Museum Concert in the Old Opera, Frankfurt

The Old Opera House in Frankfurt is one of the landmark buildings. In 1987 the Opera caught fire and it took 3 years and 200 Million EUR to rebuild it from the ashes of what became the largest such disaster since World War II. The fire was set by a homeless who broke into the building through a side window. Frustrated that he did not find food, he gathered some newspapers and burned down the building. Now, what looks old from outside, is just the plain opposite when you enter. It's more modern than the New Opera of town, with excellent seating and acoustics.

Last Monday, I was in the 4.th Museum Concert directed by Tung-Chieh Chuang with the Frankfurter Opern- und Museumsorchester (Frankfurt Opera and Museum Orchestra) and Kian Soltani cello. It was Georges Bizet Symphony in C Major, Camille Saint-Saëns Cello concerto Nr. 1 in a minor op. 33 and after the break Igor Strawinsky Petruschka (in the 1947 edition). It was nice and I really enjoyed the evening. Such concerts are more "meditative" than opera and a good start into the week.

Snapshot of the interior of the Old Opera House Frankfurt, taken during the break of the 4th Museum Concert.

Mendelssohn, Brahms, Edwards (?)

Yesterday night I took the opportunity to go to a small performance by the Malta Philharmonic Orchestra in the Robert Sammut Hall in Floriana. Nice programme, well performed, and I enjoyed also the information and guidance by Melanie Waite, who was leading through the evening. I had a little new discovery, which was a composition of the contemporary composer Ross Edwards. It was very Australian, in the sense that I could well imagine the vast space of the country. And also it became a bit repetitive in the end, which reminded me of the long drives through the Australian outback. I have to go back one day.

Organ Recital in the Robert Samut Hall, Floriana

The Robert Samut Hall (35°53′30.8″N 14°30′11.8″E) is the former Floriana Wesleyan Methodist Church, which has been handed over to the Maltese Government and converted into a cultural centre in 1975. It is a neo-gothic architecture, built by the architect, illustrator and poet Thomas Mullet Ellis, which has been originally completed in 1883 and was the first building in Malta using electric lighting. It is equipped with manual pneumatic Willis organs from 1950. We went to a recital, but it was unfortunately performed on an electronic instrument. Roberta Bugeja played a mix of pieces from Buxtehude, Guilmant, Messiaen, Bossi and Gigout. 

Willis organ in the Robert Samut Hall. Not well maintained though.