While I do not attend so many classical music concerts lately, I had enjoyed my visits to some of the world’s most famous concert halls.  These would include:  Royal Albert Hall in London, the Walt Disney Concert Hall in LA, Wiener Musikverein in Vienna, the Bolshoi in Moscow, the Mariinsky in St. Petersburg, Carnegie Hall in NYC, Sydney Opera House, and the Hungarian State Opera House in Budapest.

In no particular order, here are a few of my thoughts and experiences.

My first real concert, other than the old San Francisco Opera House (before Davies Hall) was at Royal Albert Hall in London.  We had to queue around the building for hours ahead of the concert.  So, I found some friendly Aussies with beer and a deck of cards!  The performance, which was both long and tedious was the Leningrad (now St. Petersburg) Symphony.  And since we had the “cheap” seats in the center of the Hall, we had to stand for the entire concert, except for intermission, when we sat on the floor!  Royal Albert (opened in 1871) is also where the Beatles first performed in London (1963), once they became famous.  Unknown to many, Muhammad Ali fought here three times, Sir Winston Churchill spoke here sixteen times, Albert Einstein campaigned for world peace in 1933, and opened by Queen Victoria in 1871 in memory of Prince Albert.

The Mariinsky Theater in St. Petersburg (opened in 1860) was a most curious event, since it featured a trombone solo.  Making this event even worse?  I attended a concert in Ann Arbor, MI by the University of Michigan band, also featuring a trombone solo, just a month before.  What are the odds?  And yes, trombone solos are ODD!

Nothing could be more eclectic than the concert by the “Lost and Found Band” at the famous Sydney Opera House (opened 1973).  Lost and found means they made musical instruments out of items found in the trash bins of Sydney.  But I think just being in the famous Opera House overshadowed the rather eclectic offerings of this true “garage” band.  Notable guests include:  Nelson Mandela, Michael Buble, Paul Robeson, and of course, the Sydney Symphony Orchestra.

In Budapest, free concerts are offered on a regular basis.  Just collect a ticket for Liszt or Bartok during the day, and show up at 7pm that night.  Simple, right?  Not really, since most places in the central district don’t start serving dinner until 7 or 8pm.  After a delicious roast duck dinner, I walked into the State Opera House as an encore was being played!  What did we do?  Just headed to the nearest bar, and enjoyed ourselves.

Growing up as a kid, we always heard about Carnegie Hall.  It was and still is, the dream of aspiring musicians around the world to appear at Carnegie.  Just my luck it was being renovated on my last trip there.  What did I do?  I went instead to the famous Carnegie Deli and had a huge, corned beef sandwich!  Performances include:  Simon and Garfunkel, Dave Brubeck, Harry Belafonte, Nina Simone, the Beatles, and the Beach Boys.

But the most curious of all concert halls is the Frank Gehry designed Walt Disney Concert Hall in LA.  I have been in several other Gehry designs, like the Seattle Music Experience Project (EMP), now called MoPop.  Most interior portions are very traditional, but the exteriors are always strange.  He even designed the Brain Center near downtown Las Vegas.  I think it looks like someone’s brain, after being scrambled in a concussion!

Left off of this list, for some reason, is the famous and probably most acoustically perfect concert hall in the world, the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam (opened in 1888).  There is not a bad seat, at least acoustically, in the entire hall, whether on the main floor or upstairs.  Free concerts are given every day at 1pm.  The place is simply perfect!  It is home to the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra.

But no matter where you go, the bottom line for me in the performance itself.  I don’t choose the performers based on the concert hall.  After all, why sit through TWO trombone solos when many better choices exit?  But once in a while, the concert hall becomes an obsession.

Yes, I went in the sweltering heat of July.  But it was well worth it, even better than the Capitol Fourth in DC.
From 2018: 

Not only do I finally get to attend this great event, it is held on both July 3 AND July 4!!!!  The poster says:  Conductor Keith Lockhart directs the Boston POPS Orchestra at the Hatch Shell, on the Esplanade, performing the identical concert which will be played on July 4th minus the fireworks display. Seating for this free event is on a first come basis, it will be crowded, but not as much as on the 4th.

