hall and featured the NDR Symphony Orchestra of Hamburg. On the program was probably the most important piece of classical music to the Czech people, “Ma Vlast” by Smetana. His music often incorporates Czech folk songs, and the complete “Ma Vlast” takes about 90 minutes. Of all the venues we’ve enjoyed for concerts, opera, recitals and ballet, this is the most beautiful! It includes paintings by Alfons Mucha, stained glass windows in the Art Nouveau style, statues on the walls and ceiling, brass decorative lattice work, rows of globe lights and more. The concert was sold out, and we had spots in the “standing room only” section. The orchestra’s Music Director is Thomas Hengelbrock and he led the orchestra in a passionate performance from start to finish. The visiting orchestra was enthusiastically received.

Dvořák Hall, International Flute Competition

This year the festival hosted the International Flute Competition, and we heard the four finalists perform C.P.E. Bach, Quantz and Frank Martin with orchestra. The four young musicians were French and Korean and were spectacular. We debated their merits, but in the end, the first prize winner was Yubeen Kim. At the awards ceremony he happened to sit down next to us. I caught his picture seconds before the announcement. Even though getting to this point meant thousands upon thousands of hours of practice, it might still have seemed like a surprise to Mr. Kim. We’ll enjoy following his career.

The Alfons Mucha Museum is in Prague and as we own five of his prints, we thought it was an important spot to visit. Mucha was a leader in the Art Nouveau style and a Czech hero. He became famous for his beautiful decorative art paintings, and the museum collection, early photographs and his biography were really fascinating. He died shortly after being arrested by the Gestapo.

Alfons Mucha Museum

We also heard two of the finalists for the International Clarinet Competition. This year’s winner might be a familiar name to several of our colleagues in the Utah Symphony. His name is Sang Yoon Kim and he is a graduate of the Colburn School of Music in Los Angeles.

We saw the opera “From the House of the Dead” by Smetana. The music was chaotic and one audience member yelled “boo!” at the first intermission. However, nationalistic pride produced many more “bravos” at the opera’s conclusion. Like many “box” seats in opera houses, it was hard to see the action on stage. It gave me more of an opportunity to evaluate the music. It wasn’t to my liking.

“La Traviata” at the State Opera

Seeing “La Traviata” by Verdi the next night was more enjoyable. Svatopluk Sem, who sang the role of Giorgio Germont, was a standout, and hearing those familiar beautiful long melodies was enjoyable. For the second night in a row, the action on stage included female nudity. Having seen it on Czech TV and elsewhere, it’s not so much of an issue here as in Utah!

Smoking is surprisingly pervasive in Europe. It’s allowed in outdoor areas and if you are attempting to escape an overheated opera house or enjoy dinner outside, it can be hard to escape. We are often adjusting our location to find a smoke-free environment. It seems disturbingly ironic to see health and beauty specialists smoking outside of a day spa or people at the top of a Swiss alp taking in the fresh air and view while lighting up.

Even angels smoke in Prague!

In the Dvořák hall, there is a poster of the Czech Philharmonic. They employ 118 musicians. In both the flute and trumpet sections there appear to be a father/son combination. In Utah we are about 84 musicians and we work with four musicians named “David”. In the Czech Phil they have 16 players with the name “Jiri”! We’ll hear them this week.

We went to visit the cemetery with the grave sites of Dvořák and Smetana. Flowers adorn their graves, and on Smetana’s granite tombstone were the seven notes from the second flute solo which starts “The Moldau”! At both sites small crowds stood in reflection. High on a hill was another vantage point to overlook the beautiful city and the winding Moldau River below.

Dvořák’s gravesite

The St. Petersburg Philharmonic was in town for two concerts, and we attended both of them. Yuri Temirkanov was on the podium, and we enjoyed the Shostakovich Symphonies No.7 & No. 5. It’s a huge orchestra with a huge sound. I was struck by the expressive wind and brass playing and the wall of sound from the strings. The winds have a greater refinement than their recordings from the 20th century, and Temirkanov kept his conducting to a minimum. The second concert featured Julian Rachlin playing the Shostakovich Violin Concerto. Since the sabbatical began, this is our fourth time hearing this concerto! We may have saved the best for last! Mr. Rachlin was really in command. The opening and his lack of vibrato made this music sound icy cold. His tone developed into a beautifully romantic quality and then the driving force in the Allegro made me think he could saw his Stradivari violin in two!

