April 2006

April 5/6 in Vienna- Mozart, a recital, and summoning spirits

April 27, 2006 13:04

On April 5th, we went to a bunch of other museums in the Hofbrug. Perhaps the most interesting was the Museum of Musical Instruments, where I got the pleasure of seeing Leopold Mozart's violin. There were also Viola da Gambas, Viola d´amores, many violins and variations on violins (as in, with the scroll turned the opposite way, Lira da Braccios, and many more that I don't remember. You can see a whole list with pictures here.

That same night, I heard a recital in the Musikverein (again!). It was Christoph Ehrenfellner on the violin with Christoph Traxler on the piano. There was a little boy, oh, he must have been only about seven, sitting in the front row. He was adorable! The concert began brilliantly, with Wienaiwski's (My favorite composer!) two polonaises. I saw a smile spread on the child's face. It's precious moments like these that melt away evil.

The recital program consisted of Bach, Kreisler, Bartok, and Sarasate. Christoph Ehrenfellner was fantastic, explaining each piece before he played it. He also made many jokes with the audience and laughed alongside. I didn't get it. If only I understood German... :K

The next day, we went to the most amazing place ever. Ever. Ever! It was like, the peak of my trip. *plays music* That's right! We went to the GRAVEYARD!!! W000t!

Okay, don't look at me like I'm nuts now. I don't have an obsession with the dead. It wasn't just any ol' graveyard, but it was a huge graveyard! The population of it was bigger than the Inner Stadt! Isn't that amazing?

Okay. Okay. Fine. Call me insane. But what's a trip to Vienna without visiting the Zentralfriedhof? And yes, I did take pctures of the graves. Brace yourselves.

I summon you! Muhahahahaha!

Evilly,
Desdemonda
;)

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DAY TWO IN VIENNA PT II. The Musikverein

April 26, 2006 13:26

After the rather humerous disappointment at the Hofburg, we went to the cafe for lunch. Coffee and cakes and ice cream! *dies* Then it was the Sisi museum and a tour of the Hofburg. Beautiful! Up to that day, I had never heard of Empress Elisabeth or Sisi, as they call her. She was married at 16, and was known as the most beautiful woamn in Vienna by most. She used extreme methods to keep her figure slim and trim, and washing her ankle-length hair took up a complete day. (She actually had exercise bars in her royal apratments!) Her husband, Franz Joesph II, loved her dearly, and her mother-in-law did not. Elisabeth was unhappy for most of her life. When her son committed suicide at 30, she wore only black until her death. She was assassinated with a file. I found her life terribly interesting. She was rather mysterious, if you know what I mean.

Famous potrait of Sisi

Table Decor

At night, my family and I heard the Wien Symphony. Beautiful solos were done by the concertmaster and the orchestra sounded like one voice. Wow. The audience didn't clap in between movements. It was really pretty amazing how they knew exactly when to clap and when the movement ended. Even if the conductor dropped his hands and the instruments were put in rest position, the audience still knew the movement wasn't over and saved their appaluse. Woah. That is mad skill. (Even more so than my typing with my feet, Syd!)

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DAY TWO IN VIENNA. PT I Allow me to humor you.

April 26, 2006 12:57

I just realized that I haven't told you guys anything about my trip to Vienna . Well it's about time I did, since that essay I'm writing is going to take like a year to finish as the rate I'm going.

Remember how I said that I would go to the Spanish Riding School? And hear the Vienna Symphony? :)
Well, I couldn't wait to see the beautiful Lipizzaner stallions dance! Upon checking their schedules online, I had discovered that they wouldn't be having a performance that week until Sunday! (Which I hadn't counted on staying til. My flight was on Saturday.) *snaps fingers, though I can't snap* Darn! I guess I'll just have to settle with a Morning Exercise. Of course, being as evil as I am, I woke up at 7:30 to drag my exhuasted mother out of bed.

"Get up! Rise and shine! Breakfast and shower now! We have to be at the Hofburg by 9:30! Tickets sell out fast! Hurry!" She groaned and asked if I knew where I was going. "Course I do! I have it all planned out," I sang, as I grinned evilly.

After breakfast... (Wait! Breakfast=Viennese jam=The best jam I have ever tasted.), we began walking to Hofburg (A 10 min walk to the closest entrance.) Of course, I insisted on going to the entrance directly opposite the main entrance, all the way in the back, so we had to walk all the way around the HUGE palace. "Why can't we just go in this door?"
"It's not the right door. I want to go in the other door, since it's closest to the SRS."
Not to mention, I was still grinning evilly, knowing that we could just go in the close entrance and cut through the palace. Hmmm....