This year’s headliner is Rachel Platten, along with The Indigo Girls, Rita Moreno, and Rhiannon Giddens.

Yes, I will miss both John Williams and the famous maestro himself, Arthur Fiedler. This televised program is followed by a spectacular 23-minute fireworks display over the Charles River. The best place for viewing the fireworks is along Memorial Drive on the Cambridge side of the Charles River.

Sheri and I attended a Capitol Fourth in Washington DC several years ago.  The featured performer was none other than Stevie Wonder.  But we encountered over a million people.  It started to rain, lightly at first, but then increased to a typical summer rain.  We left a little early, and watched most of the great fireworks show from DuPont Circle.

This year will be the 44th Spectacular, celebrating 241 years of our country’s independence.  From the Boston Pops website:  Affectionately known as “America’s Orchestra,” the Boston Pops is the most recorded and arguably the most beloved orchestra in the country, beginning with the establishment of the modern-era Pops by Arthur Fiedler and continuing through the innovations introduced by John Williams and the new-millennium Pops spearheaded by Keith Lockhart. Its remarkable history began with its founding in 1885. Fours years earlier, in 1881, Civil War veteran Henry Lee Higginson founded the Boston Symphony Orchestra, calling its establishment “the dream of my life.” From the start he intended to present, in the warmer months, concerts of light classics and the popular music of the day. From a practical perspective, Higginson realized that these “lighter” performances would provide year-round employment for his musicians. In May 1885—a little more than a month before the inaugural “Promenade Concert”—German-born conductor Adolf Neuendorff, under the aegis of the BSO, conducted a series of “Popular Concerts” in the Boston Music Hall, where the audience sat in typical concert seating and no refreshments were served. On July 11, 1885, Neuendorff—who became the first conductor of the Pops, before that name was officially adopted—led the first official “Promenade Concert,” distinguished from “Popular Concerts” by virtue of seating (tables and chairs instead of auditorium-style rows), program format (three parts divided by two intermissions, during which patrons could promenade around the concert hall), and the availability of food and beverages. For the rest of the 19th century, although formally called “Promenade Concerts,” they continued to be referred to informally as “Popular,” which eventually became shortened to “Pops,” the name officially adopted in 1900. The following year the orchestra performed for the first time in its new home, Symphony Hall. Not only is this performance space acoustically outstanding, it was also designed, at Higginson’s insistence, so that the rows of floor seats for Boston Symphony concerts could be replaced by tables and chairs for Pops concerts. To this day, patrons sitting at the cabaret-style tables can enjoy food and drink, along with the kind of musical entertainment only the Boston Pops can provide.

I find it difficult to believe there were SEVENTEEN previous conductors of the Boston Pops before Arthur Fiedler.  Artie was the first American born conductor to lead the orchestra (from 1930 to 1979).  He is credited with moving the orchestra from light classical music into the world of pop culture and music.  He organized the first free concerts on the Charles River Esplanade that led to Boston’s now famous Fourth of July concert.  And the Pops became the most recorded orchestra in history under Fiedler.

Along came John Williams (1980-1993) to succeed Arthur Fielder, and garnered FIFTY Academy Award nominations.  He remains the most nominated living person in Academy history!  Under Williams, the Pops traveled extensively, including their first trips to Japan.

Fast forward to today, Keith Lockhart (1995-present) has led more than 1800 Boston Pops concerts.  He has broadened the orchestra’s reach with 78 televisions shows, 42 national concerts, and four overseas concert tours.  Along with increased touring, Lockhart has earned the orchestra’s first Grammy nominations, and first major network national broadcast of the July 4th Spectacular that we see each year on the Fourth.

The program will be the same both nights, fireworks only on the 4th.  Along with the guest performers, the Pops will pay tribute to Leonard Bernstein (1918-1990), as part of a celebration making the centennial of his birth.  Rita Moreno will make a special appearance each night in his honor.  She won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress in the film adaptation of West Side Story by Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim.  Ms. Moreno is one of only TWELVE artists who have won all four major American entertainment awards, an Oscar, a Grammy, a Tony, and an Emmy.

