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The RV Week with Phil Kates and Friends (May 15 - 21, 2004)

Tuesday, May 18 - Day Four: Vienna blues on the Danube

Morning wake-up was early for Cory and we delivered him to his room with Kim around 9 a.m. and then snoozed some more.

Now Phil always has a way of trusting that a place for sleeping (as well as all arrangements and circumstances) would always be resolved and taken care of by Providence, and he was true to his trust. When we dropped Rob off at the Orchestra hotel, we needed a place to camp with the RV at least for one night, and we found a delightful place in the nearby river town of Klosternueberg. The campground was technically full, but the owner found us an extra space under a flowering lacy-leafed tree - our needs were met yet again.

Phil had a hankering to either drive or take a day train trip to Bratislava (in Slovakia - only an hour and a half away). We decided though to relax, nap, dine on leftovers, and head for the Musikverein well rested for the important concert. That night's concert was an interesting one. The Musikverein is truly one of the world's great halls. It is quite necessary to not play too heavily - the hall is so small and reverberantly clear. After the shock of the big sound we were giving in the first movement of Brahm's Violin Concerto, the second and third movements settled into a lovely sheen with good energy under control. And Shosty 10th was lean, mean, and powerful ...

Phil, Chris Deviney (principal percussion), and I went to a famous restaurant in Vienna that night after the show - the Augustinekeller. It's kind of a wine cellar/beer hall place with excellent food. Phil got pig's knuckle - whew, that's a ton of fat on a bone. Chris had Weiner schnitzel, and I ordered a lamb and veggie cabob ... great stuff. A fine accordion player serenaded the "cellar" of tables with traditional Viennese tunes - including "Edelweiss!" We later trained and cabbed home ... tucked away again in the RV for the night.

Don Liuzzi, Principal Timpani