Month: May 2024

Old Masters, Old Instruments, and New Music

On By Barbara GreenstoneIn BerlinLeave a comment
Perseus Frees Andromeda (Peter Paul Rubens)

Today started out sunny so we decided not to take umbrellas as we made our way to the Gemäldegalerie, a museum of old master paintings from the 13th to 18th centuries. This is a huge museum with more than we could see in one morning, so we counted on Rick Steves to guide us to the most important pieces. As we left the museum, we regretted our umbrella decision because the thunder crashed, and the lightning flashed, and we were soaked by the time we got back to the hotel.

Kaiserbass (otherwise known as a tuba) in the Berlin Musical Instrument Museum

After drying out a bit, we had an early dinner and then took a bus to the Musikinstrumenten-Museum Berlin, the Berlin Musical Instrument Museum. We had fun looking at this collection of old European instruments and comparing them to contemporary ones. Paul was itching to play some of them but the signage was clear that that was verboten.

Stefan Dohr and Jörg Widmann receiving flowers

There was no opera tonight, so we had booked tickets to hear our favorite orchestra, Berliner Philharmoniker and we’re glad we did. The musical instrument museum is next to the concert hall so we didn’t have far to walk. The program tonight began with the premiere of a new work by Jörg Widmann, Concerto for Horn and Orchestra, featuring the principal hornist, Stefan Dohr. I found this piece strange but very amusing, and it certainly demonstrated the virtuosity of the French Horn player as well as this amazing orchestra. In the second half the orchestra played Bruckner’s Symphony No. 6. Our seats were just above the orchestra where we had a good view of tonight’s conductor, Sir Simon Rattle and it was a real treat. Paul is now convinced that we must hear this orchestra when they come to Boston or New York this year because we are now Berliner Phiharmoniker groupies.

When we returned to our hotel after the concert, we turned on the BBC channel to hear the news because we knew something big was happening in New York.

Tomorrow we will visit another museum and then attend the 6-hour long, third opera in the Ring, Siegfried.

Art, Music, and a Lot of Drama

On By Barbara GreenstoneIn Berlin2 Comments
Alte Nationalgalerie

When we first arrived in Berlin, we purchased museum passes that are good for three consecutive days, so we’ll do most of our museum hopping at the beginning of our stay. Today we visited the Alte Nationalgalerie on Museum Island where we saw an exhibit of landscapes by Caspar David Friedrich. I found this exhibit fascinating because Friedrich did not just paint beautiful scenes he viewed, but composed landscapes from his imagination combining elements almost like a collage.

Two Men Contemplating the Moon by Caspar David Friedrich

I would have like to stay much longer and explore more of the Alte Nationalgalerie, but we had tickets to an Espresso Concert at the Konzerthaus Berlin, featuring a young violinist and a pianist performing pieces by Amy Beach and Robert Schumann. It was a very pleasant way to spend and hour in the afternoon, although it took us almost that long to find the entrance to the hall because of construction on the street surrounding it.

Final Bows for Die Walküre

Our evening entertainment was the second (and my favorite) of the Wagner Ring operas, Die Walküre. The orchestra was marvelous, the singing was wonderful, and the staging was interesting, if a little weird. (Click on the link above to see what I mean.) I do like what they do with fabric and lighting, but that piano is still a mystery to me, and I was hoping the Valkyries would ride in on horses. We sat next to our new Scottish friend (a university professor from Edinburgh) and had a drink with him during the first intermission. In the second intermission, we met and conversed with an interesting Berliner with excellent English who is an opera lover and a judge (although he said he had no opinion on the legal woes of Mr. Trump).

Tomorrow we will use up our museum pass and then attend a concert with our favorite orchestra, the Berliner Philharmoniker. Stay tuned!

A Column, a Panorama, a Church and Some Wagner

On By Barbara GreenstoneIn BerlinLeave a comment
The Victory Tower

Today started out wet and dreary, but that didn’t deter us from walking through the Tiergarten park in the rain (that’s what those nifty little travel umbrellas are for) to the Victory Column. This tower is a famous tourist attraction in the center of the park and is reached via tunnels under the surrounding street ( a welcomed respite from the rain). There’s a viewing platform at the top of the column, under the statue of Victoria, Goddess of Victory. The platform is reached via 285 stair steps that we opted not to climb.

