On Good Music, Food...

Last night I played a concert with an amateur string orchestra way outside of Berlin, primarily made up of senior citizens. Another girl from my studio and I were only used in 2 pieces of the all-English music concert, so while we weren't being used we read the paper/listened from backstage.

It really strikes me each time I play in an amateur orchestra in Germany just how good the string players are. I mean, these are doctors, bankers, lawyers, etc. and they play so well! Also in my experiences with student orchestras where the string players are non-music majors in college and just playing for fun - they're at such a high level. I think it has something to do with the music schools in Germany and how it's possible to study with a private teacher of your instrument from the beginning.

Since German schools don't have a music program like American schools (some have a general music teacher or theory teacher) music schools are where kids go after school to take lessons and play in a band or orchestra. The music schools provide a very good foundation for the young musician because of the private teachers, etc., however, the downside is that the music schools cost (sometimes quite a bit of) money and have limited space, which can mean a long waiting list or no chance at all to get in.

Anyway, while I applaud the American system of music in the schools for everyone (not including the schools who have unfortunately cut music from the budget) because of the opportunity it gives to all children, I understand it is hard to teach all instruments and for the kids to really advance in group lessons if they're not really self-driven. As an elementary band director, my dad has a big job teaching all the wind instruments. I guess there are pros and cons to each system, but like I said, it seems that the German amateur string players are at such a high level which makes it fun to play in orchestras even if they're not professional.

After the concert we were invited to one of the violinist's houses for a party. On the car ride over to his house we had to take a small ferry across the lake. It was just a moving bridge, unlike the real barges they use on the Rhine River to drive cars across, but the little trip took us into a delicate little village.

The host was a doctor and their house was quite large by German standards (still small by American standards - especially for a doctor) and very beautiful with the different rooms separated by a single step up. Their backyard could've been out of a Better Homes and Gardens magazine with tons of plants, little hidden nooks and corners, and a tiny former brick barn, used partly now as a roof terrace to sit in the sun, overlooking the lake.

Besides walking around admiring the quaint house, we ate well (which is why the other oboist and I wanted to go..eh hem..) and had fun talking to the other musicians before getting a ride back into Berlin with a son of another violinist.

Last weekend on Saturday I celebrated my birthday by having a small group of people over. Of course we had to turn on the tv for Europe's largest event, second only to the World Cup, which is the Grand Prix Eurovision Song Contest. This mega-spectacular event consisted this year of 37 European countries, each represented by a music group or singer. By calling in, each country votes on their favorite selection (naturally not their own country), and at the end country with the most votes from the other countries wins.

This year the hard rock monster band from Finland won, knocking out more typical ballads or hip hop from the other countries. Germany's song, in my opinion, was just embarrassing. Dressed in cowboy attire, their "country" song was a plain insult to anyone who likes or doesn't like country music. Needless to say, they didn't score very well overall.

The day before, on my real birthday, my on-again/off-again friend, the one I spent Christmas with, surprised me. After months of experiencing only her bad mood (and therefore not spending much time with her) she cheerfully brought a homemade cake to the music school. It certainly shocked me, but it was a really nice gesture. She also came to my birthday get-together the next day and gave me a book on baking German cakes.

This was a great present because I've been wanting to learn how to make German cakes for awhile now. Compared to their American counterparts, German cakes are not that sweet, but spite of that, rich and tasty. Now, with high school graduations in America just past or still going on, I'm sure it doesn't take that much work to recall that typical graduation party white (or chocolate) sheet cake with make-you-sick-to-your-stomach frosting, not to mention the "mints," those rose-shaped, pure frosting mint bites, which are good till you've eaten one too many. Then the thought of eating just one more literally brings a nauseous feeling. The only thing left to do in such an instance is balance the way-too sickening sugar feeling with a ham bun.

Anyway, sometimes similar to a pound or butter cake, a very common German cake not very high, but pretty heavy, i.e. not fluffy, though they certainly have fluffy cream cakes here too. My favorite kinds are fruit cakes - especially the kind with cheesecake on the bottom and cake/cherries or plums on top. That combined with a cup of coffee makes the absolute perfect afternoon break sugar kick, especially on the weekend.

So now that I have the new cookbook, I'm excited to start. Unfortunately I don't have an electric mixer or a large baking sheet, so we'll see if I can be creative. Either that or I'll just continue to drool over the pictures and eat my cheap (and hard) version of American chocolate chip cookies from the grocery store.

P.S. For anyone interested, here is a German citizenship quiz. You can test your knowledge of German facts in English here!