Cologne/Aachen 16.2.14

At 7:00 am we arrived by train in Cologne, Germany.  Tired from not receiving much sleep on train, we mustered enough energy to visit the famous Cologne Cathedral.  Thankfully, the Cathedral was conveniently located in the direct vicinity of the train station.  Being that it was early in the morning, the church was close to empty and it allowed us to fully take in the masterful architecture.  The Cologne Cathedral provides a great example of the gothic architectural style, as the gothic trademark of flying buttresses are present in the east end, along with the obvious pointed arches and spires in the west end.

 

Side view of the Cologne Cathedral.  Here one can

clearly view the flying buttresses that surround the church.

 

The famous twin spires of the Cologne Cathedral.

Notice all the triangular shapes and pointed arches.

 

From this perspective one can get a feeling of the

enormous size of the Cathedral.

 



We spent about two hours in Cologne and then immediately proceeded by train to visit the German city of Aachen.  After settling into our hotel in Aachen, we went out for lunch at a Spanish style restaurant and chatted with Ken Mattice and Emily Newton.  The two are both accomplished singers and work in Europe.  Interestingly, Emily is a UNCSA alumni and would later that day sing the lead role in Beethoven's opera, "Fidelio".
After lunch we  took a tour inside the Aachen Cathedral.  The Cathedral was a true feast for the eyes as it showcased golden paintings, stained glass windows, and about three or four organs.  It is said that this Cathedral is the oldest in Northern Europe.  In 796 Charlemagne had ordered the construction of the Palatine Chapel, which is now part of the Aachen Cathedral.

Exterior of the Aachen Cathedral.

 

Stained glass windows inside the Aachen Cathedral. 

 

One of the organs inside the Aachen Cathedral

along with the stained glass windows.

 

One of the gold painted ceilings inside the Cathedral.

 

Another one of the organs in the Aachen Cathedral.

Notice the television screen on the left side of the console.

I speculate that it must be used to watch the service

since this organ is very far away from the altar.

 

Shortly after our tour, we set out to have dinner with Stephan Boving, who is a tenor at the Comic Opera Berlin, and Stefan Ruetter, who is a faculty member at the Cologne School of Music.  It was an enjoyable time speaking with them and they gave us a good idea of the music scene in Europe.  Once dinner was over, we went to see the production of Beethoven's "Fidelio" with Emily Newton, of whom we had met earlier, singing the lead role.  The production had a modern take to it.  Gone were the authentic dresses and clothes of Beethoven's time and were replaced by mid-20th century clothing.  The setting was also modernized, focusing around the office environment.  Special effects were used in between arias such as echoing voices in the speakers surrounding the audience.  Because of this unique take on "Fidelio" there were mixed opinions from the members in our group.  Some didn't mind the production and focused more on the music, which was phenomenal by the way (Emily Newton was a star!).  Others such as myself thought that the production was a bit too odd and took away from the quality of the music.  Later that night our group met up with Ken, Emily, Stephan, and Stefan a second time and spoke about the performance.  All and all we enjoyed these guests very much and the time we spent with them made it a great way to end our trip. 



The Old Vienna 11.2.14



On Tuesday, February 11, 2014, we explored the historical inner ring of Vienna.  The first major stop we made was at the Stephansdom.  This enormous cathedral exemplifies the gothic and Romanesque architectural styles, two of the most popular architectural styles found in the cathedrals of Europe.  The orginal structure of the Stephansdom was completed during the 12th century and continued to be expanded and restored until the 16th century.  One of the most notable things about the architecture of the cathedral is the plentiful use of the triangular shape.  In the gothic style, geometrical and mathematical balance are used in order to praise the complex and mighty power of God.  The triangle is a shape that consists of 3 points and 3 sides which is often used to represent the Holy Trinity, so it comes with no surprise of its frequent use.  Visually similar to triangle, the pointed arch is used often, which is also a hallmark of the gothic style.  The pointed arch and the triangle both emphasize the upwards point, which points up to the heavens.  The Stephansdom is still being restored today and remains as one of the most recognizable symbols of the city of Vienna.

The Stephansdom in Vienna

Inside the Stephansdom

 

Another fantastic cathedral we had visited was the Peterskirche, a wonderfully ornate baroque church.  The attention to detail within the interior of the church is superb, as there are angels and characters, all each with expressive posses, spread plentifully inside the church.  In the balcony at the back of the church is a lovely baroque style organ.  The next day, I was lucky enough to hear a short organ recital on this instrument.

