Salzburger Zeitung - 2013 - Second Edition

Dateline:  May 20, 2013:

I first saw this skyline when I was 19 years old - in the intervening 47 years
this view has never ceased to give me a small thrill of satisfaction.

Well its been a busy few days since we arrived in Salzburg. Fortunately we arrived a day early and settled into our usual room at the Hotel Bristol - the Tuscany. There had been a few changes in decor but it was still the same comfortable room we had enjoyed on our previous stay.  And though there have been some changes at the Bristol there is much that is familiar: Herr Lackner is still the gracious host, Peter is still overseeing the restaurant and bar,  Florian is doing his usual wonderful job as concierge, the ladies in the breakfast room are welcoming and Gabor has our table in the corner of the Sketch Bar prepared and waiting after the performance.  I guess I'm just turning into an old fart who loves the comfortable and the familiar.

Our home away from home at the Hotel Bristol in Salzburg - the Tuscany.
And returning to the Bristol is like coming home.

It has also been good to see old friends like Dr. M. from Toronto at his usual table and people we recognize from other years and now exchange hellos with at the Mozarteum and Haus für Mozart.  And this year some new acquaintances have been made - the Schmids a wonderful couple from Salzburg who motioned us to join them on the terrace of the Cafe Sacher at lunchtime on a busy Whitsun Saturday.  Their son Benjamin Schmid is a well-known violinist and they regaled us with stories of their travels and his path to a career as a musician.  And just this evening we met a lovely couple from England who have suddenly discovered opera and are indulging their passion for travel and music in their leisure years.

Sidd and another distinguished guest of the Hotel Bristol.

The main topic of conversation amongst us has been the centre piece of this year's Festival _ Bellini's Norma with Cecilia Bartoli.  We were all in agreement - it was of a piece musically and dramatically and one of the most moving and riveting evenings spent at an opera in a long time.  It is an evening I am going to have to take my time and write about with some thought.

Saturday 18:  Musikalisches Opfer
Grosser Saal - Mozarteum: 1100

I've always loved the gold and white, slightly over-the-top Grosser Saal of the Mozarteum.
At times the seats may be a trifle uncomfortable and the room a bit overheated but the acoustics are remarkable. 

It is often possible to be in awe of the artistry and ability of both a composer and a performer but to find them emotional unmoving: I'm afraid that is how I feel about both Bach and András Schiff.  Bach is undoubtedly one of the greats of Western music and I would be a fool for thinking otherwise but as much as I can listen in admiration I find that I can't become involved with his works. I've tried – lord knows I've tried but it just doesn't happen – and emotional response to music can't be forced.

With Schiff I find much the same – he is one of the great pianists of our time and I would be a fool for thinking otherwise and on Saturday morning I sat in awe of what he accomplished in a programme of Bach, Mozart and Beethoven. But I was left largely unmoved at the end of the programme. With the Festival theme of Sacrifice in mind he had chosen pieces in the Key of C minor.  According to the notes this is the key that has always been associated with lamantation - Johann Joachim Quantz, the flute teacher of Frederick the Great said that it is used for "the miserable affect".  Though he did admit that it could be used to  express "the affect of love, tenderness, flattery".  But also it could be used to express "an angry emotion, such as recklessness, rage and dispair".  Quite the choice there!

Another view of the beautiful Grosser Saal - one of my favourite concert venues.

So perhaps it is pushing the envelope a bit to maintain that Bach sacrificed to his art when he took it upon himself to meet Frederick the Great's challenge to create a six part improvisation on a theme the King had set out during Bach's visit to his court in 1747.   That theme from Musikalischen Opfer BWV1080 was to show up again at Monday morning's concert by the Mariinsky Orchestra in Sofia Gubaidulina's Offertorium.

Schiff's Bach was slow, reverential and frankly dull. A friend remarked in passing that listening to Schiff play Bach extended your life time by a third – I'm not sure how true that is but I certainly found the Ricercare a 6 more fascinating when Angela Hewitt played it a few months ago as part of her programme at the NAC.  With Schiff it had all the excitement of an exercise with Hewitt it had a sense of passion and commitment.

András Schiff accepts the applause of an appreciative audience at
sold out concert at this year's Whitsun Festival.

