Last Sunday evening, a few hours after I arrived in Salzburg, I attended a dinner concert at the Fortress, which is on the southern hill or very small mountain, Monchsberg bordering old Salzburg. Some comments, in reverse order (sort of):
The concert was great. It was performed by a string quartet, joined by a pianist for one number. They started with the Dvorak “American” string quartet. Even if people don’t recognize the name of the piece, the opening melody which repeats over and over and over again (it is Dvorak, after all) sounds vaguely familiar to most concertgoers.
Throughout the concert, the tuning was nearly impeccable (no mean feat, given the temperature changes in the room). And the precision of the timing was very impressive most of the time.
It was clear from the start that the cellist is the heart and soul of the group. He set the tempos, the openings, the finishes, everything. He also played with more emotion than the rest of the quartet. And his dynamic variation added considerably to what might otherwise have been a flatter performance.
The lead violinist was superb. She had far less emotion to her playing than, say, Jennifer Orchard or Scott St. John, both of whom I have seen play many times over the years. But she performed flawlessly.
The second violinist seemed very good. His body language conveyed more of a workman-like manner. At the same time, second fiddle is a role with which it is often difficult to do much more than that. I was very impressed with his devotion to the sound of the ensemble. His precision in fitting his part in with the others was better than I have seen in many string quartets. As the concert progressed, it became clear that his talent was far greater than his rather stiff (or maybe timid is a better word) appearance might have suggested.
The violist seemed the weakest of the bunch. She was still very good, but a few times, mind you only a rare few, she was a bit out of synch with the rest. And she, like the cellist, conveyed much more musical feeling than the upper strings, and her tone was superb.
For the second piece, a pianist joined them for a version of a Haydn piano concerto. Despite her obvious talent, I didn’t much enjoy her playing for two reasons: first, she had far too little dynamic variation for the piece. Second, she and the cellist obviously disagreed about the appropriate tempos. Whenever she could (i.e. on her solo sections), she played faster than the quartet, trying to drag them along. Her glances at the cellist would have killed, had they been daggers. Actually, I found that dynamic amusing.
At the intermission, I tried to ask some of the other English-speaking guests about the tempo clash, but they didn’t seem to notice it. But then, they all applauded after each movement of each piece, too.
Other points: she played from music, which is odd for most concerto performances; most soloists have their music memorized. Also she seemed more intent on showing how technically capable she was by playing the piece fast, versus imbuing it with richer musical interpretation. Maybe that was just her interpretation of Haydn, but it seemed uninspired at best.
I asked the members of the quartet later about the apparent clash in desired tempos. The principal violinist smiled and said you’ll have to ask him (referring to the cellist, who spoke very little English).... they are partners. But she did agree that there had been a difference of opinion about the tempos.
Before the concert began, I took this photo of the town of Salzburg, through a window in the concert hall:
During the intermission, many of us were struck by the colours and effects of the lighting in and on the town below the fortress, so we took turns at the windows, taking photos:
Also, for some reason, the lighting in the hall intrigued me. Here is a photo I took of one of the chandeliers (after about ten attempts to get this effect):
The concert finished with Eine Kleine Nachtmusik. Again, the quartet did a fine job. Excellent tuning and precision. It was especially fun to watch the two violinists co-ordinate their timing so well. Again, I’d have liked to hear more dynamic variation from the ensemble, and in the killer cello entry of the first movement, my own preference is for a rougher, harsher entrance. But I’m probably wrong about my interpretation. After all, it is supposed to be night music, not the Surprise Symphony. The group did an encore, a delightful Mozart allegro.
Yes, there were flaws in the concert. But still it was perfect for me; I thoroughly enjoyed the experience. The group was technically terrific and created a wonderful feeling. I know this type of thing can become very glitzy and touristy, but they avoided all those pitfalls. They didn’t announce or talk about each piece (my preference, though increasingly every conductor seems to think s/he is the next Leonard Bernstein at the young-people’s concerts). And they really were very good, despite the negatives I pointed out above. I was very glad I went. Hats off to a fine group:
The next day, I mentioned to a woman in the tourism bureau how much I had enjoyed the concert. She said, “You were lucky, I guess.” That means that sometimes the groups or concerts don’t get such rave reviews (which is what is intended here; I hope that comes through). I would note, too, that this same woman tried to steer me to a dinner concert the next night, where actors in period costumes perform arias from Mozart operas between the courses. No thanks.
· Dinner before the concert was on an open patio at the fortress. The setting was spectacular:
In the background you can barely make out a mountain range called Untersberg. Here is a better photo of the mountain range. There is a cable car that goes up to the peak that is the most prominent in this photo, but the peak to the right of that one, called Salzberg Hochthron, is quite a bit higher. More about my escapades up there in a later posting.
The food was okay. Not great, but okay. I had an apple schnapps to start. Then white wine (with sparkling water), followed by beef aspic, potato soup that was too salty, and vegetable strudel.
This is what the dessert looked like:
A bit too gimmicky for my tastes, and it made me a bit concerned about what to expect from the concert. What a relief it was that the concert turned out to be so good.
And then we all got to climb about 150 steps (or so it seemed) to the hall where the concert was being performed.
· The walk up to the fortress before the dinner and concert. In part as training for future hikes, I figured I would walk up to the fortress and look around a bit before dinner. The hotel clerk said I should allow half an hour. Guide books say it takes maybe 20 minutes. I think I did it in less than ten minutes. Most of the people who were walking up stopped and either didn’t go on up or went back down to take the cable car up. However, at one point I was passed by a guy walking rapidly, carrying his daughter on his shoulders! I was impressed.
Here is a photo from down by the river of the fortress looming over the town of Salzburg. The concert was in a room on the very top floor between the two turrets.
All this happened on my first afternoon and evening in Salzburg. I left London, Ontario, Canada at noon the day before and then flew to Vienna on an overnight flight on which I was surrounded by six different children, five of whom caused a bit of a fuss at one time or another during the night; and the one behind me kept kicking my seat (though he did cut down on it when asked). Anyway, I was pretty tired on Sunday. I managed a very short bit of naps on the train from Vienna to Salzburg, but I was still afraid I might fall asleep during the concert. I think it is a tribute to them that I didn’t.
Dinner, concert, cable car, admission to museums in the fortress: 57 Euros inclusive. And well worth it.
