the side benefits of working in a castle

Now, there are many benefits to working in a castle, such as having the most beautiful office in the world. But those pics will come later. today I want to talk about something that is completely unrelated to work. The side benefits, if you will.

Occasionally, outside groups rent out the Schloss for events. There have been a number of weddings since I've been here, and just last weekend, a corporate group on a worldwide tour ended their time in Salzburg by renting out the Marble Hall for a concert.

Now, interns are never invited to events such as these, but we do have free access to the Schloss at all hours because it's where we get our food and where we're supposed to do our laundry. So no one questions you walking in the front door and getting in the elevator. On Saturday night three of us made our way up to the balcony/gallery level of the Marble Hall just as the concert was starting to enjoy the show. The singer was a classically trained tenor, but as he was backed up by a jazz band, it wasn't your standard operatic concert. Here's a taste of one of his early pieces:

Shortly thereafter, he brought out a few Sound of Music classics. You can't sing a concert in Salzburg without doing "Edelweis."

After that, my compatriots gave up the idea of subtlety and began dancing in the balcony. After the vocalist noticed and gave us a friendly wave, I decided to get up and join in the fun, as it seemed there was no going back. In fact, at the end of the concert, the vocalist gave a shout out, thanking "the three girls dancing in the balcony for the support."

It was an epically awesome night.

-Kim

July 3, 2009

The Fourth of July is not a single day in Boston. Rather, the festivities go on all week, and, frankly year-round. But the weekend of the Fourth is a whole different level of patriotism. Boston's Harborfest overlaps the Fourth, providing a vast number of activities that I couldn't begin to take advantage of properly, especially with my work schedule. But I did what I could, and it's been an amazing weekend!

On July 3, we had over 2,000 visitors to Park Street Church on the Freedom Trail. That was a busy day, let me tell you! After work, I made my way down to the Charles River esplanade, where the Hatch Memorial Shell is. There, the Boston Pops were going to do a dress rehearsal for the Fourth of July concert. The dress rehearsal is a lot less crowded than the actual event, so it made sense to go for that instead. Even so, there was a huuuuuge line to get in. I waited about 45 minutes to get my wristband and get into the area in front of the stage to stake out a place to sit. I ended up a ways back, but with a decent line of sight. The only problem with my location was that I was one of the few people who didn't have a lawn chair. I could still see because there was a paved path in front of me that had to be kept clear, but that didn't stop people from stepping on me. That's right, other concertgoers saw my spot as a perfect path through the lawn chairs and were continually stepping on the edge of my tarp (a used plastic tablecloth I snagged from church) and, if I happened to be standing to stretch my legs, in the center of it. Very rude. The worst, though, was when I lay down for a while to rest (I got my spot more than 3 hours before the concert actually started). I heard noise and opened my eyes to see a man stepping directly over my head! The gay couple next to me acted offended for me, as I was too shocked to react before the man had moved on.

In spite of the awkwardness of waiting for the concert, it was definitely worth the trouble. Not only did I get to see the Boston Pops, but Neil Diamond performed as well! And Craig Ferguson was hosting. I will never again have the opportunity to hear Neil Diamond sing "Sweet Caroline" live for free--that just doesn't happen!

And because I know many of you, my readers, envy the opportunity I had, I took the liberty of recording a few short video clips of the concert for you to enjoy. First up is a portion of Tschaikovsky's 1812 Overture.

Next is Neil Diamond singing what has become the official song of the Boston Redsox, "Sweet Caroline."

And finally, Boston Pops playing "The Stars and Stripes Forever"

It was great fun, and the celebration doesn't stop here. The Fourth itself will be posted next!

-Kim

John Williams

On Tuesday night I attended what was probably one of the best concerts of my life: Boston Pops in Symphony hall playing the music of John Williams, conducted by the man himself. I've been geeking out about it ever since a friend bought the tickets weeks ago. It was kind of expensive, even to sit in the upper balcony, but well worth the price. And the seats were actually very good. Last time I attended a concert in this hall, I was on the ground floor, off to the side and wasn't impressed by the acoustics. This time, though we were well above the stage, we were in the very center of the balcony, which gave us an incredible view, and provided a much more pleasant acoustic experience. While the last time I was there the music almost sounded far away, this time it flowed around us. I'm a fan of the balcony. Here's what our view was like:


(The lighting was colorful throughout the concert, and it changed for each piece to set the mood. The projection screen was only down before the concert and during intermission to advertise other Pops events this summer.)

