Workshop with Christoph Koncz of the Vienna Philharmonic

At the morning workshop in Vienna
Photo: Colin Talcroft

June 25: In a building just next to the Stephansdom, the cathedral in the heart of old Vienna, the musicians of the SRSYO assembled with their instruments on Monday morning for a workshop with Christoph Koncz, principal second violin of the Vienna Philharmonic.

Work started immediately with a run through of Brahms's Academic Festival Overture. Right off the bat, Mr. Koncz was tweaking details, making suggestions about dynamics and phrasing, gently reminding the percussion section that it was a little loud here and there, and encouraging the violas to speak with confidence when carrying the melody. In general,  he emphasized the importance of always remembering one's place in the ensemble to ensure the main line of the music doesn't get lost. He asked the musicians always to ask themselves "Am I important here?" When a trumpet had trouble making a clean entry, Mr. Koncz advised "hear the note in your head before you start to play, and it will be there."

Christoph Koncz conducting at the morning workshop in Vienna
Photo: Colin Talcroft

The musicians responded to Mr. Koncz. Although he made very direct comments and let nothing slide, he did it with a smile and obvious enthusiasm for our musicians, the music and music-making. As the workshop moved through each of the pieces in the tour program, the SRSYO performances got tighter and more nuanced in a way that seemed almost magical to those of us watching. Jai Dhiman (percussion) said "I thought it was great—super helpful. The way he conducted made us sound better and he was really nice." Concertmaster Grace Yarrow said it was "really helpful to get an outside perspective ahead of our last concert, especially on the Liszt Hungarian Rhapsody, as we'll be playing that in Hungary. Personally, it was really inspiring because he's a violinist, like me." The entire group seemed to come away from the morning with renewed enthusiasm and high hopes for their upcoming performance in Budapest.

SRSYO musicians enjoy lunch in Vienna
Photo: Colin Talcroft

After the workshop, musicians and chaperones had some free time to find lunch and explore Vienna before reassembling for a visit to the Haus Der Musik, an interactive museum about music and musicians associated with Vienna. First floor exhibits look at acoustics and the workings of the human auditory system. One exhibit allows you to hear what it sounds like in the womb, another allows you to visualize frequencies. Upper floors house diverse exhibits, including rooms devoted to Haydn, Mozart, Schubert, Beethoven, and Johann Strauss Jr. with manuscript facsimiles, recordings, and keyboard instruments the composers used, among other artifacts.

"Conducting" the Vienna Philharmonic

Perhaps most popular was a virtual reality exhibit consisting of a large video projection of the Vienna Philharmonic and a motion-sensitive baton that allows you to "conduct" the orchestra. After choosing an option (Mozart's Eine Kleine Nachtmusik, for example), conductor Zubin Mehta appears to give you a quick tip on how best to proceed and the music takes off. The faster you move the baton, the faster the musicians on screen play. If you maintain a steady beat and a reasonable speed—not too slow, not too fast—you're rewarded with applause and congratulations at the end of the piece. If not, the musicians stop playing before you get there, get up from their seats, and roundly scold you, insulting your sense of timing!

Entertainment at Gasthof Wolff
in the Vienna suburbs 

Dinner at Gasthof Wolff (with roots back to the early 17th century) was a heurige buffet in the Vienna suburbs featuring Wiener schnitzel (naturally), smoked and roasted meats, a meatloaf, potatoes, sauerkraut, bread and a variety of herbed spreads for the breads (a favorite all over Austria), and more. Musicians downed the ubiquitous Almdudler, a carbonated drink made from herbal extracts, which, according to Wikipedia, is second in popularity in Austria only to Coca-Cola among soft drinks. An accordionist with a booming voice sang, yodeled, and made everyone dance and sing along to everything from Austrian folk tunes, to songs from Fiddler on the Roof, to the Beatles.

Horns at the workshop with Christoph Koncz
Principal Second Violin of the Vienna Philharmonic
Photo: Colin Talcroft