 

Inside the Peterskirche

 

The organ in the Peterskirche





Another place we came across was the University of Vienna.  We found it amazing that this university has been in existence since 1365.  We went inside and discovered that this university was a place where some of the most famous intellectuals have taught including Sigmund Freud, Anton Bruckner, and Friedrich Hayek, to name a few.

The University of Vienna

 

Courtyard of the University of Vienna

 

Across the street from the great university, was an apartment where Beethoven had lived between the years 1804 and 1815.  It was here that he composed his fourth, fifth, and seventh symphonies, along with various concertos and his opera, Fidelio. 

 



 



So a new chapter of my life has been opened. I saw the Berlin Philharmonic play for the first time in my entire life. This is the first time that I've ever seen any orchestra of this level play. The strings were so in tune that there was only power in their notes. It had a certain feel to it. I don’t think that I've ever felt such a thing before. It was as if there was a pulse driving through my ears. The musicians were so tasteful too. You could tell they were all very comfortable and could all play individually very well. Everything was completely together and I think that completely contributed to the big sound they were making and when I say it was a big sound, I mean it was the biggest sound that I have ever heard. I could even here the Bratscher (the violas). I noted that Germany is doing a lot of interesting innovative things with their   Stimmstellung (voicing). The cellos were where the second violins were and the violas were where the cellos go. The concert master played SOOOO well, very sweetly whilst still projecting. Actually when I think about it, the entire orchestra had a very sweet sound. There were a lot of jokes throughout, and though some people may call it silly and unnecessary but I thought it was a true statement of one’s musicianship to make fun of one self. It means there are no inhibitions and that the concert is for the audience not the performed; unfortunately had to please before the applause was over to get back to the hotel. I was so utterly touched by this concert that I couldn't process my feelings. I still mostly can’t. It was wordless, breathtaking art. I want to play in that Orchestra.

I’m going for it…

Today was surely adventurous and had two main parts: We went to the Berlin Film Schule, and we went to see the Mozart comic opera “Die Zauberflöte”. When I think about how much stuff it felt like we did today, it sounds like an insult to say we only did two things, even after clarifying that those were the two main plot points today. I’ll explain… We woke up this morning pretty early; it couldn't have been past

8:00 am. Eating breakfast was actually at a comfortable tempo. When things started to pickup in pace however, there was no turning back. You see, we had scheduled a tour at the university. We had to get to the U-bahn quickly in order to get to said tour in the appropriate time. We had to get there so quickly that we ran most of the way there! That’s right ladies and gentlemen. This morning for the first time ever, we ran through the streets of Berlin. Exciting? You Bet! We made it too. With 4 minutes to spare. When took the underground U-bahn that connected to another, more important U-bahn, overhead. It took us right to our destination. Fast-forward a little and we’re in front of the Berlin Schule Babelsburg. The tour guide was a very pretty, short woman, a little stout; she had a light brown hair color and a very soft, motherly face. She had a very nice German accent; it had lots of German character, but without the muddy, sloppiness, that someone gets by not being corrected often as a child. Think, pronouncing the “ing” in “Speaking” . She took us all over the set, costume design, and set design sections of the school. We found out that a lot of very interesting movies that we have in the USA, were shot right there in Berlin. Films like Inglorious Bastards, Ghost Writer and V for Vendetta were all shot on that campus. Also if you’re wondering, this school is big…. I mean BIG, much bigger than our UNCSA campus. The set building that we were in was maybe four times as large as ours at the school… And there were multiple... After the tour we went into a restaurant called “The Tasty” for some lunch. There was both lunch food and breakfast food there so we mixed up a little and on our table one could find both. We then went into the production building of the school. Talk about high tech!  There were so many technical things and design specific mechanisms inside; any computer loving person would have fainted. There was a lot of sound design machinery within too. It was a very well rounded technical university. At the end we got a chance to meet a student of the school, ask him some questions that were on our minds and again test our German speaking skills with the natives. I would say we passed with flying colors… or words or whatever… After the tour we left, bound back to the city. That evening we saw the new Production of the Zauberflöte at the comic Opera house. It was such a pleasure and afterwards we even got the opportunity to meet the singers! Talk about a full day.

