Most of the images below which do not have people in them were stolen from the Graz Tourism website. This is actually OK. The website says they can be downloaded and used elsewhere as long as the source is acknowledged with "Copyright Graz Tourismus". Done. Vielen Dank!

Thursday June 21 : Arrival in Graz, Austria

Graz was my main destination on this trip. I had been here for the first time in the previous year (2006), at this same time of year, when the month-long Styriarte Festival of music commences. My friend Henny (see previous travelogues) plays violin here every year what has become my favourite band, the Chamber Orchestra of Europe! Graz has also become one of my favourite places in Europe (Austria's best-kept secret? A town with all the charm of Salzburg, but without the hordes of tourists! Shh... don't tell everybody!). All in all, I couldn't resist a repeat visit this year. Arrived on the train from Zagreb at about 6.00 pm and took the tram to the Hotel Weitzer, where the orchestra stays, and where I was also booked. Tomorrow my sister, Cynthia, would also join me here from England. After checking in, I learned that the orchestra was rehearsing late, until 9pm, in preparation for tommorow night's big opening concert. So later that evening, after their rehearsal, I finally met up with Henny and a few of the other musicians for some late evening drinks before calling it a night.

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Friday June 22 : Graz

Met Cynthia at the airport at 14.30. She was meeting me in Graz, as my time was limited on this trip and I wouldn't have had much time in England if I'd tried to visit her there. Plus, she was interested in visiting Graz after hearing my description of my visit last year.

The Chamber Orchestra of Europe was playing a Beethoven program on this and the following two nights. On the program was the Mass in C (with the Arnold Schönberg Choir), and then the 5th Symphony, under the direction of Nikolaus Harnoncourt. Tonight's performance, which opened the Styriarte Fest, was broadcast live in the town's Hauptplatz (main square), via a video link advertised as a Klangwolke, or 'sound cloud'. Cynthia and I had tickets for tomorrow night's performance, but tonight we wandered into the square about half way through the Mass and saw the rest of the concert from one of the Würstlstands (stalls selling sausages and beer) that are dotted around the square. Bier and Wurst for dinner while listening to a great performance of Beethoven's Fifth!

The atmosphere was just terrific - imagine the giant video screen in front of the town hall, a big sound system, and the entire square full of people listening and enjoying this great music. Some, like us, with beer in hand!

For broadband users: the Kleine Zeitung newspaper's website has a video of the event here.

A nice thing about the video screen was seeing close-up shots of the conductor, Nikolaus Harnoncourt, and his often quite manic facial expressions that you don't see in the concert hall, where he has his back towards you! At the end of the concert, the audience in the hall rose to their feet in a standing ovation, while we in the town square were applauding as well!

Saturday June 23

Showed Cynthia around the Altstadt ('old town') during the day, including a look inside the cathedral, which dates from the 15th century and contains much decoration from the baroque period.

We also visited the Diözesanmuseum attached to the Mariahilf church, where there was a special exhibition about pilgrimages through the ages, and what drives people to make such journeys, even in modern times. This was of particular interest to Cynthia, as she has actually walked the pilgrim route (or camino) across northern Spain to Santiago de Compostela.

Then in the evening we went to the live performance of the Beethoven concert. We were lucky enough to have been allocated perfect seats, right in front of the conductor, just six rows back! While we had had enjoyed last night's outdoor broadcast, here we could appreciate it on a deeper, musical level, without external distractions.

And, yes, there was another standing ovation at the end! Nikolaus Harnoncourt is especially loved by the citizens of Graz, as he lived here as a child, and still has close connections to the town, despite his international fame and stature. But regardless of any bias, it was a brilliant performance by all concerned - orchestra, choir and conductor - and they all thoroughly deserved the ovation!

Sunday, June 24

Kunsthaus    VIEW ENLARGED

In the morning, a visit to the Kunsthaus (house of art), the amazing building designed to resemble some sort of sucker fish, and a work of art in itself. Near the Kunsthaus we walked across the river via another modernist construction, the Murinsel (island in the Mur river), an artificial island with a café and a small open-air performance area. Neither of these construnctions seem out-of-place amid the old buildings that surround them, in fact the contrast is very interesting and effective.

Murinsel    VIEW ENLARGED

At lunchtime, we met up with Henny, and the three of us took the lift to the Schloßberg, the 'mountain fortress' that dominates the town. The lift is reached through a tunnel at street level: it rises vertically through the heart of the mountain. The coolest way to reach the top in summer! Up here, there is an unusual café built into the side of the cliff face, where we stopped for a snack and a drink.

lift to Schloßberg

Cyn and self in the cliff café VIEW ENLARGED

In the evening, Henny went off to do the third performance of the Beethoven, while Cyn and I had a leisurely dinner in an outdoor restaurant near the river, watching the Schloßberg gradually come alive with floodlighting as darkness fell.

