Observations from the Berlin Philharmonic
Anne and I went to see the Berlin Philharmonic this past weekend. When I saw that they were performing 'Petrushka' and Mahler's Symphony No. 1 (two pieces I studied in college), the search for other anniversary destinations was over as far as I was concerned. Thankfully, Anne agreed. :) Of course, the orchestra played fantastic, but I marveled at some other aspects of the experience. The concert was completely sold out, as apparently all of them are, but when they say sold out, they mean sold out . Every seat was filled; there were people standing in the back of the hall, and people sitting in the aisles. It was as packed as a State-side hockey playoff game. It was mostly older people in the audience, but there was a significant representation of younger people, too. (They were the ones in the aisles--would you see this anywhere in the States? On a Saturday ? I think not.) Dress ranged from suits and formal dresses to jeans and t-shirts. The young people looked like...