As the birthplace of Ludwig van Beethoven, Bonn hosts frequent concerts. Right now is BeethovenFest.
I have attended two concerts related to BeethovenFest. The first was the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Breme at Beethovenhalle. It was excellent. The piano soloist in the Concerto for Violin and Orchestra was one of the most agile I had ever heard. The piece was very exciting. After it was finished, several males in the audience belted out a series of hearty "BRAVOs!"
This is the statue outside Beethovenhalle:
Tonight I saw the Choir of King's College Cambridge perform at St. Martin's Basilica, right in the center of Bonn. I couldn't see very well from my seat, and at first I thought the soprano section sounded a little funny. But then I realized that it was composed of 5 to 8 year-old boys. They were good, but yikes!
After the concert I stopped by the Bonn town hall, where a free outdoor concert was about to begin.
I had never heard of the band "Tri Yann." But a crowd of eager fans was camped out in front of the stage waving flags and chanting. So I figured they had to be pretty good.
Promptly at 8pm a pirate, elf, powdered-wig-clad man and stork-like bird emerged with instruments. The stork outstreached his arms and basked in cheers from the adoring audience. I don't know how he balanced his absurdly large headdress.
They began singing something like a sea chantey. The audience (composed of seemingly sober adults) lit up, grabbing one another's hands and forming circles of "ring around the rosey."
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