The end of the road with 11 concerts for Manfred Honeck and the Pittsburgh Symphony in three countries arrived after a bus ride from Wiesbaden to Cologne. the hall hosts hundreds of events each year. Anne Sophie Mutter marked the 45th anniversary of her work with Herbert von Karajan including the Beethoven Concerto she recorded […]

Tags: Cologne Pittsburgh Symphony Robin Meloy Goldsby Anne Sophie Mutter Tour Philharmonie

The former spa town with its thermal Springs has a history dating back to Roman times. The Rheingau Music Festival presents hundreds of events in multiple venues. Anne Sophie Mutter was a smash hit with the Pittsburgh Symphony and Manfred Honeck playing Beethoven and a. Bach encore. Gretchen van Hoesen heard cheers for her harp […]

The East German secret police, the Stasi, had a file on cellist Jan Vogler the director of the festival who still enjoys a big career playing and recording. He was a suspicious character because he traveled to the US to study at Juilliard. Jan has seen the file which isn’t very interesting. He was very […]

Former German Chancellor Angela Merkel attended the Festival several days this summer among the glittering guests that gaze at the Fortress on the hill behind the complex of concert halls including the Felsenreitschule used mostly for opera where Julie Andrews sang in the Sound of Music. Before music one must have schnitzel. A lunch at […]

The Mayor of Dusseldorf Dr. Stephan Keller at intermission told me he was delighted to have a great American orchestra in town. He joined the State Department General Consul Pauline Kao for the evening. There were 100,000 other guests enjoying Europe’s largest Gourmet Festival on the Koenigsallee but the action seemed to be at the […]

Thomas Mann’s vast novel Magic Mountain explores the emotional character of aloof northerners with sunnier Southern Latin types but there were only warm and friendly music lovers at the beautiful Elbphilharmonie with the two concerts of the Pittsburgh Symphony on Wednesday and Thursday. The weather was perfect. It’s a challenge to describe the beauty of […]

The city park right across the street from the Orchestra hotel is a great spot for a walk. You can stop at the Biergarten to try Omas Obstkuchen—that’s Grandma’s Fruit Cake or join the beer club where the 11th beer is free. There are lots of benches for contemplating the broad green lawn and a […]

Grey sky moved both Saturday and Sunday concerts at the festival about an hour from Vienna in lower Austria inside, but the 1300-seat hall heard a big sound—as did the overflow crowd watching a large video screen in the old riding school next door. Gautier Capucon was terrific in the Dvorak Concerto and an encore. […]

After a five hour bus ride from Ljjubljana to Vienna, I joined Ellen Chen Livingston and Jennifer Orchard, violins and Mikhail Istomin cello to check out the apple strudel at the Cafe Diglas. It is certainly one of the best in business since 1875. Because Ellen Chen’s husband, Garnet, is a chef who operates the […]

Laibach is the old name for Ljubljana and it’s where former Pittsburgh Symphony Music Director Fritz Reiner began his career with a season at the opera house. He also married the first of his three wives here. His last, Carlotta, was from Pittsburgh. Gustav Mahler began his conducting career with a season at the Laibach […]