Schiff's Mozart is seen through his closeness to the Romantic rather than the Baroque and though again the artistry is impeccable only the Adagio of the Klaviersonate c-Moll KV 457 seemed to take wing.   Not so the Beethoveen Sonata op. 111. Here Schiff seemed to come into his own and the music had an emotional bite to it that made me aware that I was listening to a great pianist. There was real communication here and in the short Schumann piece he gave as an encore.  I only wish he had caught that fire a bit earlier.

Perhaps after the Italianate passion of the previous evening anything would seem a bit cool, perhaps even passionless but I had honestly hope for a bit more excitement from Schiff. What we got was an amazing display of artistry if not of heart.


22 May - 1813:  Richard Wagner is born in Leipzig. 

Marie Thérèse ......

Yesterday afternoon was spent visiting a palace outfitted by Empress Maria-Thérèse for her family and then by the Archduke Karl Ludwig as a stopover for the Empress Sissi.  It was truly spectacular in that Habsburg style of slightly over the top going for baroque.  Little did I think that when I checked into the Hotel Bristol in Salzburg that I would be inhabiting their world.

We've stayed at the Bristol twice before and have come to think of it as a bit of a home hotel - welcoming - more important remembering - staff, incredible service and beautiful rooms.  I had asked for a room on a slightly higher floor than we normal get, as this would probably be our last visit to Salzburg for a while.

This is the view: (a left click will enlarge it for a closer look)

From left to right - the Holensalzurg Castle, the bell tower of Saint Peter's,  the dome of the University Church, the Untesburg Mountain and the Monchsburg.  All covered with snow and looking quite magical - but it would be even better if the sun where shining - well maybe tomorrow.

And then we get to the room itself:

Okay we are desperately trying to live up to the room - this is beyond baroque! That little tent thing in the corner is actually the closet and there is another one in the other corner. I just don't think I should look in the mirrors behind the bed first thing in the morning!

But its the bathroom that has to be seen to be believed:

It must be at least 20 feet long by 25 feet wide and the ceilings in both rooms are at least 16 feet high. And that bathtub fits two ... or more! Again a cool little tent in the corner serves as a closet for bathrobes etc.

So being the brave little soldiers we are, we will try and live up to all this. I'm just not sure I have anything in my wardrobe that is quite baroque enough!

25 gennaio - Santi Gioentino e Massimino

Salzburger Zeitung - An Overview with Dessert

Several people have asked when I will get around to writing about the various events of this year's Whitsun Festival. I been working on postings but unlike in the past two years I found that there was nothing that really grabbed me that motivated me to write with great enthusiasm. Not that any of the performances were bad - far from it, just that they did not generate the same excitement as in previous years. We didn't have a Andreas Scholl or Phillippe Jaroussky to dazzle us; nor my friends from Accordone to share their wonderful visions of Napoli; nor did Fabio Bondi unwrap another forgotten gem for us. And though Riccardo Muti did bring his incredible talents and those of his Orchestra Giovanile Luigi Cherubini to a relatively unknown Mozart piece he, for reasons that I'm sure are valid, felt that Jommelli was worthy of our attention once again this year.

I will have a few thoughts and opinions on the Festival posted shortly but in the meantime I thought I post a few photos of our favorite bartender Gunther serving us desert on Monday night.

Laurent had joking asked for a Baked Alaska, Gunther decided that Salzburger Nockerl would be the closest we'd come to it.





A 7 egg souffle, laced with vanilla sugar and cream then sauced with cranberry compote it was the perfect end to our last meal of the visit.

Looking at the line up for next year's Whitsun Festival does not exactly have me rushing at this point to book seats; though at the suggestion of genial host at the Hotel Bristol we are investigating the Mozart Week in January. The programme looks very interesting and it would be a great opportunity to see Salzburg in Winter and have another helping of Salzburger Nockerl.


27 maggio - Sant'Agostino di Canterbury

And Here's Captain Von Trapp

Me and Riccardo - two current fixtures at the Whitsun Festival - except he runs it and has more talent (and money) than I every will.

I don't normally put photos of myself up on the blog - there are much prettier things that I take pictures of in my travels. However - and you knew there had to be a however I will make an exception in this case.