Watching Movies in Berlin

     After spending time in Berlin, I can really see why it is considered to be the sister city to Los Angeles. I knew film was a prominent part of the city's history, but I never realized how overwhelming its presence was until I saw it in person.
     On our first day here, we were able to tour Babelsberg Studios, one of the oldest film studios in the world. They are famous for producing films like Metropolis and The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari. They are still very much alive today, some of their recent projects being The Book Thief, Thr Monuments Men, and The Grand Budapest Hotel. The studio tour was incredible. We got to see one of the stages, set pictures, and the amazing costume shop. We also got a tour of the art department, which was especially interesting to me because that is my area of study. We got to see people at  work in the wood shop, the paint shop, and the sculpture studio and walked through the set dressing and props rooms. It was unbelievable to be in a place with such an impressive past (and present).
     After a short walk, we arrived at the Hochschule für Film und Fersehen (HFF) Potsdam. We were met by a few of the professors, who offered to show us around and talk to some of the students. It was such a strange experience because even though I had never been there before and it is in a foreign country, I felt so at home. There were so many similarities between this school and the film school at UNCSA. The professors and students were so friendly and eager to answer any and all questions. They seemed very interested in keeping in contact with us and learning more about our school, and I hope to be able to do so.
    Of course, right now is a very special time in Berlin because the annual Berlinale Filmfestspiele is going on. I couldn't believe we were lucky enough to be here during the 10-day period of the festival. I wanted to explore Berlin as well, but I still had the pleasure of seeing 4 films in the 2 days we had time for festival screenings. One was Norwegian (Blind), one French (La Belle et la Bête), one Chinese (The Midnight After), and one Ethiopian (Difret). All of the theaters and the screens we watched the films on were enormous. I had never seen so many movie theaters that big in one city. All of the films were all so unique and I probably never would have heard of most of them had it not been for this opportunity. I didn't know much about any of them before seeing them, but that was part of the fun. It was the luck of the draw, either you  found a film that you loved or it wasn't your cup of tea. I was fond of all of the films I saw. A couple of them were pretty strange, but still worth seeing. Difret was my favorite because there was a Q&A with the director after the screening. He spoke about his process of making the film and the reasons behind it. I loved getting to hear his perspective right after having seen the film. If I ever have another chance to go to the Berlinale, I'll be there in a heartbeat!

Berlin: 14.2.2014

Today we finally got to explore Berlin a little. We started the day early with a visit to the Reichstag building, the seat of government in Berlin until the post-wall times. Here we learned much about the history of the socialist revolution in Germany, and from the top of the building we could see most of the city. After a quick big-picture look, we walked along the old wall corridor, by the Brandenburg Gate, and to Potsdamer Platz. Passing some memorials of the Jewish victims and of the Wall, we began our search for tickets to film screenings at the Berlinale. Unfortunately we were only able to buy tickets for two films in advance, but tomorrow we have hope that we can find leftover seats in our top picks.

One of the highlights for me was meeting Kathleen Harris, an NCSA alumna from the dance program who has been living and working in Germany for the past 5 or so years. I found it particularly helpful to speak with her about teaching English abroad, a path that I have been considering lately. She had many useful tips about living and working in Germany, and even better, now I have a contact in Berlin.

Following this meeting we got rush tickets for our first film of the Festival: Difret. I’ll let Emily speak about that, but I found the film and especially the talk with the director afterwards very interesting.

