Tuesday, May 18, 2004 - Frankfurt, Germany
The Philadelphia Orchestra arrived in Braunschweig to the greetings of longtime Philadelphia Orchestra fans Olaf and Jochen Christensen, residents of the small German town of Heide, who have been fans of the Orchestra for nearly 50 years. The performance in Braunschweig kicked off the Braunschweig Classix Festival and was broadcast live on German radio throughout the country. The audience gave the Orchestra a warm welcome, ending the first half of the concert (Schoenberg's Transfigured Night) with foot stomping and bravos.
Frankfurt brought two performances at the Alte Oper. Musicians were thrilled with the reception from sold out audiences both nights and with the acoustics of the hall. Encores both nights (Saturday, Glinka's Overture to Ruslan and Lyudmila and Sunday, Smetana's Dance of the Comedians) brought cheers and whistles. Frankfurt also provided wonderful weather which found many in the tour party strolling along the River Main, enjoying the warm sunshine, German beer, and in one case, an "American-style" hot dog - a very long sausage smothered in bacon bits, ketchup, and mustard on a hoagie-like roll.
As is typical on tours, family members make up part of the tour party. On this tour, a large number of children, many of whom are making their first trip to Europe, are contributing a lively air to our travels. Gunner Robinson, Eric Beiler, Corey Robinson, Rachel and Mariel Kirschen, Genevieve and Brendan Timmins, Bill Earley, Eric Woodhams, Alex and Hillary Fay, Emily and Ken Roby, and Hanna Matsukawa are all accompanying their musician parents on the tour. Additionally, tour doctor Jeff Hartzel is joined by his granddaughters Kimberly and Tara, president Joe Kluger is accompanied by his son Dan, and even guest violinist Gil Shaham is accompanied by his year-old son Elijah.
If we could assign colors to this tour they would probably be pinks and purples, ever-present in nearly every city we've visited. Spring is everywhere, in the parks, stores, clothing, and street banners. Perhaps the only place we haven't seen pink is in the asparagus fields outside Braunschweig, where they were harvesting bushels and bushels of white asparagus, or Spargel, and selling it at roadside stands.
As the tour party
leaves Germany, we are all looking forward to our upcoming performances
in Vienna.
Katherine Blodgett,
Director of Public/Media Relations
Orchestra
homepage
Copyright
2004 The Philadelphia Orchestra
web@philorch.org