Monday June 25

Henny had a day off! No rehearsals, no concerts. The three of us went out to the Basilica of Mariatrost, about a 20 minute tram ride from the town centre. This is an historic 18th century church and a place of pilgrimage for many. Memorable are the huge ceiling frescoes, and the very ornate main altar and pulpit. The church was elevated to to the rank of Basilica by pope John Paul II in 1999. It's perched on top of a hill which is a bit of a climb from the tram stop. Our visit being in the heat of summer, it's fortunate that next to the Basilica is an open-air restaurant offering beer to weary pilgrims!

Mariatrost altar    VIEW ENLARGED

Cyn and Henny in the café next to Mariatrost VIEW ENLARGED

From Mariatrost, we walked part of the way back towards Graz along a walking track that took us via the Hirschenhof, a farm now converted into guest accomodation, in a delightful rural setting, where we stayed during last year's visit. At the Hirschenhof (click the images to view enlarged). The old lady with Henny is Frau Greta, daughter of the original owners of the Hirschenhof, who is still lives there. A wonderful, sprightly old character, who looks after her chickens every day, and talks in such a strong Austrian dialect, that even native German speakers sometimes have trouble understanding!

Tuesday, 26 June

The orchestra spent the day rehearsing their next concert featuring two Mozart piano concertos conducted from the piano by Pierre-Laurent Aimard. Mozart concertos under Aimard seem to have become a regular feature of the COE's calendar. A similar concert was on the bill at last year's festival. Cynthia and I went along to the rehearsals, which are always interesting. After the rehearsal had finished in the late afternoon, Cyn and I caught the tram out to Schloß Eggenberg, a monumental baroque palace on the edge of town, used regularly for concerts and exhibitions, and set in a large parkland. As Cynthia was leaving the next day to return home to England, she wanted to have a quick look at the Schloß. It houses an amazing collection of artworks dating from medieval times, which I had seen last year. Unfortunately for Cynthia, the castle was closing at 7 pm, so we only had time for a quick look around the courtyards and open areas, without going inside. Ah well, that leaves her something to see on a future visit!

Aimard in rehearsal Schloß Eggenberg

Wednesday, June 27

Just time to see one more 'sight' before Cynthia has to go to the airport. Next to the cathedral is a mausoleum commissioned by Emperor Ferdinand II (1578-1637) as a tomb for himself and his family. Worth a visit if you've got a spare half hour to fill. Quite a cheerful place to be dead in, really. Lots of nice artwork, and more impressive frescoes on the ceilings. And there's a bell-tower you can climb for a different sort of a view towards the countryside (the view over the old town is restricted). Then in the afternoon, I saw Cyn off at the airport. It had been nice catching up with her in Austria for a change, instead of England. Something different for both of us. I think she enjoyed Graz.

Thursday June 28

This year, the COE's concerts are all in the modern Helmut-List Halle instead of in the beautiful old concert hall, the Stefaniensaal, where they performed last year. A pity... the accoustics in the new hall are a bit "boomy", although this was more noticeable during the rehearsals than in the performances when the room is full of people. However, this morning I furtively infiltrated the Stefaniensaal (remembering my way through the musicians' entrance where Henny had let me in last year!) to see Harnoncourt rehearsing his ensemble Concentus Musicus Wien and the Arnold Schönberg Choir for an upcoming performance of Haydn's The Seasons. Some musicians in the Chamber Orchestra of Europe had told me it would be no problem for me to go in and watch, that no-one would question my presence there, as there are always a few others there looking on from the side galleries anyway. They were right! It was very interesting to watch Harnoncourt rehearsing his Viennese ensembles in German. (The COE, being multinational, rehearses in English). Concentus plays on period instruments, and this was the first time I'd seen an 18th century style Contrabassoon in action: the thing was not doubled over like the modern equivalent, and looked to be about 3 metres tall! I was taking all this in from a position in the gallery just a few feet from the bass end of the choir. What a sound when the choir made its entrance - so powerful, it hit you like a train! I counted roughly 50 voices. I was starting to regret not having arranged to stay in Graz for this concert too, which was taking place on the Saturday. However, I had more places to go, people to see, and, sadly, tonight would be my last night in Graz. And so to the COE's Mozart/Haydn concert. The Haydn came across nicely, but in the Mozart concertos, the piano sounded a little 'wet', almost as if a little too much sustain pedal was being used. But this was probably due to the accoustics of the hall. The Stefaniensaal would have suited this concert better, especially for the Mozart. Nonetheless, an enjoyable concert to finish off my week here. After the performance, I joined Henny and some other members of the orchestra for "dinner". No doubt in larger cities where orchestras tour, there are places open late where they can get something to eat after a hard night's blowing, pounding or scraping. In Graz, however, the options are limited, and half the orchestra ends up grabbing Bier and Wurst at one of the few Würstlstands still open in the main square! And that is where we went tonight. I don't suppose it would ever occur to members of their audience, watching them onstage, that this is where world-class musicians end up getting fed after a concert!

Friday June 29

This morning Henny decided to go along to see Concentus Musicus rehearsing, as I had done yesterday. But it was time for me to leave Graz. I walked with her to the Stefaniensaal, said Auf Wiedersehen outside the musicians' entrance, then went back to the hotel to check out. At 12.35, I was on a train heading for Germany...