Lawrence clarinetist solos in Eutin festival
Audiences enjoy the lakeside amphitheater setting for the Eutin summer music festival in its 70th year.
Dr. Robert Walzel, Dean of the Kansas University School of Music, performed in Eutin, Germany as clarinet soloist with the Kammerphilharmonie Lübeck on Friday, 8/27/21, as part of the Eutiner Festspiele, a 2-month summer music festival.
The concert of “Swinging Classics” took place in the open air theater, the Seebühne, on the shore of the lake in Eutin and was nearly sold out, although tickets were limited to 50% of the 1900 seats. Walzel performed Prelude, Fugue, and Riffs, composed by Leanard Bernstein, to close the festival concert highlighting the intersection of classical and jazz styles.
In May the new musical director of the Eutiner Festspiele, Hilary Griffiths, invited Walzel to Eutin, to make up for his canceled performance date at the 2020 festival because of Covid travel restrictions. “As [the concert genre] is squarely in my wheelhouse of musical interest, accepting the invitation was a no-brainer,” commented Walzel.
Travel to Europe was not without complications - requiring vaccine records, Covid tests, and wearing a mask throughout flights and airport connections. In Germany people are required to wear medical masks; in Eutin they are required indoors in public areas. The Eutin festival required daily testing of all musicians and staff for all rehearsals and the concert. Audience members were required to wear masks during the concert in the amphitheater (open air with stadium-style seating). “At no time during the trip did I feel unsafe or compromised,” asserted Walzel. “I was told that there has not been a single positive test result among Festspiele employees, volunteers, singers, and musicians all summer.”
The Eutin festival’s 70th season began July 2 and will end September 4 and featured performances of “Cabaret” and “La Boheme” as well as potpourri of artists representing various tastes in music.
The Festival provided a welcome setting for performers and audiences during a pandemic, but not without challenges. Walzel calls performing outdoors “always a bit of a crapshoot”. He continued, “For example, our first rehearsal was during an episode of variable high wind. Music was blowing all over the place; it was pretty distracting. The dress rehearsal was calmer, but the temperature was a frigid 55 degrees, causing intonation challenges and some stiff fingers for the performers. There was a bit of rain during the concert. The stage is covered, so performers were dry. The audience came prepared with raincoats, which has been standard garb since the Festspiele began in 1951.”
Walzel first visited Eutin 10 years ago while accompanying David Neely, Kansas University orchestra director and 60 students to perform “Hansel und Gretel” at the Eutiner Festspiele. The KU student orchestra also played a gala concert and served as the orchestra for performances of the opera “Don Giovanni”. KU auditioned and sent students for several more years, til 2016, to participate in festival music making.
Walzel enjoyed reconnecting with friends, including his hosts in Eutin, Detlef and Margrit Heldt, and leaders of the “Freunde von Lawrence” group - who partner with “Friends of Eutin” to organize sister city exchanges. “Eutin’s greatest treasure is its people. I believe Lawrence’s sister city relationship with Eutin remains one of the most productive and meaningful collaborations of its kind anywhere. So many wonderful people!”
The Freunde-von-Lawrence organization hosted Bob Walzel for dinner at the “Zum Frohsinn” (to happiness) restaurant in Bosau. From left: Bob Walzel, Thorben Mothes, Hans-Jürgen Grein, Stephan Klein (president), Annegret Klein, Martin Vollertsen, Sabine Grein, Sonja Meseck, and Marion Vollertsen.
On his way to perform at the “Swinging Classics” concert Bob Walzel acknowledged the significant role the sister cities partnership played in connecting him with Eutin festival organizers.