Wie lockt mich Zürich / dass ich alles fasse:/

Hier See und Wolke // Alpe, Mond und Wald

und dort der Grossstadt // steinerne Terrasse.

           – Klabund

Zurich cannot be summed up more succinctly than in these verses by the poet and bohemian Klabund (1890 - 1928), who regularly, ruinously and unfortunately unsuccessfully tried to cure his consumption in Switzerland. We can only add: On one side, the Gendarmenmarkt, on the other a large lake with gently rocking boats and a shore on the opposite side on which Alpine peaks can be seen - wouldn't that be the ideal location for the Konzerthaus?

A long, exhausting previous day with a journey from Antwerp to Friedrichshafen followed by a concert melts away like Swiss chocolate in the sun. There are a few short afternoon hours between arrival and rehearsal in the Tonhalle, which is just a few minutes from the hotel on the shores of Lake Zurich. Some grab their swimming gear and mingle with swimmers of all ages imperturbable ducks that make their way in between. Others prefer taking a walk and a coffee on one of the terraces to let their gaze glide across the lake into the distance.

(Many thanks to principal clarinettist Ralf Forster for his wonderful photos: Lake with mountain view in Zurich;  Let's get out of the bus - and into the lake or café; Jana Krämer-Forster from the 2nd violins between urban greenery).

The famous concert hall from 1895 is quite reserved in an Helvetian way on the outside, but inside the “Große Tonhalle” shines in gold like our Großer Saal - but in the Fin de Siècle version instead of Schinkel. Mozart, Brahms and co. look down a little severely on the audience from „Komponistenhimmel“ (“composer heaven” – the official name), surrounded by a couple of rather lascive musical angels.

In the winding corridors behind the stage, the same questions have to be answered at every tour stop: Where is the big box with my instrument, where do I go to the stage, where are the wardrobe boxes, are basic supplies provided - water dispensers and, in the best case, a fully automatic coffee machine - or do I have to go in search of the cafeteria? Once everything has been found, the hall acoustics are checked on stage during the warm-up.

The rows on the stage gradually fill up, our soloist Giorgi Gigashvili, who will be playing Rachmaninov's Piano Concerto No. 3 here and in Ludwigsburg, ist greeted by Joana Mallwitz - and off we go. General Director Tobias Rempe and Orchestra Director Ulf Werner sit in the middle of the hall and give feedback on the acoustics. However, it's important to keep in mind that an empty hall never sounds like a full hall!

(And once again photos by Ralf Forster: Joana Mallwitz and colleague Hans Brauß on their way backstage; flautist Antje Schurrock shows the way; principal horn José Cortell and colleague Yu-Hui Chuang after their work is done; Orchestra Director Ulf Werner (right) with Stage Manager Gregor Beyer during a very short break).

Not everything in life and on tour can be planned - but a lot can. Anyone organizing a tour has to take many interests into account. It starts with the smallest possible ecological footprint and does not end with the ideal time between the end of the rehearsal and the start of the concert, says Orchestra Director Ulf Werner:

“Basically, it's always about covering distances between venues in a reasonable amount of time. It's not just the musicians who have to get from A to B, but also our instrument truck, which travels with us the whole time, except for long-distance destinations. When we fly to keep travel times reasonable, it sometimes gets very tight for it on the ground. So nothing can go wrong. The alternative would be not to include a concert venue in the tour, but that's always a shame.

Both the logistics and the costs of an orchestra tour are a big puzzle. Especially for longer tours and those that lead further afield, such as to Japan, we work with local agencies who put together a schedule for us and also take care of the bookings. When we plan our own itinerary, as we did for our current tour, we have to keep an eye on what travel alternatives are available on a given day, even spontaneously if possible. If you travel to the concert evening standing in a completely overcrowded train, you won't have the energy for a good concert later on stage.”

While this is Ulf Werner's last orchestra tour before his retirement, three members of the Kurt Sanderling Academy are joining us on their first tour with a professional symphony orchestra. We asked Veronika Kahrer from the 2nd violins and Yeunwoo Park from the violas how the trip is going for them.

“I've already been on tour with youth orchestras. Some things are similar, others are not. In a professional orchestra, for example, you only have a very short rehearsal period, in youth orchestras there are work phases beforehand, and on tour you are sometimes in one place for several days. As an academy student, I also learn a lot on tour that I need as an orchestral musician,” says Veronika Kahrer, whose mentor is Karoline Bestehorn, adding: ”Repertoire knowledge, ensemble playing, concert preparation, adapting to different halls - it's really exciting!” 

Yeounwoo Park, who is mentored by principal violist Amalia Aubert, nods and adds: “It's also very important to stay fit on tour and not fall ill. Before, I thought it might be exhausting to be on the road so much and play in the evenings. Now I know that it is [laughs]. But it's a lot of fun and I learn a lot from my colleagues next to me - timing, intonation when playing together, little signs. I had heard from friends that few halls are as beautiful as the Tonhalle Zurich. So I was really looking forward to being able to play here.”

The audience in the Tonhalle, which elicited two encores from our pianist Giorgi Gigashvili after Rachmaninov 3, showed no proverbial Swiss restraint and applauded for minutes while standing and shouting “Bravo” into the hall. And it simply carried on after the Schubert. The result: a very happy concert hall orchestra and chief conductor! Photographer Gaëtan Bally captured the atmosphere of the concert for us.