I have lost a fair bit of weight in the last year - about 8 kilos I would say. Though the initials reasons were not necessary good the result has been to my benefit. For a while there I was getting the look of an Irish Priest on a Saturday night and this was not a good thing. Unfortunately what it has meant is that most of my clothes don't fit me anymore - I tend to look like I've borrowed my older brother's stuff. This is particularly true of my dark suit and my tuxedo. So the only solution - buy a new suit. Which I did - the tuxedo we will leave for now I don't wear one often enough to go and invest in another one. A lovely dark gray pin strip, however its very light, summer weight and creases beautifully, particularly in a suitcase.

Now I know that's a poor excuse for me doing more clothes shopping but it was raining in Vienna last week and there wasn't much else to do other than shop - honest there is nothing in that city! Well okay a few museums, some coffee houses, a clutch of palaces, the Lipizzaner Horses, the Vienna Boys Choir, the Statsoper, the Volksoper - but I mean other than that nothing!

So we stopped into a Trachten shop and I saw this jacket I liked, but it really didn't look right without the vest, and then there was this nice blue checked shirt and dark pink tie (hey it works here so back off...) tie and really none of the pants I had with me would work with the jacket. And the next day there was this shirt and tie combination that was killer and really I only had one that would go with the ... oh shut up, its all rationalization but it works for me.

And here's Laurent and I at our favorite table in the Sketch Bar of the Hotel Bristol. Gunther sets it up for us every evening and the food and service are so good we can't see why we would bother going any place else.

So for the past few evenings and mornings (you dress for the morning concerts here) I've been dressing up like I'm with a road show company of Sound of Music - and no I'm not playing the Mother Superior!!! And its one of the most comfortable suits I've ever worn. And it doesn't look half bad. And it was rather funny to be stopped on the street last night and asked for directions in German!

And that's it for pictures of me!

23 maggio - San Desiderio di Langres

Salzburger Zeitung - Edition III

Though it is always wonderful to discover new places – the glorious few days in Palermo springs immediately to mind – going back to the familiar is equally as satisfying. It was my blog buddy Opera Chic who introduced me to the Salzburg Whitsun Festival. Oh I knew it existed but it was her reports on the 2007 event – the first under Riccardo Muti – that piqued my interest and got me to thinking about attending in 2008. This is the third year that we've head north to Austria, the banks of the Salzach and the warmth of Bazar Tost and coffee mit schlag.

The past two years our trip has taken us by train up through Northern Italy – Trento, Balzano – and we had decided to follow that same pattern this year. However the newly restrictive – only regional trains going north of Verona – train schedules meant a change of plans and I popped a pill and boarded a flight to Vienna Wednesday and after a few days in Vienna we boarded a train for Salzburg.

Austria is a country that I have had a love-hate relationship with since my first visit to Salzburg back in 1969. There are events of recent history that I find difficult to reconcile with a country of such beauty, history and culture. And I still recall an episode on that first visit to Salzburg that made me aware of how geographically close Berchtesgarden was. But I also have such good memories of three seasons at the summer festival in the glory days of the early 70s and the past few years that I have been able to share the town with Laurent, so maybe its time to forget what happened all those years ago.

Opened in 1903 the Bristol stands where once a palace of the brother of the Prince Archbishop Wolf-Dietrich lived. It has been owned and operated by the Hubner family for the past 75 years and the tradition continues, Frau Dokter Hubner retired this year and has turned the managing over to her son. It is one of my favorite hotels in the world for so many reasons but mostly because of the people.

And staying with the familiar we have settling into the Hotel Bristol once again, the Tuscany Room, same lovely room as last year and giving ourselves over to the care of the wonderful staff - though we were sadden to hear that at 70 the Frau Dokter decided to retire and leave the running of the hotel to her son. Her animated presence always added to the home-like atmosphere. But the front desk staff has remained unchanged - welcoming and friendly and our favourite barman Gunther is still doing what he does so well - tending bar, making warm, funny conversation and making you feel that you are at home. In a conversation with Frau Dokter last year she said that the secret to her success was always her staff. During hiring process she would conduct several interviews and see if the candidate was the type of person who honestly liked people. Because, she said, she could train anyone to do anything in the hotel business but liking people could not be taught. Her people like people.

