Friday, January 10, 2020

The Haydn-Philharmonie


The ethereal concert hall was filled with chatter and life until the music replaced the sound of people. The cello conversed with its fellow instruments until the audience was captivated and removed from all obligations. Just behind the walls was the hustle and bustle of Vienna with people walking by every second. They likely had no idea that just a couple feet inside was a group of people being transported to another world where the only thing that mattered was the music.
As I looked around the hall, I couldn’t help but wonder what people were thinking, feeling and what brought them to the Haydn-Philharmonic that night. Was the couple in front of me admirers of art or was he dragged by his wife whom he aimed to please?
In the last 45 minutes or so I noticed an elegant woman who appeared to have seen lots of life in her years based on her hunched posture and tired eyes. A white fur hat kept her head warm and her frail hands rested on the seat in front of her. Her seat was positioned almost perpendicular to the stage due to the orientation of the hall so she had to turn her head to the far left in order to see, yet her body and head was positioned to the right facing away from the stage. I couldn’t take my eyes off her and I wondered what she was thinking. She often closed her eyes, but never faced nor looked at the stage. It looked as though there was pain in her eyes that was brought out by the music. The music ended and she was the first to leave the hall, whisked back to the reality of life leaving me to wonder what her story is.

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