Salzburg Festival Blog 35 (29 Aug)

There had been plans to make a sailing trip on one of the lakes today, however this is shelved due to the distinctly autumnal weather. Instead a gentle start is followed by a trip to the music shop to buy some scores. I bump into some of my orchestra who have just finished their Matinee with the controversial Jean-Christophe Spinosi. For some of them it is the end… of their Festival. For others, there is still tomorrow’s final performance of ‘Armida’.

I have a last Triangel lunch, today with Petra Richter (over from Munich) and we are joined by Thomas Hengelbrock who is an old friend. I love his Balthasar Neumann Choir and recently took them on tour with Handel’s ‘Athaliah’. Tom is also newly appointed Chief Conductor of the NDR orchestra in Hamburg and will conduct at Bayreuth in 2011. He is a ‘period instrument’ conductor who has truly transcended his origins and who is able to deliver a huge range of music with astonishing verve.

After this it is time to drive to beautiful St. Gilgen (now in Autumnal guise) and have dinner with Gunter and Christa Friedrich. Vintage champagne, beautiful garden salad with flowers, ‘eierschwammerl’, kartoffel gratin and home-made ‘zwetgschen’ cake. I love Austrian food as my waistline shows!

It is for me nice to end this time with close friends whom I have known since my first Salzburg summer.