It wasn’t long ago that I found myself in a large church in the heart of Salzburg, Austria, listening to a performance of Mozart’s Requiem.
As many of you may or may not know, I’m a fan of classical music. I don’t know a ton about it – I don’t know how to read music, and I really don’t know the difference between B Flat and D Minor, but I do know when I like something. I’m a fan of a variety of composers and works,
When I arrived in the Salzburg Hauptbanhof (train station) on Thursday, I stuck my head into the conveniently located tourist information office. While I was waiting for a window to open up, I noticed a black poster on the wall with the words “Mozart” written in white and “Requiem” written in bold red.
A bunch of thoughts went through my mind in the next few seconds: I recalled that Salzburg was Mozart’s birthplace. I also remembered that “Requiem” was his last piece of work. I also quickly deciphered that the performance was to be held in a large church just opposite the composer’s childhood home. What more do you need?
Five minutes later I had a 27 Euro ticket to the concert on Saturday night.
I spent the next couple of days exploring Salzburg. It’s a beautiful, quaint and classic all at once. Filled with narrow cobblestone streets, tight, colorful buildings and an array of huge churches and ornate cathedrals, the city is dominated by a large hill in the center of the old town which is capped by a graceful white fortress.
For a small town, there was a ton to see. I tried to see as much as possible – visiting the castle, taking a trip to a nearby mountain to ride up the gondola for a panoramic view, touring Mozart’s actual birth house and even strolling through the modern art museum.
In between sights I walked through the streets, finding them full of small vendors selling everything: beautiful, fragrant fresh flowers; vast arrays of cut meat; cooked sausages; gorgeous pastries, and my favorite – huge-ass pretzels. They had salty, chocolate, and even huge donut pretzels bigger than my head. That’s just good business.
On Saturday night, I headed to the concert a little early. I of course wanted a good seat, but also wanted to explore the church a little. It didn’t disappoint. Soaring ceilings, huge white columns, and a multitude of sculptures and reliefs on the walls around the altar.
I didn’t realize how much I missed going to the symphony until I walked through the doors of the old church. I love the sounds of the orchestra members warming up, tuning their instruments, arranging their music on wobbly stands. It had obviously been a while since seen a performance – my last one being in Kansas City before I left. Seeing the musicians setting up under the towering height of the church just added to the anticipation.
I was also excited to see Requiem. I’d actually seen it in October in Kansas City as a matter of fact. However, seeing it in Salzburg – the composer’s birthplace – well, it was pretty cool.
For those of you unfamiliar with the work, you can read more about it here. The basic story is that during summer of 1791, Mozart was commissioned to write a requiem by an anonymous patron. He was already ill, and his health continued to decline through the remainder of the year. Healthcare being what it was at the time, Mozart probably knew he had little chance of coming out of his illness, and many think the requiem is as much for himself as for the patron. Unable to finish it himself, he left instructions for its completion before his eventual death in December of 1791. Now, who actually finished it, and for whom it was commissioned are still subjects of debate.
Movie Break: If you are interested, Milos Forman’s excellent “Amadeus”, was based on Mozart’s life, especially the last few months. While not necessarily historically accurate, it’s a great film, and will give you a little insight into the life and times of the composer.
The performance was very good, and much to my delight, the acoustics of the old church worked well. The last note of each movement seemed to hang in the air for a few counts, which added to the somber mood of the piece. All the elements: the music itself, the old church, the sorted history of the work and Mozart’s death, the fact that we were in Salzburg… all contributed to creating a haunting atmosphere.
After the concert, I went out to enjoy my last night in Salzburg. I stopped in a little café for a drink, then wandered to the river. The sun was setting, and I managed to capture a few well-lit images. It was really beautiful.
I was then drawn to the sound of music and merriment on the other bank of the river. I meandered across the main bridge to find a huge street party. Three or four main thoroughfares were closed off and crowded with people. Stages which had been mere skeletons the day before were now glowing with bright lights and wailing bands.
Turns out I had stumbled into something called the “Linzergassenfest” which is basically a big party where several very different bands perform in different parts of the city while vendors and shopkeepers open up their stores. For those of you in Kansas City, think First Fridays but with every street packed with people, live bands performing at every corner and a really cool castle in the background. http://kansascity.about.com/od/thearts/p/FirstFriday.htm
I walked around to find a hard rock cover band, an alternative cover band, a set of “Native American Indians” playing “traditional” music, a pretty good jazz band with a bass player who was really into his work, and more. The people were in a great mood – drinking beer, eating bratwursts, and singing along to English lyrics in their very German accents.
Admittedly, it was an interesting departure from the somber, thoughtful concert I’d just been to. In the course of an hour I’d gone from reflecting on my own mortality to watching a two-man band playing reggae with an accordion and bongo drums. Goes to show how different people can be on the other side of the river.
