La vie grazienne

The first full week of teaching has already slipped by in a blur. We had a spell of fine summer weather in Graz, though it was a bit on the warm side. I had tentatively planned a day trip to Maribor for Saturday but rain was assured for the entire area. Slovenia will have to wait for another time.
On Monday (it seems like a month ago) the faculty recital took place in the Sankt Leonhard Pfarrsaal. Some months ago I had the idea of preparing something from the piano four-hand repertoire for this program and solicited the collaboration of one of my fine keyboard colleagues. I chose the Schubert Rondo in A Major, Op. 107 because I love the piece and it is rarely heard. I thought it would add something really special to the program. Mission accomplished. It was the only instrumental work in a marathon evening of singing. The Rondo is from 1827, written in the last year of Schubert's life, that astonishing period where one masterpiece after another flowed from the composer's pen. It exudes that sweetness and irresistible charm that we cherish so much in Schubert's music. If I do say so myself, we acquitted ourselves well. My favorite comment on the performance was: The Rondo was so beautiful I didn't want it to end. My vocal colleagues presented an entertaining array of songs and arias. The concert ended with a light-hearted spoof, à la Victor Borge, of a Rossini overture for piano six-hands.
La vie grazienne. The students, for the most part, have avoided signing up for anything on Fridays. They probably have visions of weekend excursions dancing in their heads, and I don't blame them. After lunch at the Mensa on Friday I and two colleagues betook ourselves to a nearby cafe in the Universitätsviertel (actually in the Schubertstrasse!) for coffee and cake. It was a sweet, lazy summer afternoon. What a pleasure it was to sit outside on a shady terrace, surrounded by beautiful buildings on a quiet street, in the company of colleagues, discussing music and life under the silky blue sky. One of the things we love most about living in Graz is the unhurried pace of life here. In the evening some of the faculty were invited to a wine tasting at the flat of one of the program's wealthy supporters. They live in one of those sturdy well-kept apartment buildings from circa 1880 that boast fifteen foot ceilings and parquet floors. We admired their gorgeous antique furniture, including a Biedermeier writing desk that could have come out of Schubert's own study. There were a few Klimt pencil sketches hanging in the foyer. Afterwards a colleague and I went to a kind of beer garden in the University district to enjoy a light repast. From the street one would have no idea that there was such an extensive open-air area in the back of this eatery. It was packed with university students, all having a great time, but still well mannered. This is something we don't have in our fast food culture, the tradition of bonding with friends over a few glasses of beer, enjoying a leisurely evening in congenial company. We are too busy devouring huge portions of restaurant food, more than anyone needs, or zipping through the take out line at Wendy's.
I knew that Hugo Wolf had spent one term at a Gymnasium in Graz. He didn't like the school and left to go on the Vienna where he enrolled in the Conservatory. Gustav Mahler was his room-mate. I knew that the school was somewhere near the Mensa but I couldn't locate it last summer. The other day I stumbled across it by accident. The plaque on the building was the clue. By some wild coincidence (!) it was in the Hugo-Wolf-Strasse. Duh!!