Wednesday, March 18, 2009

Vienna, Austria (03/12/2009-03/15/2009)

I needed a nice cultural break from 10 months of business school and several inspirational yet content-heavy days in Lyon.

I came to Vienna for three things:
1) Eating pastries and drinking melanges at numerous cafes
2) Music
3) Museums

I accomplished all three, and probably gained 5 lbs for my troubles. Highlights of my trip were seeing the Moscow Symphony Orchestra play Tchaikovsky's Manfred Symphony (rarely performed) and Myaskovsky's incredibly technical Cello Concerto in C minor, watching Lucia Di Lammermoor by Gaetano Donizetti (the aria was featured in the Fifth Element) , and meeting a great number of wonderfully interesting people. Just in my hostel alone, I roomed with 2 concert pianists and 1 orchestra conductor! I also had the great fortune to meet a cellist, a sopprano, a modern classical composer, and a violinist. Being in Vienna made me wish I had pursued music more seriously, even if I could never be a start performer due to my short stubby fingers (I could at least compose). This is one city I definitely plan on returning to in the future.





















3 comments:

Unknown said...

Those pictures brought me so many memories, thanks...BTW, I just started to learn piano by myself. I found my "computer-trained" fingures are just flexible enough for me to pick up piano quickly :p

Unknown said...

Joe -
Your photos and stories are amazing. I especially like the one of the orchestra playing in the grand ballroom. Thank you for sharing your experiences (and allowing me to live vicariously)!

p.s. is that a plastic soccer ball, net, and field in a urinal??

Joe said...

Glad you enjoyed the pictures.... indeed it was a soccer net + ball in the urinal.. gives drunk people incentive to be on target.