Smetana’s grave stone

His Paganini encore was equally spectacular! During the concerts on two consecutive nights, the action on stage went uninterrupted while two people in the audience had to receive medical attention. The response to each who had fainted was immediate, but the wooden seats and platforms where we sat were so noisy that Mr. Rachlin could be noticeably seen looking out into the audience and the area where the medical personnel had gathered. The first ill fellow sat in the row in front of us, and I thought this might be his last time hearing a concert, but he came to and managed to walk through the aisle with some assistance to the exit.

Hearing the St. Petersburg Philharmonic confirmed the importance of what we call the auxiliary instruments in an orchestra. This orchestra had some terrific musicians playing piccolo, E-flat clarinet and bass clarinet! These solo instruments really made the most of their opportunities, and in the music of Shostakovich, they come often!

View of Karlsbad

We enjoyed a night in the beautiful and modern Design Hotel Elephant before taking the train to Karlovy Vary, or Karlsbad. This town has for centuries been known for it’s therapeutic hot water springs. Lisa had booked this amazing room in a pensione overlooking the city, thanks to her flute playing friend and travel connoisseur Steven Schultz. The buildings are painted in a variety of pastel colors and are beautifully maintained. Most are five or six stories high and have names like Mozart, Menuet, Alisa and Nikolina. The streets are almost void of cars. The long promenades are filled with people sipping and strolling. They can be seen munching on Oplatky wafers and drinking the warm or hot mineral waters from their individual “pohareks”. These vessels come in a variety of shapes and sizes. They are ceramic and include a narrow spout that receives the water on the way to your mouth. I got a little one. The water has a faint flavor of tea. It’s supposed to help with digestion, your liver and a long list of things that must be promoted by the local travel bureau! On our second day in Karlovy Vary we heard an afternoon recital of soprano, flute and organ music in the Mary Magdalene Church and an evening performance of operetta music with the Karlovy Vary Philharmonic. This concert featured many Strauss waltzes. There were a total of nine violins, so after the St. Petersburg Phil., it seemed a bit thin. The audience enjoyed the music.

“Taking the waters”

Karlovy Vary is a place that had been frequented by people like Bach, Beethoven, Brahms, Mozart, Dvořák, Smetana, Chopin, Puccini, Strauss, Mahler, Tchaikovsky and many others. Movie stars have come to this town, and part of “Casino Royale” with Daniel Craig as 007 was shot at the Grand Pupp hotel. The German writer and statesman, Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe, used to take walks in the woods with Beethoven. I’m not sure if the spring waters helped us or not, but we found a spa in town where we spent three hours enjoying the same benefits that may have been experienced by these famous composers. The spa was built around the stone mountainside. The pool is made from small ceramic tiles in different shades of green with streaks of gold and silver. The irregular shape has rounded borders and the water sloshes over the side. One of our treatments included going from one very hot pool to a very cold pool and back and forth. It made me think of Goldilocks trying to find the porridge that was “just right”. That wasn’t it! I then relaxed and breathed deeply in an electro-inhalation room and then went for a massage with “Victor”. Victor was a stocky middle aged man who quickly got me on the massage table. His technique was aggressive. It made me think he had been an interrogator with the KGB! When he seemed to be pounding on my back the rhythm from a fast March by Shostakovich, I half expected him to say, “You vill tell us vhat ve vant to know!” He put an hour of himself into 15 minutes, and I thought afterwards that he might be the one that needs a massage! Lisa whined about the light massage she got from her masseuse. Next time she can get Victor!

Dvořák statue

We enjoyed our strolls, our sipping, some good food and the views overlooking Karlovy Vary. We took a picture of the Dvořák sculpture in the park and shopped around for more pohareks.

On our last morning, we walked up to see the Russian Orthodox Church passing places like the Chopin Villa, the Smetana Villa and the Tchaikovsky Palace. In the same area was the Russian Embassy and a statue of Karl Marx. This spot marked the entrance to the forest said to be frequented by Beethoven and many others. Immediately, the early morning sound of birds is apparent. They were singing in a way that reminded me of Beethoven’s 6th Symphony. Could they too be in F Major? We wondered if Beethoven could have heard these calls. There was definitely something magical about this forest, and a little further up was a plaque identifying a spot where Tchaikovsky had stopped to look and listen.

Historic mineral springs colonnade

The rains came, and with our pohareks in hand, we were soon back in Prague. In some of Europe’s oldest cities, there are spots where time seems to stand still. We keep our eyes open and try to take it all in.

– Robert Stephenson and Lisa Byrnes