Waldo's relatives
Wednesday, May 23, 2018 was jam packed with three incredible interviews and a few individuals that may very well be Waldo's relatives which made for one fulfilling, although exhausting, final day in Vienna.
To start off the day, I met with Constanze Hell, who works in the Mozart Haus, which is a museum dedicated to Mozart (as the name implies) in the location of one of his many apartments in Vienna. As soon as I arrived, so did a class of kindergarteners, excited to see the interactive play the museum puts on for them. Constanze and I snuck down and watched for a few minutes, and I witnessed an adorable play about a new student trying to communicate with a cello. It was all about how the cello's music made the child feel, and learning how to understand what the cello was trying to say. It was supposed to make classical music more approachable to kids, who can see it as a foreign language, especially since sheet music looks like hieroglyphics and doesn't normally have lyrics. Overall, I got the impression that classical music is very important to Viennese culture. I can now say, looking back, I didn't find this at the same level anywhere else I visited on my journey. Constanze gave me a tour of the museum (Did you know Mozart spoke English? I could have talked to him!!!). After this, I jumped on the Metro and made my way to the Universitaet fuer Musik und darstellende Kunst (University for Music and Applied Arts) to meet Doctor Smunits and his colleague for an interview.
On my very confusing walk from the metro to the university (thanks Google), I realized I had left the touristy part of Vienna and entered into a section still beautiful in the uniquely Viennese mix of decorative architecture and surprisingly beautiful graffiti, but obviously only populated by fluent German speakers. After finally finding what appeared to be a main building and observing that a student ID was not needed to enter, I mustered up my courage, what little amount of German I remembered, and entered. I tried and failed to read the map hung on the wall, and resigned myself to ask the security guard for assistance finding the professor I was supposed to be meeting for my next interview. He looked very grumpy so I asked him, in German, if he spoke English. He replied in the thickest accent I had heard yet with "What do you want?" I told him the name of the professor, which he didn't know, then the section of the university he works in, and he finally pointed me in the right direction, or so I think, but I couldn't really understand him.
I eventually found a sign that was marginally easier to read and located the building that was likely to contain Doctor Smundits (by now I was officially late). After making my way to the building (trying and failing to look like I belonged) I stared at the guide that described the contents of the house-like structure in the very back corner of campus. A student stopped and asked me if I need help (I can imagine I looked every bit as lost as I felt) I told him, a little warily, that my German isn't very good and asked if he spoke English. He spoke perfect English and very kindly pointed me in the direction of a man that was not the professor I was looking for. I eventually went back to the building that I originally thought my interviewee was in and found him within a few minutes. Doctor Smundits, his colleague and I had an insightful conversation about the culture of classical music in Vienna and it's impact on Viennese society.
After making my way back to the touristy part of Vienna, I returned to the comfortable familiarity of the Musikverein for my third and final interview of the day with Desiree Hornek. Finding her office in the huge (and unmarked) underbelly of this imposing concert hall was almost as difficult as finding Doctor Smundits (honestly, these people must be related to Waldo), but a few helpful people pointed me in the right direction and I was finally able to interview Desiree. She runs the education section of the Musikverien which focuses on programs for children. She started this whole sector of the music hall and we talked about the importance of exposing kids to classical music when they're young, not because they're more likely to attend concerts as teens and young adults, but because of the positive influence it has on everyone that gets the chance to experience it.
It was a wonderful day full of conversations with people just as passionate about music as I am. Even though it was a little frustrating, slightly scary, and extremely hectic, I'm so grateful I got the chance to step outside my comfort zone and have an adventure.
To start off the day, I met with Constanze Hell, who works in the Mozart Haus, which is a museum dedicated to Mozart (as the name implies) in the location of one of his many apartments in Vienna. As soon as I arrived, so did a class of kindergarteners, excited to see the interactive play the museum puts on for them. Constanze and I snuck down and watched for a few minutes, and I witnessed an adorable play about a new student trying to communicate with a cello. It was all about how the cello's music made the child feel, and learning how to understand what the cello was trying to say. It was supposed to make classical music more approachable to kids, who can see it as a foreign language, especially since sheet music looks like hieroglyphics and doesn't normally have lyrics. Overall, I got the impression that classical music is very important to Viennese culture. I can now say, looking back, I didn't find this at the same level anywhere else I visited on my journey. Constanze gave me a tour of the museum (Did you know Mozart spoke English? I could have talked to him!!!). After this, I jumped on the Metro and made my way to the Universitaet fuer Musik und darstellende Kunst (University for Music and Applied Arts) to meet Doctor Smunits and his colleague for an interview.
On my very confusing walk from the metro to the university (thanks Google), I realized I had left the touristy part of Vienna and entered into a section still beautiful in the uniquely Viennese mix of decorative architecture and surprisingly beautiful graffiti, but obviously only populated by fluent German speakers. After finally finding what appeared to be a main building and observing that a student ID was not needed to enter, I mustered up my courage, what little amount of German I remembered, and entered. I tried and failed to read the map hung on the wall, and resigned myself to ask the security guard for assistance finding the professor I was supposed to be meeting for my next interview. He looked very grumpy so I asked him, in German, if he spoke English. He replied in the thickest accent I had heard yet with "What do you want?" I told him the name of the professor, which he didn't know, then the section of the university he works in, and he finally pointed me in the right direction, or so I think, but I couldn't really understand him.
I eventually found a sign that was marginally easier to read and located the building that was likely to contain Doctor Smundits (by now I was officially late). After making my way to the building (trying and failing to look like I belonged) I stared at the guide that described the contents of the house-like structure in the very back corner of campus. A student stopped and asked me if I need help (I can imagine I looked every bit as lost as I felt) I told him, a little warily, that my German isn't very good and asked if he spoke English. He spoke perfect English and very kindly pointed me in the direction of a man that was not the professor I was looking for. I eventually went back to the building that I originally thought my interviewee was in and found him within a few minutes. Doctor Smundits, his colleague and I had an insightful conversation about the culture of classical music in Vienna and it's impact on Viennese society.
After making my way back to the touristy part of Vienna, I returned to the comfortable familiarity of the Musikverein for my third and final interview of the day with Desiree Hornek. Finding her office in the huge (and unmarked) underbelly of this imposing concert hall was almost as difficult as finding Doctor Smundits (honestly, these people must be related to Waldo), but a few helpful people pointed me in the right direction and I was finally able to interview Desiree. She runs the education section of the Musikverien which focuses on programs for children. She started this whole sector of the music hall and we talked about the importance of exposing kids to classical music when they're young, not because they're more likely to attend concerts as teens and young adults, but because of the positive influence it has on everyone that gets the chance to experience it.
It was a wonderful day full of conversations with people just as passionate about music as I am. Even though it was a little frustrating, slightly scary, and extremely hectic, I'm so grateful I got the chance to step outside my comfort zone and have an adventure.
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