At exactly 9:27, we arrived at the SRS, and bought out tickets. The Morning Exercise began at 10 AM. o_O We had a pleasent time waiting online in a crowded room, I can assure you that.

Finally, they let us into the most beautiful riding hall in the world!! It was amazing. The ground on which the horses would dance was surrounded by single chairs. The second tier loomed close to the high ceiling. I had never been to a riding hall before, and the thing that entertained me the most was the floor (where the horses would be) was composed of dirt! And it was plowed! Pictures were forbidden in the hall, though most people where snapping pictures anyway. Since I don't have a picture, you can see one HERE

After what seemed like forever, the first of the Lipizzaners walked out. And then the second. And the third. Until there were exactly eight. My mouth dropped open. You have got to be kidding me. Lipizzaners are pure white: White mane, white tail, white body. These horses were shades of dirty white and gray. Why? I looked at the person next to me. "Now see those horses? Those are young stallions. The Lipizzaners don't begin to turn white til they're at least four years old. They don't begin to perfrom until they're twelve. The white one over there is older." Oh! Thanks to eavesdropping on my neighbor's conversation, I learned something. *smirks evilly*

The morning exercise was two hours long, so I figured that eventually the older, more experienced horses would come out and amaze the adience with their high-tech moves. :) The young horses were... basically walking around in circles. Not galloping... Not jumping... But walking slowly. It got boring after ten minutes. My eyes stayed glued to the horses, in fear of turning away and missing something important. I didn't miss anything. o_O They walked and walked and walked.

Half an hour of walking later, the next group of horses came in. I was right! These stallions were obviously whiter and therefore, older and wiser! The occansional pure white Lipizzaners were lovely. They looked so powerful. I wanted to run up to her and give her a hug. This time, the horses arrived in a straight line. Then, at the same time, each of the rider's (in perfect unison), took his hand, slowly lifted off his hat.... to reveal complete baldness. Then the hat was put back on. This time around, the horses walked sideways, cantered, walked backwards, and trotted with their heads held high. I wanted to whistle. Those were some handsome horses! :)

One can only hold their attention to something doing things in a continous cycle with no changes for a short period of time. My neighbors (The ones I overheard) were leaving, and so were a bunch of others. Their seats were soon replaced with new arrivals, hoping to see the magic of the legendary Lipizzaner stallions. I didn't leave. At 11:00, when the new group came in, I saw that the horses were getting larger, stronger, whiter, and that the riders had more hair. That was a good sign. Any second, I thought, I would be granted with the famous move. The one where the Lipizzaner stands on it's hind legs. Half an hour later, I was still watching and waiting. My mom was losing interest. Soon, I promised her. Any second now.

At last, at 11:30, the last horses would arrive. It was the moment I was waiting for. I was jumping out of my seat with suspense. My eyes were glued to the grand doorway. The spectors held their breath. It was dead quiet. Where are the horses? My eyes darted to and fro. C'mon already! Then... from the shadows... the outline of a stallion and rider could be seen. Tall and muscular, the horse proudly held his head up high. I grinned, letting out my breath. This was what I wanted to see. I would see the jumps before I left. I sighed with relief at the horse. With a toss of the mane, the Lipizzaner walked out from the gloom, allowing me the first look at him.

He was completely gray. And so was the horse behind him. And the next one. And the next.

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Okay. Karin, Colleen, and all the others who found my previous photo hideous....

April 19, 2006 14:34

This is for you. :P

I haven't had much time to write because my violin han't been evil enough these days. I say to it:

"Cause you're not quite evil enough. You're semi-evil, you're quasi-evil, you're the margarine of evil, you're the diet coke of evil, just one calorie, not "evil" enough."

-Dr. Evil (Austin Powers)

Besides, I have to write this whole "Trip to Vienna" paper for my dad. It's terribly boring to do, and I would have long ago posted something better than it on v.com, but I don't want to type too. So I'll try to spice up my paper a bit, and then post it ere.

On the other hand, my orchestra teacher requested a special group to rehearse Mozart's A Little Night Music afterschool today. Apperently, this was the way the concert would be. And I felt this coming way back when? But anyway, no one had told me so...

"But how to play," I asked her, "Without a violin?"

"Oh, you can borrow mine."

Great, I thought, I had always wanted to see how her violin sounded. :)

She did not tell me that it was not her good violin I would be borrowing, but her... Hmm... Let's just say it wasn't great.

I did not know that it was her 3/4 size violin.

I did not know it had rosin dust everywhere. (EWW! Even a good wiping wouldn't have gotten rid of it!)

I had no idea about the 'beautiful!' *cough* Sarcasam *cough* sound that it produced!

Now, I know why she leaves it on the floor all day long.