One section of the 360º Pergamon Panorama

From the Tiergarten we made our way to Museum Island and the Pergamon 360º Panorama exhibit. The panorama depicts the ancient city of Pergamon and is viewed from three platforms at different levels of the rotunda where it is housed. It’s a stunning display, and my photo above does not do it justice. The lighting constantly cycles through dawn, daylight, dusk, and darkness and the changing light and different levels allow you to see the acropolis of Pergamon from varying perspectives. This is a temporary exhibit while the actual Pergamon Museum undergoes a restoration that will take many years.

The pulpit in the Berlin Cathedral

From the Pergamon Panorama, we made our way to Berliner Dom, the Berlin Cathedral. This church was built during the reign of Kaiser Wilhelm II in the Italian High Renaissance style. It’s an amazing cathedral with a 360º viewing platform in the dome. We decided not to attempt the 270-step ascent to the top.

Final bows from Das Rheingold

After dinner we went to the Deutsch Oper Berlin for the first opera in the Ring Cycle, Das Rheingold. We have seen recordings of the Met production of this opera a few times, but this production was very different. There’s a piano center stage throughout that serves as a trapdoor for entrances and exits and seems to serve as a symbol of something. (I’m not sure what, but maybe I’ll figure it out by the end of the week.) Although some of the staging was mystifying, the singing and the orchestra were splendid. We were seated next to a gentleman from Scotland, and it was nice to have a conversation in English that we can continue in the next three operas.

Tomorrow we will return to Museum Island to make use of our Museum Pass and then attend an afternoon concert and an evening performance of Die Walküre.

Getting There’s The Hard Part

On By Barbara GreenstoneIn BerlinLeave a comment
Taking off from Dublin

As much as I love traveling, I don’t really love the actual travel part. When I was young, I thought flying was fun, but that was when airplanes seemed more comfortable and security was less restrictive. That was also when I had more energy and fewer aches and pains. Unfortunately, when we were young we didn’t have the time or resources to travel just for fun.

After a long, exhausting day of bus, plane, and train rides, we arrived in Berlin (via Dublin) and managed to make our way to our hotel. The trick to fighting jet lag is to not give in to the urge to sleep when you first arrive, but to wait to go to bed at a normal time. We almost managed that. After a quick nap, we set out to reorient ourselves to the city and find a place for dinner. It was a lovely evening and we were able to dine outside where we could people watch as we ate.

Paul with his Erdinger Kristal beer

After dinner we took a little stroll to Potsdamer Platz where we happened upon a peace rally with music and dancing that looked like something from my college days.

Peace rally at Potsdamer Platz

Tomorrow we will do some touristy stuff and then attend the first opera in the Wagner Ring Cycle, Das Rheingold.

Back to Berlin!

On By Barbara GreenstoneIn BerlinLeave a comment
Antelope house in Berlin zoo in winter
The Antelope House at the Berlin Zoo in December

We are going back to Berlin! I didn’t think we would return so soon to a city we’ve already visited, but an opportunity arose that we couldn’t resist. A bucket list item for most opera lovers is the Wagner Ring Cycle, Der Ring des Nibelungen, and when we heard that Deutsche Oper Berlin would be performing all four operas this week, we booked our tickets. We also booked tickets for a couple concerts while we were at it.

We’re looking forward to seeing Berlin again. In December it was very cold, snowy, and icy but so beautiful and full of history, art, and music (and Christmas Markets). One week was not nearly enough, so we appreciate the opportunity to explore this city and nearby areas some more and to enjoy springtime in Berlin. (Ear worm alert! Now that I’ve typed that sentence, I can’t get this song out of my head.)

Once again, I’ll be posting daily (hotel wi-fi permitting) on this blog so you can visit Germany vicariously through us. If you have recommendations for stuff we should do in Berlin, please leave a comment.

See you on the interwebs!