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 they would hit the clubs afterward.
  
• At the end of Petrushka, the crowd applauded enough to bring the conductor back to the stage three times. This was for Stravinsky.
• All seven horns stood for the last push of the Mahler, like they were piccolo players playing 'Stars and Stripes.' I thought I'd never see anything that gimmicky at a classical music concert, but hey, these guys were rock stars. (No, there was no clapping along. Or mosh pits.)
• The conductor returned for four curtain calls--the last one after the orchestra had left the stage, the house lights had come up, and half the audience was home.

So in conclusion, I have a lot of work to do. I either a) have to move to Europe, or b) work tirelessly to bring the U.S. to a point where they name streets after conductors:

...and have monuments erected in honor of composers:

(Note to my next of kin: When the sculpture of me is made, please made sure I look as heroic as Wagner here. Thanks.)