Salzburg in Retrospect

Mozarteum Grosses Saal

I spent a bit more time in Salzburg this year than I did in 2019 and saw a few more concerts, but I'm not sure it was a more fulfilling experience. There was a lot more rain this year and it is not a lot of fun slogging to an evening concert in the rain from a suburb! Still, there were some really memorable concerts. Let's take them in genres:

I saw three operas, one by Morton Feldman in a concert version and two staged ones by Luigi Nono and Richard Strauss. In order I would put the Strauss first, the Nono next and the Feldman a distant third. I think the problem with the Feldman is that his unique approach works well with small chamber groups of contrasting timbres and does not work well with larger groups where everything turns into a dreary sameness. Intolleranza 1960 by Nono was surprisingly interesting and that was perhaps because the director/choreographer transformed it into a kind of ballet in which it was quite successful. Elektra was well done and the rich timbre of the Vienna Philharmonic in the pit really made it a fulfilling experience.

There were two piano recitals, by Arkady Volodos, which was lyrical, elegiac and expressive, and by Daniil Trifonov which was more kinetic and volatile. Both were very successful in different ways. I couldn't rank them.

There were four orchestral concerts, the Beethoven Missa Solemnis with Riccardo Muti and the Vienna Philharmonic, Rameau with musicAeterna Choir and Orchestra conducted by Teodor Currentzis, the Mozarteum Orchestra conducted by Jörg Widmann and Wagner and Beethoven with the Gustav Mahler Youth Orchestra conducted by Manfred Honeck. Surprisingly I found the Rameau concert to be head and shoulders the most creative, expressive and enjoyable. The other three fell short in different ways. The Beethoven Missa Solemnis for me just is a problematic piece, though very well-performed. I would much rather have heard the 9th Symphony which was scheduled for last year before the pandemic upset the applecart. The Mozart concert was a mixed bag: excellent overture and clarinet concerto, but an uneven performance of the Jupiter Symphony. Last would be the Mahler Youth Orchestra for odd reasons: the program change dropping a Shostakovich symphony in favor of a Beethoven one left me a bit cold and I found myself falling asleep in the Beethoven Seven because, sorry to say, Manfred Honeck is, in my view, a boring conductor. Mind you, he brings out some lovely timbres, but still...

This leaves three chamber concerts. The first was music by Morton Feldman for voices and instruments and I found it a profound and calm experience. Next was Patricia Kopatchinskaja's delightful performance of Schoenberg's Pierrot Lunaire, which I enjoyed thoroughly. Finally there was the lieder afternoon concert of music by Ernest Chausson and others which was well done, but not the repertoire I was expecting, which was Dichterliebe.

Wonderful festival, of course! The next time I go, I would perhaps focus a bit more on the core repertoire operas--it would have been great to have attended Così fan tutte and Don Giovanni this year.

I didn't talk about the food as much this year because I did more cooking in the apartment and less eating out, but I had a really excellent wienerschnitzel at the Imlauer Pitter Sky Restaurant with a nice glass of grüner veltliner.

I hope you were entertained by the posts!