So i stopped my countdown til I'm home. I'm just enjoying it here because I dont have much time before I'm back in the states forever. :) I think its making me less homesick...

Anyway, today was a busy but very exciting day! The morning started with a vanilla-shockolade pastry (my new favorite!) practicing at 8, and then my four hands piano rehearsal with Kenya. Our Mozart fugue is coming along nicely, and I really like playing with someone else! Our coach really seems to know what he is doing, too. Then i went to German class where it was kind of a nightmare. Somehow I'm really alert for the whole 1.5 hours, which is kind of a feat for me, but its so intense that by the end i need a bit more time to figure out whats going on, so when i get called on, I really dont understand the excercise and look kinda stupid I'm better at writing because i have time to think about it. Learning languages is so difficult!

Then was our listening test and handed in the paper that has been the source of plenty of stress lately. I did mine on the concerto I'm learning right now. I sat through the third of 5 three hour history lectures and today was about Opera. I really want to see one while I'm here, but i'm not sure I will have time.

The most exciting part of the day was seeing the Philharmonic rehearse!!! Wow...they are one of the best orchestras in the world, and they rehearsed like it. When we came in, everyone was playing and talking as a normal rehearsal would, but when the conductor came on the stage, he said the name of the piece, everyone got it up really quickly, they got set, and without a word or anything they started on Dvorjak's Carnival Overture. That piece is loud and amazing to listen to. Every entrance was in sync with the sections and from the very beginning, they were in perfect tune...Some of the instruments were different. The oboe here is completely different in is form and the fingerings. Also, the trumpet had its keys off to the side...it was like two trumpets side by side, but with one mouthpiece and bell. Weird! Also, the timpani were covered in real skin and not the clear material we see on ours.

Watching the relation between the conductor and the orchestra as a whole were really funny to watch. They did not appear to be together at all. The conductor seemed to be a beat or two early, but the whole thing moved as a unit. We saw the conductor shift styles before the music did. It was somewhat distracting, but as I got used to seeing it, I wondered how they still came in together so well. Whether they came in as a section or as a whole orchestra the instruments together sounded like one. I know it sounds cliche, but I kept trying to be somewhat critical of the orchestra but their sound was so difficult to get past. It was one of those things where it was so smooth and perfect that you could fall asleep in its rhythm, but at the same time, you were on the edge of your seat because of the energy they consistently brought to their playing.

Their set up was interesting. It is set on high steps so that the orchestra appears to be going up instead of out. The cellos were in the row right in front of the conductor, then the oboe and english horn and flutes, and then the bassoons. There were 4 plus a contra...that seemed like a lot to me! Then there were the brass and then the basses in the way back, they stood the entire way across the back. The conductor stood on a really tall podium and he was pretty prominent in the crowd even though they were right on top of him.

The orchestra seats according to seniority. This means that older people are closer to the front. Some sections, mostly strings, consisted of older looking players. The string bass, bassoon, french horn, clarinet, flute (I guess most winds) and percussion sections, on the other hand, were noticeably younger. I wonder what that says about the sections...? It could be a difference in physical demands, or the newer trend in wind music with the development of the wind ensemble? I have no idea. But i thought it was a kind of fun observation.

We saw them also rehearse Richard Strauss' Till Eulenspiegel. Sweet. I realized that I really want to learn more about the orchestra and pay attention to conductors and where pianists are going in the field.

After we came home, I made dinner for 10 people! It actually went well!! I had a lot of fun making it....bowties and spinach, marinara and fresh mozzarella chopped up. Yumm. Thanks to my awesome roomies who set the table, bought the wine, picked up some bread and put together a salad, we had a nice dinner. It was really nice to sit down with everyone in the middle of a hectic week!

Well there is a really big German midterm tomorrow :( and i I really really need to study. Tomorrow is a piano lesson, performance workshop, and mojito night?!