It’s 4:22am (German time) as I start writing my second blog entry. Exhausted when I went to bed last night, but I got up at around 4 am. Ok. That’s about when I get up anyways back in Colorado, so it’s time to get to work. It will be a long day…
As I arrived yesterday, I was supposed to be picked up by my old friend who sings at the Mannheim Opera, but it didn’t work out that way. So, I got out of the airport. Took the S-Bahn and got off at Stadtmitte. It was refreshing to hear the language again, especially some strong Schwäbisch accent spoken by few older ladies as I was getting off the S-Bahn. I am now in Baden-Württemberg.
As I was walking down the street trying to find my hotel, I was thinking “how come this country makes me hum Brahms’ “Im Herbst” although it is almost spring?” Weird…
After checking into the hotel, I walked down to the Koenigstasse, the main street that goes all the way to Hauptbahnhof, the main train station. It looked like a lot has changed, with so many modern shops
that didn’t exist before. It didn’t feel familiar at all. Then, I ran into two historic landmarks that reminded me that I’m back in familiar territory: Schlossplatz and Stiftskirke. Kay Johannsen is still the music director at the church,
but the church went through a serious renovation as I left the town in 1999 taking 5 years to finish. I tested my German with a lady at the information desk and was pleasantly surprised that most of it stayed with me. It suddenly felt like I never left this town…
The B minor rehearsal starts today. Anxious to meet Kathy Romey, Elisabeth Janku at the Bachakademie, and the musicians from all over the world. Of course, Can’t wait to re-connect with Rilling to talk about Bach.
It’s wonderful to be back…