The last concert tickets were for Anne Sophie Mutter in the "Alte Oper Frankfurt". The concert was cancelled, though, and all music for a year came from loudspeakers. Concerts, theatres, libraries, museums and cinemas were among the few things I really missed in the Covid-era - I think we can call it "era" by now. And so did most like-minded people.

Finally, the first concert was an exceptional event, not just because the ensemble was great, but also because it was an event at all. The "Philharmonix" played in the Rheingau Musikfestival in the Wiesbaden Kurhaus. It was brilliantly played, arranged, light-heartedly presented and funny. So, no surprise, it received standing ovations by the culture starved audience. I also liked to see that the audience was relatively young for a "classical" concert. Hygiene rules were implemented strictly. So was the verification of vaccination certificates. It did not feel in any way an infection risk. I think, like this, cultural life can resume.

New infection numbers are rising in Germany though - slightly, but the trend is up. Of course, this is an effect of relaxed measures and lax handling of hygiene rules by the Covid-fatigued population. What worries me a bit is that there is also vaccination fatigue creeping in. That could be dangerous. Not even to mention the format chosen for the European Soccer Championship. Congratulations to Italy, by the way.

Philharmonix - Swing on Beethoven