Thursday, December 13
Our day started rather late. We left the apartment around 6:00 pm and took the subway over to the Potsdamer Platz Christmas Fair for a dinner of Bratwurst and thick cut, homemade potato chips. Afterwards we headed over to the Balzac Coffee shop near the square and got two of their Caramel Macchiatos. They’re made with two shots of espresso. We hoped that they would get us through the concert at the Philharmonie that started at 8:00 pm.
(Hot, Salty Potato Chips)
The inside of the main concert hall is very modern. Every section of seats butts up against its neighbor at an angle. They seem to be arranged in a haphazard way with many sections near the sides and the back of the auditorium. It seems an unusual design. Our seats were in the center of the first balcony where we were barely twenty feet above the level of the stage.
The concert started with a performance of “Lux Aeterna” for mixed choir, chime bells and vibraphone by the Latvian composer Kaija Einfelde. It was composed in 2012. This was a surprise for us because we thought that the only item on the program was to be Mahler’s Symphony No. 2.
It was essentially a piece for acapella choir. At three minutes and seventeen seconds it was over almost as soon as it started. The piece was not too memorable but the choir did a great job. We were anxious to see what they’d do with the Mahler.
Mahler’s second symphony, known as The Resurrection Symphony, was written between 1888 and 1894 and was his most successful work during his lifetime. In it he expressed his views on the afterlife and resurrection. It’s a bombastic piece that’s probably as much fun to listen to as it is to play.
When we were in school the two most popular orchestras in the world were the Chicago Symphony Orchestra under Sir George Solti and the Berlin Philharmonic under Herbert von Karajan. We’d seen the Chicago Symphony play a few years back. Their string section was still outstanding but their brass did not live up our expectations. Now was our chance to see how Berlin would stack up.
(The Berlin Philharmonic)
The stage was completely filled with the oversized orchestra required for this piece. As soon as the orchestra started to play we knew it was going to be a great night. The hall’s acoustics were some of the best we’ve ever sampled. The instruments were clearly voiced and even the quietest passages were easily heard. The strings and the brass were first rate, the chorus strong and sonorous and they all performed together as well as could be expected (don’t get us started on the conductor). The only issue was the woodwinds inability to consistently play in tune.
Distance walked: 3.2 miles