The Jugendstil and its Influence on Vienna

     The Vienna Secession was a movement that began in 1897 when a group of artists, designers, and architects decided to protest against the established traditions of aesthetics and design. They created their own movement, which the called the Secession. They even constructed a building to showcase their modern style of art. This style is known as art nouveau, or as it was called in Vienna, the Jugendstil. The artists of the Jugendstil wanted a departure from the romantic historicism style which had dominated Vienna previously. The new style was free from limitations of the past. It was simple and elegant. It was geometric and refrained from much of the ornamentation present in neoromanticism architecture and design. The seccesionists believed that everyday life should be filled with beauty, a belief that is evident in art nouveau architecture and craftwork.
     The most famous Jugendstil architect  is Otto Wagner. He was a professor and many of his pupils went on to design buildings that became important to the movement. Wagner is credited with coming up with the idea for the Stadtbahn. Now that system has been replaced by the underground metro, but you can still visit some of the Stadtbahn stations around Vienna. Gustav Klimt is perhaps the most recognizable member of the movement. He was a founder and the first leader of the Vienna Secession group. Klimt's paintings are very unique, as the figured appear very realistic but their clothing, the backgrounds and other surfaces are painted with an array of colors, patterns, and glowing gold. Egon Schiele is another important artist of the movement. He lived a short life, as he fell ill at the age of 28 and passed away. His work is darker than Klimt's, although the both death with the same two themes: eroticism and death. Schiele painted many portraits. The figures in his paintings are clearly people, but he distorts their features  and does not conform to the rules of proportions. He makes the eyes far too big and the hands long with thin fingers, which results in a very eerie effect.
     Today is our second full day in Vienna. It is amazing how much we have been able to fit into just two days. We have seen so much Jugendstil art and architecture, in museums and walking down the street. On Monday we went to the Leopold museum and saw paintings of Klimt's and Schiele's along with those of other artists of the movement. Some of the paintings were recognizeable, such as Klimt's "Life and Death", while others were a completely new experience. That morning we got to see the famous Stadtbahnhaus designed by Otto Wagner. Later in the day we saw three other buildings of his. Two of them are now offices and the third is The Seccession where the momvement's artists exhibit their work. We also went to the Belvedere, another museum with many Klimt and Schiele pieces. The most exciting part of the visit was getting to see Klimt's "The Kiss" in person! It was so much bigger than we thought it would be. It appeared to be glowing because of the golden background. On Tuesday, we went back to The Seccession and went inside to see Klimt's "Beethovenfries". It is a huge mural that Klimt painted for an exhibit for the seccesionists in 1901. The exhibit was to be an unveiling of the concept that the different arts should all be united by a common theme, which they called Gesamtkunstwerk. The frieze is Richard Wagner's interpretation of  Beethoven's Ninth Symphony. Finally, we went to The MAK, or Museum of Applied Arts. Part of their exhibit include craftwork done by secessionist artists. There was pottery, jewelry, and kitchenwares, all beautiful as well as functional. There were lithograph posters made by the artists advertising their 1901 exhibition. And as if one frieze wasn't incredible enough, they had a full-sized study that Klimt had done for mural he was commissioned to do. It even had his notes scribbled on it in places he wanted to fix something.
      It is wonderful that we have been able to see so many exhibits of Jugendstil artwork, because each exhibit adds something to what we have learned at the previous one. For example, we saw the Beethovenfries and learned that it was painted for the exhibition in 1901. Then, only a few hours later, we got to see the posters advertising the exhibition and we were able to see how they complemented each other. We have one day left in Vienna, and I cannot wait to see what else is in store for us.

Salome in the Staatsoper 11.02.2014

This evening we attended the first of our planned operas: Salome.

First, the Staatsoper. The opera house opened in 1869 with a performance of Mozart's "Don Juan". It gradually grew as a popular event to attend, reaching a high point under the direction of Gustav Mahler. During the second World War, a bombing run destroyed all but the Grand Staircase, Schwind Foyer, and main facade. The work of producing the now essentially Viennese pastime of opera passed to the Volksoper and Theater an der Wien, and the State Opera company functioned in this way for ten years. Then, in 1955, the reconstruction of the Staatsoper was completed and the opera re-opened with Beethoven's "Fidelio". It is currently under the direction of Viennese native Franz-Welser-Moest.

Now, the story of Salome: We lay the scene in Judea, a.d. 30. King Herod is holding a party, which his daughter Salome is attending. Outside, the captain of the guard, Narraboth, keeps watch over the night, and over Salome. He fancies her, and when she comes outside to escape her father they begin to talk. Suddenly, the voice of John the Baptist (Jochanaan) rings forth from the cistern where he is being held prisoner. Salome wishes to speak with him, but the guards will not bring him out. She then seduces Narraboth into bringing Jochanaan out. When she sees Jochanaan, she is taken with desires to touch and kiss him. He, however, rejects her and concerns himself only with spreading word of the imminent Messiah. Seeing that Salome wants only Jochanaan, Narraboth commits suicide. Jochanaan returns to his cell, rejecting all of Salome's advances.

King Herod then comes out for some fresh air. When he sees the blood of Narraboth, he begins to hallucinate, eventually fixating on his daughter. As her pursues her, his wife Herodias demands that Jochanaan be turned over to the Jewish leaders, so that he may be taken away, Salome will quit pining, and Herod will come to his senses. Herod fears the prophecies that Jochanaan speaks and refuses his wife's suggestion.

Then Herod demands that Salome dance for him. She agrees on condition that he must give her anything that she wants. He swears an oath to do so, and she dances her erotic and exotic "Dance of the Seven Veils". As payment she demands the head of Jochanaan on a silver platter. Herod begs and pleads with her, but she will not budge. Herod finally acquiesces, and Jochanaan's head is brought to Salome. She can finally fulfill her uncontrollable carnal desires, and after having a near-manic episode of conversing with the head, she kisses it in victory. Herod, disgusted with this grotesque display, orders Salome to be killed on the spot as the curtain falls.