I appreciate how my violin spoils me. Even if it isn't evil enough. In fact, I think I'll bring it to my room, so we can do this evil science paper together.

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Question:

April 17, 2006 10:35

How do YOU pronouce Zigeunerweisen?

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AHHHAHHJAHHASHAHHAHASHAUhfoi.!!!

April 17, 2006 10:06

ahHA! ababababa!!! me talk!! ababa!!! to !!! AHH!

In padded cell! abababab!!

(Read this outloud)

Okay. In other no-spazzed out words;

I just talked to Sydney. I mean, actually talked. Like on a phone. But through the internet! It was amazing. How it works still thrills me.

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'PLease please please...post the one of JB/me...' -Quoth Sydney. You asked for it. My apologies to Joshua Bell.

April 14, 2006 14:18

WARNING: MAY CAUSE HEART DISORDER.
I SUGGEST YOU NOT SCROLL DOWN.

Well, I warned you.

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This one is for Karin. The cows go mad.

April 13, 2006 14:04

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Sydney, You asked for it.

April 13, 2006 13:53

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You know what would be really evil? If I just left this blog entry blank and left you all in suspense. But since I'm feeling considerate.... (And since I have a violin horror story to share)

April 12, 2006 09:10

(I'll talk about Vienna later + Pictures)

(Un)fortunetly, after a billion phone calls and visits to government buildings of no interest, my mom and I were issued " temporary passports" and could finally travel back home. :( Since we missed our last flight, we had to pay a huge penalty fee to the company for them to rescedule it. (Bah-humbug!) We got the Tuesday flight, and here I am, back in New York. I miss Vienna already. The only thing that I was sincerely looking forward to was my violin, which I hadn't seen in over a week. (Which is record time.)

This morning, I got up and ran to my violin case. My hands shaked as I zipped it open and saw the beautiful instrument yet again! Excitedly, I lifted up the blue blanket and picked up the violin, hugging it to my chest. Ah, how nice it was to have the feeling of strings and wood under my hands!! I plucked the strings, waiting for the familiar G, D, A, E. Instead I was rewarded with a boing. DUH! How could I expect it to be in tune when I, myself, had loosened the strings slightly a week before! What do I do? Tune it, Linda!! DUH! What are you thinking!? I turned the A peg while plucking it, waiting for the right pitch. Da-la-la-da-hmm... where is that note? To my horror, my ears were unable to pick up the correct pitch. Okay,I thought, so it happens. I pull out a tuner. I tuned the A, and I put the violin on my shoulder, to tune the rest of the strings. I bowed the A and D (Which was more like a Bb) together. My bow arm scarily shaky. I found myself drawing crooked bows. (A problem I have just corrected a year ago) The violin felt so awkward, a feeling I haven't had with it for years. I attempted a simple scale, tried to play a Bach Concerto, a Caprice! Please, I thought, at least tell me I can still play something! Anything! Even Twinkle for God's sake! To my dismay, it sounded almost viola. (Or Flautist, xD) UGH!!! My fingers felt like jello; They were stiff, slow, and not hitting where I wanted them to. Everything was horribly wrong. Frustrated, I felt that all the technique I had gained over a course of years, had disappered in a matter of 10 days.

My violin tis more evil than me. Perhaps she's a member of the Mafia? We should send the missus to a asylum. Or would that make my violin a genius? :P I don't know how Nadja did it.

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Stranded

April 9, 2006 10:46

What do you do when you´re stranded in the most awesome city in the world?

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I love it!

April 3, 2006 23:06

I'm writing this from Vienna, Austria. We arrived about two days ago and my legs are tired from walking the 85% entire span of Vienna four times yesterday. I had the maps, and I managed to get to my destinations without getting lost or asking for directions... Whoot! Yesterday, I took my mother on a trip to the Musikverein, Beethoven Platz, FigaroHaus, Haus der Musik, Concert Haus, Staatsoper, St. Stephen's Caterdral, and I can't even remember what else! Vienna is amazing. Amazing. I could live here for ever! I want to live here forever! I mean, there's music everything... People playing on the streets with various instrments, Mostly Mozart shops (which sell teddy bears donned in wig and red robe!, Mozart liquor and wine, chocolates (Mozart vs Strauss vs Sisi), Mozart mousepads and T-shirts, plus, wind-up-music-boxes), and my hotel is only a fifteen minute walk from two concert venues! Tell me that isn't fantastic! I will be hearing the Vienna Symphony tonight. :)

I can't write anymore. I have to go down for breakfast, and then to the Spanish Riding School we go!

~Still Evil,
From Vienna,
Linda

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More entries: May 2006 • March 2006