I went to the concert with Adam, Vita and Kristen. Rather than risk being late, we walked to the hall early and made it to our seats a full half hour before the concert began. I passed the time reading the concert notes and taking random pictures of the hall and the musicians beginning to gather on the stage. As the time neared, an usher rather loudly reminded our section that photography was not allowed during the concert. But as she then disappeared, I took a chance and snapped a photo as John Williams began conducting the first piece. It's a bit crooked, but I love that my zoom could get this close of a picture at all. There he is, John Williams in all his conducting glory:


After snagging my one photo, I settled back to enjoy the performance. The opening piece was "Hooray for Hollywood," something I didn't recognize, but it set a good tone for the movie-themed concert. The second piece was March from The Adventures of Robin Hood (not a Williams piece, but good nonetheless), for which the lighting turned green to invoke Sherwood Forrest.

Next was Williams' own Suite from Jane Eyre. (I keep running into Jane. First, a facebook quiz told me that out of all the Classic female heroines I am Jane Eyre, then, at a friend's suggestion I began reading the Thursday Next series, the first of which is all about the novel, and now this. I think I'll have to reread that one this summer.) The music was touching, but I was astounded by and embarrassed for the audience when they began to applaud between movements. I got used to that happening at home occasionally, but I would have thought that Boston concert audiences would have been better trained. More embarrassing, however, was the fact that instead of catching on and not clapping after the second movement, more people joined in. I realize that the Pops concerts are supposed to be more informal--they have tables and serve food on the orchestra level, even--but it's a sign of courtesy and respect for the performers to not interrupt the piece and hold our wild applause until the end. Mr. Williams seemed to handle it well, but I still can't believe it happened.

Following was Flight to Neverland, from Hook. The playful piece restored my good mood, momentarily broken by the uncouth audience. Throughout this piece, and others, I found myself torn between watching the violins and watching the conductor. I always pay special attention to the violin section, watching their bows fly and their fingers dance up and down the neck of the violin at blinding speed and with breathtaking accuracy, feeling a connection with the masters of the instrument I love and merely play at in comparison. But Williams was the star of the night. he went through the full range of conducting movements, from tiny flicks of the baton to great surges in sound indicated by raising both arms to their fullest extent. But he never bothered with just keeping the beat. Instead, he focused on the swells, the changes, the cues, the abrupt stops and tempo changes, the flowing cantabile sections that defy strict rhythm. I wonder how it would feel to be under his direction. If I ever managed to get over my admiration and fear, would I feel the spark of connection the seemed to have with the orchestra? I get goosebumps just thinking about it!

After the first intermission (yes, there were two), we were treated to the world premier of Williams' new Concerto for Viola and Orchestra. He told us he had written it specifically for the principal viola of the Boston Pops, Cathy Basrak. Williams took time before the piece to describe to us how he had arranged it, explaining the melodic style of the first movement and telling us to pay attention to the cadenza that would show the range and skill of the violist. The second movement was quick and lively, and featured an unusual duet between viola and timpani, written because the violist is married to the timpanist. Williams' jokingly called it the family argument. The last movement is contemplative, almost restorative, and features a duet between viola and harp. The soloist was incredible, and the piece moving. Any world premiere is a treasure, this one especially so because of whose it was. (Too bad David couldn't be there--he has rented himself a viola and is learning to play it and would have especially enjoyed the quality of the soloist) The only downside to this premiere was the audience. Even though Williams took the time to explain the movements and features of each, the crowd still applauded between them. I was embarrassed for them--the applause was so enthusiastic, they clearly didn't even know better and thought they were encouraging the orchestra. What has the world come to, that even in one of the cultural centers of America audiences could be so ignorant?

After wild applause and several bows, they launched into The Adventures of Mutt, from Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. The quality of the story may have worsened in the fourth movie, but the music was as good as ever. After that we had another intermission. During the break some of the brass stayed on stage, and I found myself wondering why they were playing pep band music. Then I had a "duh!" moment as I realized that the first piece after the break was going to be the Superman March, which my high school had used frequently for pep band when our team ran out onto the field/court. When they played the piece, the lighting changed to a very patriotic red, white and blue.

Next was Selections from Far and Away. I've never seen that movie, but based on the Irish style and quality of the music, I now think I would like to. One movement was very quick and the cellos got to play a tricky, fast pattern, something low strings rarely get to do.

Finally it was time to the Raiders March. As Mr. Williams turned to address the audience, a large projection screen came down above the orchestra. While they played the classic theme, scenes from the first three movies were shown on the screen, eliciting "ooh!"s and laughs and cheers from the audience. Before they played, Mr. Williams commented on Harrison Ford's athleticism, informing us that he did 80% of his own stunts in the first films and still did 60% of them in the most recent one. After the piece he joked that it "begs the question of the fifth Indiana Jones film." Hearing this theme, one of my favorites, accompanies by images of the films was definitely the highlight of the night thus far.

The last piece in the program was Excerpts from Lawrence of Arabia, which Williams contends is the greatest film of all time because of the impressive filming with the tools of the time. They showed clips of this one as well, which meant less to me, having never seen the movie. (It's on my list of films to see before I die, but I probably won't get to it for a while.) It was an incredible finish, and it elicited the expected standing ovation.