The Festival this year is following the normal pattern of several concerts book-ended on the Friday and Monday by two works conducted by its artistic director Riccardo Muti (pictured at the left) with his Luigi Cherubini Youth Orchestra. Both are settings of Betulia liberata by Pietro Metastasio, the great Italian author of over 150 opera librettist. It recounts the Old Testament story of Judith and the beheading of the tyrant Holfernes. The first version is a staged opera by Mozart written when he was still in the womb or shortly after delivery and never performed in his life time. The second is an oratorio to the same libretto by Niccolo Jommelli, a Napoletano composer of an earlier period. Frankly last year I was underwhelmed by his opera seria Demofoonte so it will be interesting to hear how he's oratorio stacks up against a young Mozart.

In Salzburg if it isn't Mozart, then it Sound of Music; if it isn't Sound of Music then its Amadeus. I'm not sure if the Capezzoli di Venere that Saleri talks about when he attempts to seduce Constanze in the movie really were a known confection in those days - but they are now. And they come in pairs.

Saturday was a busy day: a morning violin concert of music by various Napoletani at 1100, a performance of a Hasse cantata lead by Fabio Bondi with Vivica Genaux and Desiree Rancatore, two bright lights in the opearatic firmament at 1830 and then at 2200 an Italian silent movie classic Napoli e une canzone (Naples is a Song) with live musical accompaniment. We left the Hasse at the halfway point - more about that later - but I am fighting a cold and the hall was hot. It is uncomfortable and I was subject to some coughing fits. So we headed back to the hotel and Gunther served us a nice supper at our regular table in the hotel bar. After the movie he whipped up a hot toddy that if it did not cure my cold certainly put me to sleep.

Sunday morning brought a remarkable concert of sacred music by Les Arts Florissants and the Festival comes to an end with Monday morning's performance by Muti. This year rather than rushing to catch a train after the morning concert we'll spend Monday in Salzburg and return to Vienna Tuesday morning. It should be a rather peaceful day in the town as Whit Monday is a major holiday in Austria. Most businesses will be closed and many of the festival goers will have left though between music festivals, Mozart and the Sound of Music its a wonder there is ever an off-season in Salzburg. Though Gunther tells us that the hotel closes between the end of January - the close of Mozart Week - and Easter as there is almost no business at that time.

It seems there is always the sound of music in Salzburg - and no I don't mean the Doe a Deer thing - it may be a one man band playing near the bridge, or one of those ubiquitous Peruvian flute groups but more likely it will be a brass band on a Sunday morning in the Mirabel Gardens or maybe just the bells sounding the hour or celebrations. At 1500 yesterday the bells of the Franzikarnerk rang to celebrate a wedding - next thing I knew the Cathedral bells had joined in - and then those of St. Peter's. It was a glorious cacophony of peels.

I'll be writing about the various events and goings on in the next few days - sort of like this cold - in drips and dribbles. Which is probably not a word picture you really needed! Meanwhile Gunther has delivered one of his signature hot toddies ... so here's looking up your old address and down the hatch!

23 maggio - Pentecoste

Whitsun 2009 - This and That

The old town of Salzburg is known for its shop signs not only on the famous Getreidegasse but on the side streets leading off the Domplatz and Residenzplatz. Here are a few of them plus some randoms thoughts about the past few days.

• It’s rather strange that in Italy, where so many rules are ever so gently skirted, the non-smoking policies are strictly observed in bars and restaurants, while in Austria smoking is allowed everywhere. I had forgotten that there are no smoking restrictions in most places in Austria. And boy do those Austrians love to smoke - the air at the Cafe Bazar on a rainy Friday afternoon was a delicate shade of nicotine gray. The other thing that I’ve noticed in Austria is the number of drunks - particularly near the train stations - you see on the streets. A drunk is something you very rarely see in Italy unless its a young tourist freed from the restrictions of home - generally Italians don’t drink to get drunk but as an enjoyment.

• After 30 odd years - and I do mean odd - I guess Laurent and I have habits that we don’t even think about anymore. On Saturday afternoon we were having lunch at Nordsee - a fast food fish restaurant chain - and a young lad at the next table was watching us with some bemusement. I wasn’t finishing my vegetables and Laurent was absent-mindedly spearing roast potatoes from my plate as we talked. I guess every old couple has these little quirks..

