Rehearsal in the Orangerie, Shoenbrunn PalaceRehearsal in the Orangerie, Shoenbrunn Palace
(This report was filed by Roger Samuel at midnight Austrian time, 3:00 p.m., July 6, 1997, Pacific time)
Today's concert was superb! We conquered Vienna. We were in the Orangerie, the dining room of Franz Josef's summer home, the Schoenbrunn Palace. It just opened again in May after renovation. It is so elegant with white walls, red chairs with gold, a brick floor, and crystal chandeliers. It is about 100 yards long and 30 yards wide. The hall was very live. When we would finish a piece, we would hear the echo for 5 or 6 seconds. In this hall Mozart and Salieri had a duel of the operas in 1761. One's opera was at one end, and the other's opera was at the other end with the dinner going on the the middle.
We were so lucky that the concert was indoors. We had tried to get into an outdoor festival. It's a good thing we didn't because all of the outdoor concerts for the last week have been rained out. The promoters had planned to send Mozart people out to distribute flyers at the Opera House, the Hapsburg Palace, and Schoenbrunn Palace, but due to the rain they weren't too successful. In spite of the weather we had a wonderful audience of over 200. Although the Viennese audience was quiet and subdued, perhaps because of the rain, it was so appreciative that we played two encores. The Vivaldi soloists did their best ever. It was their finest performance. They hit their last note and knew they hit it well. There were big smiles on their faces.
The aunt of one of our guides attended the concert and said, "Here we are very spoiled with music groups, but there is no youth group like yours in Vienna." They had come to the concert reluctantly, but were very impressed with the caliber of music. Our guide said that she will always remember us whenever she hears Bizet, Vivaldi, or Dvorak.
As the last notes of our last concert in Europe were echoing through the Orangerie, we realized that the musical portion of our tour was over. Looking around the orchestra, I saw tears. Looking around at the chaperones, I saw tears. This tour has been truly wonderful.
We got to visit the Vienna Opera House. Then because of the rain did not have dinner at the Rathaus, but went to another restaurant for a very nice dinner. We had schnitzel and potatoes with a great salad of lettuce, beans, potatoes, and cucumbers. Daniel Song and Jung Paek won a bet that they couldn't be quiet for two hours.
(WebMaestro's comments)
The page of their last day in Vienna will be posted after their arrival home.
Joy Welling's relatives are following the tour in Utah and Colorado. Kavi's uncle is following the trip in Pennsylvania.
Most of the group will be arriving in Los Angeles on Luftansa flight 450 from Frankfurt on Tuesday at 1:00 p.m. in terminal 6 (United).
Some of the group will be arriving in Los Angeles on Luftansa flight 452 from Frankfurt on Tuesday at 4:30 p.m. in terminal 6 (United).
You can verify arrival times with Luftansa at (800) 645-3880.
Go on to Day 13 - Touring in Vienna
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This page is maintained by Lewis Johnson. For questions or comments please write to lewis_johnson@eee.org.