Prague Journal

Wednesday, February 16, 2005.

It snowed all night so we woke up to six inches of snow on our balcony railing. Trudging through the snow was pleasant – I was particularly happy to have to rely on public transportation instead of negotiating the slippery, slushy roads in a car.
My afternoon interview appointment, which I had expected to be an hour, lasted four. Again, people are generous with their time, and I was pleased to be given so much information. But instead of heading home at 3:00, I was not on the tram until after 5:00, and home shortly after 6:00. Fortunately, Rick had dinner waiting, so we were able to leave in time for the concert at the Rudolfinum at 7:30.
The Rudolfinum is one of the Prague’s jewels, built between 1876 and 1884 in Czech Neo-Renaissance style architecture (like the National Theatre). It was named in honor of Crown Prince Rudolph of the Habsburgs. In the years 1918 - 1938 and 1945 – 1946, the Rudolfinum was the seat of the Parliament of the Czech Republic. The largest room is Dvorak Hall, named after the great Czech composer, which was originally designed for a picture gallery, collection of antiquities and concerts. This evening’s concert was performed by the Manhattan String Quartet, as part of the Czech Society for Chamber Music series. The first hour was a symphony quartet by Mendelssohn and a short piece by Shostakovich. The last hour added another cello for a quintet performance of Schubert. Of course the audience made sure that there were several curtain calls and an encore (Mendelssohn again).

posted by JWinn @ 9:48 PM