Day 168: A Lulu of a day
36yearsago.com
Vienna 1971—A Student Journal
A year of music, study, travel, sightseeing &
friends.
Day
168 — A
Lulu
of a day
17-January-1972
(Montag–Mon.)
TRANSCRIPT
Today has been and will continue to be quite a day.
First, I went to my horn lesson. I played very well.
If I could play this way every time, I would feel
like I’ve been progressing.
Then I went to the dentist. To get my broken tooth
extracted and find out about a replacement.
Quite to the contrary of my previous American view of
backward European medicine, the dentist’s office was
the largest, most modern, most well-equipped, and
most well-staffed dentist office that I’ve ever been
in. The dentist, Dr. S., is also friendly and seems
to be a good doctor.
My adventure was quite a happening. They had problems
getting it out and I was moved to the surgical chair,
whatever that meant. Anyway, I wish I could have made
a movie of the view (my looking up vantage point) of
the scene. It looked so “tough” ???? , the way
everyone was staring down my throat. I think the
dentist’s wife was also having a look… Anyway, it’s
out and afterwards, for the rest of the day, I felt
sort of dejected. I guess my tooth felt ejected. I
will be seeing them again. I wonder how much it’s
going to cost?
Then I went to my piano lesson. This was also quite
funny, because of the way I tried to talk. Anyway, I
had a really good piano lesson. Another good thing
was that there was this really good-looking girl
waiting for her lesson, with the cutest smile. I hope
in reaction to my argument with the teacher. Anyway,
it made me feel good. Maybe, I’ll even meet her
again, I hope.
It is now later, and I have eaten, partially finished
cleaning my clothes, and have less pain in the tooth.
So, now I am going to see “Lulu” and then afterwards,
I am expecting two calls—from Lucille and brother
Mike.
Just came back from Lulu.
It was a lulu. Actually it was a pretty good job. It
was a bizarre and nightmarish story and the music fit
the job. For me, though, after a while, the 12-tone
music lost its effect. Lulu was quite good looking.
A little experience that can open up your eyes. The
weather in Wien is bitingly cold and windy. On the
way to the opera, there was a blind young boy, who
was walking alone and casually and determinedly asked
me where a certain street was. I didn’t know and so
he simply moved on. He was very friendly. I watched
him keep on walking (obviously, not in a straight
line but he kept on correcting himself) in the biting
cold, actually not knowing where he was going. I
realized then that my problems were nothing. Also,
that someone, such as that boy, had the courage to
overcome the tremendous obstacles and still get the
most out of life—[that he] was a real man.
At 1:00 AM, got a call from Lucille. Better late than
never??? Anyway, I hope I’ll be seeing them Thursday.
REFLECTIONS
Whew! Today took up a page and a half in my journal.
A busy and complete day. I’ll keep the reflections
short.
A
good lesson day. Well, I
have both a good horn lesson and a good piano lesson.
Why can’t that happen all the time? I’m noticing good
looking girls at my lessons. Smiles always melt me
(at least in my youth). Was she smiling at me? Or my
hair? Hmmm.
Austrian
dentistry. I have a
broken tooth that needs to come out. I have a
preconceived notion that European medicine is
backwards. Needless to say, I’m in the most modern
dentist office I have ever seen. Out damned tooth,
out!
Berg’s
Lulu. It’s
appropriate that today was a lulu of a day because I
go to see Alban Berg’s opera, Lulu.
The opera’s story is not a pleasant one. Singing the
part of Lulu is extremely difficult. Berg is known
for his 12-tone atonal style and uses tone rows in
association with the characters in the story. I enjoy
12-tone music and most contemporary music. Though,
after a while it can be more difficult to
differentiate musical ideas, themes and motives, when
they are not rooted to tonality. I would love to
see Lulu
today in
2008.
Life
lesson: A blind boy in the biting cold.
After the
opera, I run into a young blind boy who is lost and
looking for directions. It’s night, it’s late, and
it’s biting cold and windy in Vienna. Obviously, he
made an impression on me. He doesn’t complain about
his situation and disability and just moves on to
finish his task. Myself, I often complain. Look at
this journal. I should remember this incident more
often. Don’t complain, just do it. Don’t let
obstacles stop you. Just do it. Be a man.
Munich.
A late
night call from Lucille, a friend from Montclair
State. They are going to Munich to sing. Looks like
I’ll be heading there as well.
John
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