ecbinvienna

Years ago Vienna taught me why some people might want to wear fur coats west of Moscow, and I am being reminded now. The temperature hasn’t gone above freezing in the last week or more but yesterday, although the mercury rose a little, we were reminded how bone-chilling it can be here. The mercury has risen but so too has the wind and the humidity making the -7°C or so we had all weekend vastly preferable to the -4° we have now. It’s a very special Vienna kind of cold–and that’s from someone who grew up in New England and knows.

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Just wanted to report that there was a sister march in Vienna. Apparently, about 2000 people showed up in spite of the temperature (about -7°C or approximately +20°F). We started out at Karlsplatz, looped around to Stadtpark. In the photo above, you can see that someone put a pussy hat on the gilded Johann Strauß statue there. 🙂

Charles Dickens in his book “A Christmas Carol”described the weather when Scrooge wakes up after his encounters with the three Ghosts thus, “No fog, no mist; clear, bright, jovial, stirring, cold; cold, piping for the blood to dance to; golden sunlight, Heavenly sky; sweet fresh air; merry bells. O glorious, glorious! ”

We don’t often get days like this in Vienna, but today is such a day. 🙂 And it is a holiday. Double :-).

OK, now they’re having fun. 🙂

Hats off to the ORF (Austrian broadcasting) for the creative intermission film they put together, showing the cake and waltz side of Vienna as well as the skilled handworkers.

Gustavo Dudamel, this year’s conductor, is the youngest at 35 years of age. After listening to (and watching) the first three or four pieces I have to say I’m afraid he’s a little too young for the task. Not that the age itself is a problem, but he doesn’t seem willing to let go as an older, more experienced conductor might. (Karajan towards the end conducted more or less using only his little fingers. This is an orchestra that doesn’t need more than that.)

I hear / see this in two ways. He has been charging through the pieces, pushing rather than pulling any hypothetical waltzers, all very clear but a little cut-and-dried. He also seems to be trying to exercise too much control over the orchestra. Maybe he’ll relax as he goes along. If not this time, then next time.

He does look nice in the new Philharmonic suit, though. 😉