The old city is built on the various levels of a river basin and ravine. There are ruined forts and a large castle, lots of moats, vestiges of the Middle Ages all around.
The main part of the old city consists of a large pedestrian zone overlooking the river. There are lots of retail stores and restaurants in this area.
The other component that is noticeable in Luxembourg is the vast EU headquarters. Just outside the old city there is a huge corporate office park where all the bureaucrats work. Across the highway there are art galleries and the concert hall.
The hall's interior is beautiful, spacious and comfortable for players and audience. The acoustics are good. It's easy to hear each other on stage and there is nice feedback coming from the hall when you play. It's not Carnegie Hall, but much better than Paris!
Everyone seemed more relaxed in our concert here last night. I was more comfortable and found a new reed for the Mendelssohn. There's hope for my reeds for the rest of the tour!
Looking out in the audience while warming up, I noticed a sea of grey, black and blue suits. This is certainly a government town! No one seemed to be trying to make a fashion statement.
The audience received our performance warmly.
We have a concert tonight featuring the Shostakovich Cello Concerto with Truls Mork. His only performance with us is tonight. We rehearsed the piece just once this morning. That's the way things go on tour sometimes!
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