Strauss has managed to mingle three different aesthetics into one work. The first is the classical, setting his story in remote biblical times and telling an obviously moral story. However, here is where we see the influence of the times. Sigmund Freud and psychologists of the time had been developing a school of thought on human sexuality and the power of carnal desire. The basic and animalistic desires of carnal satisfaction are said to be rooted deep in human nature, and people cannot help but be controlled by them. Salome is an obvious demonstration of this, being so taken by her desires that nothing will suffice except that she kiss Jochanaan, dead or alive. When she does, she speaks over the bitter taste on his lips, be it blood or perhaps love itself. Everything comes back to sensual context. The third world is the late-romantic development in music. The opera is in one act and is completely thru-composed. This is highly unusual of any opera at any time. There are no 'numbers', or arias, with breaks in between of dialogue or recitative. The sonic experience is continuous throughout. In addition, Strauss calls for a very expanded orchestra, doubling all wind instruments, extending the brass section greatly, and employing many uncommon auxiliary instruments such as the heckelphone (a member of the oboe family). Finally, Strauss makes use of recurring motives to symbolize people, situations, or feelings; in other words: the predecessors of Wagner's Leitmotifs.

Andris Nelsons whipped the Vienna Philharmonic into fine shape for this production, and the singers did a good job with the monumental task of non-stop singing for 2 hours. The staging was very traditional and understated, which is unfortunate because there is a lot of potential for creative modern interpretation in this work. However, the music was delivered very well, and a good evening was had by all.

Keinen Person brauchen Englisch! 09.02.2014

What a day! We touched down in München (Munich) around 7:30a.m. local time and managed to gather all of our belongings before making our way out of the airport. We withdrew Euros from a "Bankautomat" and headed underneath the airport to board our first train.  We hopped off briefly at the Munich train station to observe the beautiful architecture and buy some breakfast from a bakery(and no one had to use english!) From there we returned to the train and made our way to Salzburg, and spoke nur Deautsch den ganzen Tag.

In Salzburg we found Mozart's Geburtzhaus (birthplace) and enjoyed our first experience in Austrian cuisine. After lunch we visited some beautiful and old churches in the area. After some mild sight-seeing we waited in a café for our train to Wein (Vienna).

We rode to Vienna and purchased our train cards for the next three days, then made our way to the hotel. We checked in and spent the rest of the evening in the hotel, eating pizza for dinner and getting some much-needed rest. Tchüss! 

Die Reise beginnt! 08.02.2014

Hello and welcome to our blog! This site has been created to document the "maiden voyage" of what we hope will become many more study-abroad opportunities for students attending the University of North Carolina School of the Arts. This ten-day journey brings five students: Sumner Williams, Chris Engel, Emily Leising, Quashawn Chadwick, and Kelly DeLameter (and of course, our beloved professor, Herr Dr. Hans Gabriel) to major European centers of artistic culture. We will be exploring Salzburg, Vienna, Berlin, and Aachen in the week to come, indulging in their rich histories of art, music, and culture.

We met at 10:00am this morning in the Academic House on campus to organize and discuss some final travel details. From there we drove to Raleigh to embark on our first full day of travel. upon arrival to the airport, we checked bags and survived the routine security scans. We then grabbed a quick lunch and waited to board our first flight. Sumner made use of this respite to snag some practice time in order to stay sharp for his up-coming lessons and performances. The group began conversing in German as much as possible, hoping to lessen the impending culture shock.

We boarded the first (rather compact) flight at 2:00pm and arrived at Dulles International Airport less than an hour later. We then rushed from the tarmac to what seemed to be the opposite end of the airport, taking a short train ride and scurrying to arrive in the waiting area for our second flight. Another brief wait and we had boarded the next flight and prepared to leave the country (for the first time for many in our group)!

As the first day comes to a close (and the second begins, thanks to a six-hour time difference), we greet the world from our Washington D.C.-Munich flight. Most of the gang is either sleeping or enjoying the luxuries of modern air travel via the variety of in-flight movies, games, and music available for each passenger. A remarkably tasty in-flight meal was enjoyed by all, and per the request of Dr. Dean Steve Lacosse, Kelly spent the majority of his time learning music for the up-coming production of The Gondoliers (although he took a break to indulge in one of the movies, nobody tell Steve!) As night turns to day we grace the heavens above Paris as our flight enters its final hour. That's all for now, We'll be checking back in tomorrow evening from Vienna, Austria!