[Dixielandjazz] Vienna, Austria 6/23/09

[Katie Cavera]

So to make a long story just a little longer, this past Sunday I saw another performance by the Vienna Philharmonic, only this time they were in the Koncerthouse which is a much larger venue, and I sat in the second row of the highest balcony.  The program for the day included Brahms 2nd Symphony so I was happy to hear some Viennese music. -Nothing against the French music but I really wanted to hear Viennese music in Vienna. Once again it was a wonderful concert and i had no trouble hearing everything from where I was seated.  For a large hall, the venue felt really intimate and although I felt the acoustics at the Musikverein were superior, the sound here was still remarkably good.

Interestingly they had a female concertmaster this time and I counted 6 girls in the violin and viola sections.  Now the reason I’m keeping my eyes open for girls in this particular orchestra is because they didn’t even allow women to audition until 1998. But please don’t think I’m being critical here. Having not been born and raised in Vienna, I’m not about to make snap judgements about their culture. And as I look at the big picture, they do an awful lot of things right when it comes to promoting their music within their culture.   

For example, classical music here is a community event and readily available and accessible to the public. Sure you can pay top dollar for the best seats in the concert venues, or (if you don’t mind standing with the students) you can hear the same concert for less then 10 euros.  In addition to that, I found out the concert I heard this past Sunday was broadcast live on the radio, and later we were able to discuss it with some friends over dinner -in much the same way you might discuss a baseball game you saw live with someone that tuned it in on the radio. And to take the sports analogy one step further, they have a giant screen on the side of the opera house. During select performances they have a live feed going to it so that people in the plaza can stop and see (and hear) the show.  They even put chairs out if you want to sit and stay a bit.  The idea is to win over people that perhaps have never seen live opera and attract new fans.  Or if you
 want to sit in the Opera Cafe and have drinks or dinner, you can watch the live feed on any one of their flat screen tvs. 

And speaking of attracting new fans, the opera also has a series of “kids” Operas and the Musikverein has three different concert series for children. One for kids ages 3-5, one for kids ages 5-10, and one for kids 10 and older.  The guide on our tour told us that these were some of their hottest tickets and they sell out within a matter of days when they go on sale. People here are very passionate about music and it’s something they cultivate in their children from a very young age.

Seeing all of this has been truly inspiring and I can’t help but think about how we should have the same kind of passion as a community for jazz in our own culture as I’ve seen here. Of course how to do this is a question there isn’t an easy answer for.  All I can say is, the passion people have for music here is contagious.  And I’m happy that I can spend my time here enjoying the Viennese musical culture and way of life.  

I’m going to keep all of this in mind when I watch the next New Year’s Day concert live from Vienna.  Only this next time I’ll see how many girls I can spot in the orchestra *and* look for the place where I sat. 

Auf Wiedersehen!
Katie

http://www.katiecavera.com
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