Vienna Philharmonic in Salzburg

Well after an 8 hour hour train ride with a bit of a hectic transfer we made it to Salzburg in the evening, hungry and tired. Due to funky train schedules, he had to be in Salzburg a day early so we could see the Vienna Philharmonic the next evening. We stayed in a nice hotel for that first extra night here, had some amazing food (cordon bleu!) at a nearby pub, and walked around in actual snow!! The next day we left for our actual hostel. It ended up being a bit out of the way, but nice with a really large room. Check in was a about 5 hours aways so we stored our luggage and left to explore the town. Salzburg reminds me of Leavenworth on steroids. It is a beautiful town nestled in between snow covered mountains. The is the large Salzburg castle overlooking town and lovely churches, archways, and buildings everywhere. Enough time finally passes to check in at our hostel and get ready for the concert. We were all a buzz with anticipation because we had heard so many amazing things about this group. All the music we had seen so far had been amazing so I was curious to see how much better it could get. Well......it completely surpassed any expectation I had or even could have had. We also sat in the front row, which ended up being the perfect seats, especially for the Brahms. The concert started with and ended with two Mozart's symphonies. If I hadn't mentioned it before, it is Mozart's birthday week so there is a bunch of Mozart going on. Anyways, after the first notes that came out of the orchestra I looked over at the group and everyone had the same incredulous look on their faces.   The musicality and sound of the group was incredible. Both Mozart's were so much fin to listen to and the contrasts there were able to put in the music and bring out the playfulness and that Mozart puts in his music was wonderful and I couldn't keep my eyes or ears of the group. The second piece was the Brahms Violin Concerto in D major, op. 77 with Joshua Bell as the soloist. This was the performance I was most excited for not only because the famous Joshua Bell was the soloist, but I am such a huge Brahms fan that I was so curious to see how they and the soloist would interpret his music because it is so deep. I was completely awestruck by the passionate performance and Joshua Bell absolutely shredded on the violin!!!!! Since we were in the front row we saw up close everything he did and all his facial expression and emotions he had. At one point some strings on his bow broke and he just ripped them off, threw them on the ground, and kept playing. Dramatic!!!!! It was hard to imagine music coming after that piece, but the Strauss Metamorphosen, Study for 23 Solo Strings, AV 142 was breathtakingly gorgeous. The way the piece wound around with it's lush harmonies, expressive solos, and seeing the conductor Paavo Jarvi mold the music in the air was again, another moving experience. Ending with the other Mozart Symphony finished off the concert, and we clapped for ever it seemed. I can't even remember how many curtain calls there were, but wow...I could have clapped forever for that concert. I can honestly say it wast he best concert I have ever been too. There is nothing like experiencing music at that high of a level. It has definitely inspired me to want to work even harder to become a better musician. Salzburg has sure outdone itself! But don't worry, there are more concerts to come!!