The Tanglewood Festival Chorus will also perform, along with a 20 minute fireworks spectacular on the Charles River.  The program will be broadcast on Bloomberg TV, Bloomberg Radio, and Bloomberg.com.  The host for the evening will be Alix Steel.  Of note, all of the special guests are female performers.  And we have all watched this show on our home TV’s for decades, when Arthur Fiedler first made it a “must see” event.

Often described as one of the best 4th of July celebrations: 

This historic American city’s display is renowned for its accompaniment—live music performed by the legendary Boston Pops Orchestra, which features—yes—real cannon fire. The fireworks are nothing to sneeze at, either—an impressive array of pyrotechnics are shot from barges along the Charles River.

Where to watch: Home base is the DCR Hatch Shell, an outdoor band shell where the Pops perform along the Charles. You can also get killer views from the Harvard and Longfellow Bridges, or from anywhere along the three-mile Esplanade.So, look for me on TV.  There will only be half a million people attending each night.  I will be the one wearing red, white and blue!!!  But an adult-long dream comes true, in Boston, I can’t wait!

The month of May in Warsaw will have temperatures between 55 and 60, and a low of 41, with fifteen days of rain forecast.  So, it will be colder than back home, but definitely not warmer than Greece.  Athens will have highs of 89, and lows of 73, with only two days of rain forecast.  Santorini will have highs of 84, and lows of 73.

The key will be to pack smartly, both for the cooler Warsaw, and the relative heat of Athens and Santorini.  This conundrum often reared its ugly head on my business travel days.  I would start in Palm Springs, head to Denver, then back east.  

Generally, the weather should be comfortable in Greece, shorts during the day, slacks at night, with a light jacket.  Warsaw may require a few more layers both day and night, based on the forecast and my last visit there.

On my first trip to Warsaw, Mr. Mike and I found the city to be friendly, with many options for food and culture.  We even spent the better part of a day in search of the “Black Madonna.”  We visited the Curie’s home (now a museum) in Old Town, rode the metro all over the city, and got a nice sampling of Polish beers and nightlife.

Poland has been home to some rather famous people (famous Poles).  One is Copernicus, the famous Polish mathematician,  astronomer and scientist.  He identified the sun, rather than earth, as the center of the universe.
But perhaps the most famous person from Poland is Frederic Chopin.  Others include Pope John Paul II, Madame Curie (my personal favorite), Lech Walesa (Solidarity), Wislawa Szymborska (poet), Joseph Conrad, Angelique Kerber, Zbigniew Brzezinski, Meyer Lansky, Caroline Wozniacki, Tadeusz Kosciuszko, and Anja Rubik (not the Cube).

Speaking of Madame Curie:  The mother of modern physics was known for her work with radioactive materials and the discovery of elements like polonium and radium. Unfortunately, her research took a hefty toll on her health, leading to aplastic anemia, which caused her death. The exposure to radioactivity didn’t just affect her, it also affected most of her belongings, including her clothes, furniture, and books. Now, more than a century later, Marie Curie’s notebooks have to be stored in a lead box, as they are still radioactive (and will be for another 1,500 years!).

Circling back to Chopin, many people are surprised he was not French.  But he did live a goodly part of his life there.  Widely considered a keyboard music genius, he only performed 30 public concerts in 30 years of performing.  His piano concertos are widely considered the best and most significant.

Having read Madame Curie’s biography, written by her daughter, I knew I had to visit her home (now a museum).  The story is both interesting and amazing.  She was perhaps the strongest woman of her time.  Why was I so drawn to her, aside from her great scientific contributions?  In her very rare and intermittent time off, she loved to ride a bicycle in the French countryside.

What is Poland famous for today?  Many say potatoes and pierogis.  But I say, it is the great spirit of its people.  During this trip, I intend to learn much more about the Polish pysche, what they think of Americans, and how they see their future.  Maybe I will find Lech Walesa?