Notes from Vienna

I visited Vienna and toured the many museums dedicated to composers, like the Mozart, Beethoven, Strauss and Haydn. There is something awe-inspiring about standing next to the actual piano upon which Beethoven composed his 5th Symphony (see the pic below). Or, walking through the very room in which Mozart premiered many of his works. Or, standing in Haydn’s garden. These composers and their works are so ingrained in the music of the everyday that it is hard for me to imagine that they were living, breathing and working musicians. Indeed, my biggest lesson from that experience is that these composers worked and worked and worked. Haydn began his day teaching piano at 6:15AM. Mozart produced six pages of manuscript per day with 12 staves per page…all of this without Sibelius or Finale! It was, and is, humbling. Music demands talent for sure, but also an incredible work ethic…I feel spoiled now to have Sibelius.