Luckily, it was not the end. After returning to the stage for a second bow, Mr. Williams told us they would play another piece "for an 800-year-old: Yoda." Inaccuracy of the statement aside, Yoda's theme was a great encore. The lighting turned green again and I couldn't stop grinning. I also couldn't help but lean forward in my seat, straining to capture every note in my mind.

When they finished, I saw several orchestra turning pages and knew there was more to come. Mr. Williams bowed once, waved his hands to quiet us down and launched into the Star Wars Main Theme. It was pure sci-fi and music geek euphoria. Based on which themes were represented and how long each was, I decided it must have been the arrangement from the credits of the first movie. There could not have been a better ending to the night. When it finished I was one of the first to leap up and begin the standing ovation. As the applause went on (we were all secretly hoping they would keep playing all night) Mr. Williams put his hands together and closed his eyes, miming sleep, and we knew it was the end.

I have been to a great many concerts in my life, but this was certainly one of the best, and a night to remember.

-Kim

COF Orchestra spring concert

Last night was my spring orchestra concert. It went very well, and I am now sad that I don't have a group to play with again until September. Katie came into town for the concert like she did last semester, and the photo and videos are thanks to her.

The first video is the third movement of Tchaikovsky's "Swan Lake," for which we were joined by two members of the COF dance troupe.

The second clip is from one of the chamber groups, an especially impressive French horn quartet. Katie plays the horn as well, so she was especially excited about this.

Our final piece was music from "Jurassic Park." John Williams writes such good music. Again, Katie was happy because the horn part is so good. As she puts it, John Williams actually likes horns, while other composers seem to think of them as a percussion instrument. The Williams piece was easily everyone's favorite, so we ended the concert on a high note.

The room was packed--I couldn't believe how good a turnout we had. In fact, many of the people who came later had to stand in the back or along the walls. Next time around they'll have to find more chairs for us to use.

It was an odd day to have so many extra people on campus, though, especially in the dining hall. In the past week there have been 6 cases of norovirus reported on the residence campus, and the school is taking drastic measures to keep it from spreading. The measure they took was to eliminate self-serve food items from the dining areas. Well, that's not too hard at the main campus dining facility, since only the soup and salad bar were self-serve anyway, but on the residence campus, at Bartol, it made a huge difference. Most of the food there is self-serve. They ended up calling in extra staff to stand by the buffet lines and dish food out for us, wearing gloves. Maybe that will stop the spread of germs, maybe not. It's enough of a pain that I intend to avoid the dining hall as much as possible for a few days and hope they get things straightened out. My room is well-stocked, so I should be fine.

-Kim

Boston Symphony Orchestra

It was another night of culture for me on Saturday. My neighbor Molly and I took in a concert of the Boston Symphony Orchestra at Symphony Hall. It's a short walk and a few stops down the Green Line to get there, and we were early enough for me to study the hall before things got started. It's a very nice hall, but it's got nothing on the Washington Pavilion. There is gold painted wood everywhere and Greek statues in sconces above the balconies, so it's fancy enough, but it doesn't have nearly the same feel.





The Pavilion doesn't have a bad seat in the house, but apparently this hall does. At least, I would rather blame the hall than the orchestra. During the concert I had the feeling that the music was all far away, only on the stage. When the music was soft, I could hear the air in the vents and the creaking floor as the usher got bored and went in and out of the door nearby. After the intermission the music was more powerful and reached our seats better. And speaking of the seats--they weren't very comfortable.

I don't mean any disrespect to the BSO--they're a fantastic orchestra. And the hall was certainly marvelous when it was built in 1900. I guess I've just been spoiled by the quality of the Pavilion and our own amazing SDSO.

The concert itself was quite good. First was Ravel's "Mother Goose Suite," then a violin concerto by Prokofiev. The soloist was amazing. She's barely older than me, and she's performed all over the world, with top orchestras. Have you ever seen a really impressive violinist perform? They always appear to be moving at faster than normal speed, as if they are a recording that has been sped up ever so slightly from the rest of the world. Her movements would seem jerky, but for the flowing music that accompany them. She also had incredible long bangs that flew about her face as she bobbed her whole body along with the music.

The best part of the concert was after the intermission, when they played Stravinsky's "Petrushka." It's a ballet about wooden puppets, and it's a shame there were no dancers to watch bring the story to life. But I could picture it on my own. I was helped by both the program notes and an episode of Nodame Cantabile, which had explained and animated part of the story.

After the concert we walked back to campus through the mist. A block away from the dorm, waiting for a walk signal, we spotted the most unusual vehicle. I'm only sorry I couldn't get my camera out in time. It was The Original Party Trolley, which apparently can be rented out like a limo for parties and the like. Follow the link to see what it looks like--it's a very strange contraption.

-Kim