Gayle and I attended a practice performance of the Vienna Philharmonic at the Wiener Konzerthaus last Fall. We had seen to local actors trying to entice us to buy tickets to a Mozart Concert and weren't really interested. So when we looked at the schedule and saw a chance to hear a world-class orchestra play Mozart (and other composers), that was a real deal classical dream come true!
At the Wiener Konzerthaus, we put on our best vacation clothes (slacks, long sleeve dress shirt and red wing shoes for me) and I felt very under dressed. I don't think anyone was really paying attention, but this building has high class coming out of its pores and just seems to demand respect from its patrons. We sat there for a couple hours in awe of both the orchestra and the concert hall, not to mention all the people watching opportunities on both sides of stage.
At the same time, I had a wonderful time listening to the Vienna Philharmonic. Since it was a practice, the maestro stopped things and talked it over here and there. But we didn't mind. I left feeling uplifted by the music and feeling that I had won the cultural lottery for my tourist day. read more