Wiener Schnitzel and Sachertorte

Greetings from Vienna! In one week the orchestra has visited Toronto, Paris, Luxembourg, and now we are in the beautiful city of Vienna. Last night we performed the first of three concerts here in the famous Musikvereinsaal, the home of the Vienna Philharmonic. With it's gold leaf on the statues lining the hall and it's fabulous acoustics, the orchestra sounded beautiful and the audience loved it. We must have had about 6 curtain calls and we played an encore- the overture to the 3rd act of Wagner's "Lohengrin". This morning I visited the Leopold Museum and saw a very interest exhibit of Edvard Munch (famous for "The Scream") paintings as well as paintings by Viennese secessionists such at Gustav Klimt, Egon Schiele, etc. We were lucky to have excellent weather in Paris and I had the opportunity to take a boat ride along the Seine River, taking in all the important sites, the Louvre Museum, Notre Dame cathedral, the Eiffel Tower, etc. Don't miss visiting this gorgeous city!

Luxembourg, though quieter, is also a beautiful city with a lot of wealth. (It's a banking center) It has beautiful shops and pedestrian malls and I toured the walls that once protected this city a thousand years ago. There is a an excellent new concert hall there and I heard rumors that we will be returning on a regular basis. We have two more concerts in Vienna to play and then one in Linz, and then home.. I will update this blog in a few days..

Cleveland Orchestra in Vienna

Last night we performed our first concert in the famous Musikvereinsaal, the home of the Vienna Philharmonic and the site of the famous New Year's Day concert with Walter Cronkite. With it's beautiful decorations, history, and fantastic acoustics, it's always a treat for musicians to play there. Last night's program was Mozart Symphony #28, Debussy's "Iberia", and Beethoven's 7th Seventh symphony. We had curtain after curtain call and the normally reserved Viennese audience was very extroverted! Tonight is Ligeti's "Lontano" ( a very beautiful modern work) and the Bruckner Ninth Symphony. Since both our conductor and Bruckner are Austrian, the Viennese audience should love it. Tonight's concert is also being taped and will be made into a commercial DVD.

Today I rested but tomorrow we have most of the day off so I hope to going hiking in the Vienna woods. Vienna is an incredibly beautiful city with a rich history, great museum, fantastic shopping, and great food. I highly recommend it! I hope you have a nice week! NOW GO SELL HOUSES!!!!