• I was in Salzburg BTSOM (Before the Sound of Music) - my first visit was in August of 1969 when most people were coming for the Festival or to visit the house were little Wolfgang sprang into the world presenting it with a symphony he had written during delivery. Two years later the town had been taken over by blue-haired ladies of both sexes, some dragging long-suffering spouses along, on their pilgrimage to see the sacred spot where Christopher Plummer had kissed Julie Andrews, the place where they were married and the Von Trapp family schloss. Now almost 40 years later it is still a big industry in town - if it doesn’t have Mozart’s picture on it, guaranteed it will have Julie Andrews skipping over hills that are alive! Even the world famous Salzburg Marionette Theatre does a wooden puppet production - though a few cynics ask how that is any different from the film?

• People can be deceiving - take the audience at the Festival. They appear to be a conservative, even slightly dour, group of upper middle class people in the 60-65 range. That is not to say there aren’t young people in the audience its just that this sort of Festival and its rather pricy tickets do attract a certain demographic. The dress is conservative and there is often a whiff of mothballs as evening dresses and shawls are pulled out of armoires for the annual airing. When not sporting tuxedoes Gentlemen tend to wear suits, even to the morning concerts, and many Austrian men wear their formal trachten and the ladies are garbed in elaborate dirndls which can be stunningly beautiful but are still very traditional. When you reach your seat it is still considered good manners to greet the people on either side of you with a good morning or evening and even to say auf wiedersen on leaving - though the strolling counter clockwise in the reception room I recall from my first visit has given way to the general bustle of any theatre lobby.
  
  As I said very traditional and conservative - until it comes time to pay tribute to the performers. At that point decorum is thrown of the Untersberg - cheers ring out, feet are stamped rhythmically and the applauding and bravoing can go on for a good 10 or 15 minutes. This is an audience that knows its music and what it likes - and when they like a performer they are not shy about letting them know. One of the joys of this Festival is seeing the smiles of the musicians as they are called out for the fifth or sixth time. There must be a great feeling of satisfaction to feel that much appreciation and love sent in your direction.

• Its been a long time since I have stayed in a hotel like the Bristol - probably the last time was over 25 years ago at the old Plaza Hotel in New York. The Bristol is still family owned and operated and nothing, and I do mean nothing, is too good for its guests. Frau Doctor Hubner, the charming owner, and her son seem to be on duty 24 hours - though I’m sure they do get some rest. In conversation with the Frau Doctor she mentioned that the first thing she looked for in an employee was a love of people, everything else could be taught. They do not have a large staff but a very dedicated and exceptional one and there isn’t one of them that doesn’t live up to her requirement. Take Gunter, the young bar man. Tall, slender, boyish, a bit gangly, he has a smile that lights up the room and an open desire to make sure his guests are happy - and boy can he mix a martini.

01 guigno - Santi Marcellino e Pietro

Whitsun 2009 - A Room with A View

Last year we tried to live up to the ornate stucco ceiling of our room at the Hotel Stein - this year we're try to live up to a room that is just a bit - a whole big bit - larger and frankly a whole lot more splendid that some stucco donkey. Somehow or other we landed the Tuscany Room at the Hotel Bristol.

The Bristol is one of the few remaining family owned hotels in town and I've walked by it on many occasions during my visits to Salzburg but didn't really think I could afford to stay there. So imagine my surprise when I found a special deal while searching for a hotel on Booking.com January past. I snapped it up immediately but was still thinking it was going to be some poky little room in the attic but that isn't the way the Bristol does things.

We were greeted at the front desk by a very pleasant young lady who simply asked for a signature, brushed aside the offer of our passports and escorted us to our room.

Through the double doors:

Into a hallway:

Thence (hey we're talking elegant here I can use "thence") the enormous bedroom. Look mom we got a sitting and a study area.
And the bathroom isn't too shabby either:
And I decided to see how their guest services worked - splendidly! I had my suit and dress shirt pressed and returned to the room within an hour. I could get use to all this!

29 maggio - Santa Restituta