The musicians played to a packed house in Munich, Germany, on July 16, as guest members of the Denver Philharmonic Orchestra.
Professional musicians and sisters Carole Reifsteck Parsons of Altoona and former Altoonan Cheryl Reifsteck played to a packed house in Munich, Germany, on July 16 as guest members of the Denver Philharmonic Orchestra.
The DPO has had a partnership with the Bayerische Philharmonie (Bayerische Philharmonie) since 2017.
The July concert was originally planned as a birthday celebration for Ludwig van Beethoven’s 250th birthday in 2020. Like many events, the COVID-19 pandemic caused it to be postponed to July 2022, according to the program booklet.
Due to the schedule change, the DPO, led by Lawrence Golan, had to recruit additional traveling musicians, so Golan spread the word to the York Symphony Orchestra, which he also directs, Reifsteck said.
Reifsteck, 66, plays viola and violin in the York orchestra and suggested her sister Reifsteck Parsons also participate in the cultural exchange as a violinist. Both women played in the eight-piece violin section for the concert at Hercules Hall (Herkulessaal) in Munich, Germany.
Based in Munich, Germany, the Bavarian Philharmonic Orchestra is the leading European orchestra and is led by musical director Mark Mast, according to its website. The two organizations started this international partnership in 2017 and it will run until 2024.
Reifsteck Parsons, 78, a retired music professor at Penn State University, is a member of the Altoona Symphony and previously played the violin with the York Orchestra.
While based in Denver, the DPO draws musicians from all over the Midwest, Reifsteck said. About 60 American musicians made the trip to Germany. The sisters were two of the 18 violinists.
The sisters said the trip also included “phenomenal local German food,” including white sausage, potato salad with vinegar dressing, egg noodles and a Bavarian cream dessert. The sisters also toured Munich and the Neuschwan Castle Ludwig II in Schwangau, Germany, among others.
“It was a trip of a lifetime,” Reifsteck said.
Harald Dertinger of Altoona also took part as a photographer. Dertinger serves as a photographer for the Altoona Symphony Orchestra. He was born in Würzburg in northern Bavaria, about 2.5 hours north of Munich.
“It came to me out of the blue through Carole. I had planned a trip to Germany for this summer anyway and it turned out to be a charm,” he said, adding that he was visiting family for three days in Munich and four days in his hometown.
Reifsteck said Dertinger helped them find their hotel upon arrival on the morning of July 11. Later that day, the trio went to the MarienPlatz for dinner at the Hofbrauhaus.
“We took pictures with the Mad Hatter from the novel ‘Alice in Wonderland’ and got beautiful pictures of Carole and myself having tea with the Cheshire cat/Mad Hatter,” Reifsteck explained in a travel journal she shared with the Mirror. Reifsteck retired as a music teacher from the Philadelphia School District and previously from the Philadelphia College of the Bible.
Both sisters have traveled internationally before, but this trip fulfilled Reifsteck Parsons’ desire to see the land of their German ancestors, she said.
The orchestra members individually prepared to learn the performance music, including the composition “Ode to Joy Fanfare” from Pennsylvania and composer Diane Wittry, as well as “Chorale Fantasie” and “Symphony No. 9” by Beethoven. The concert also featured the “outstanding vocals” of the Bayerisch Philharmonic Choir and 17-year-old Swiss pianist, Javelyn Kryeziu, who described Parsons as a “rising star”.
“I’ve never heard anyone play like that,” said Reifsteck Parsons. “She was so good. She was flawless. So musical and so technical above her 17 years. I could not believe it. I have heard a lot of piano playing for over 50 years as a judge for the American Guild of Piano Teachers.”
The orchestra members spent approximately 20 hours rehearsing for the two-and-a-half hour concert over three days while the co-conductors worked to create a unified sound.
The audience, which numbered about 2,000, gave a 15-minute standing ovation at the end of the concert, Reifsteck Parsons said. “We were very happy with the welcome we had. The hall was completely full. They gave us a standing ovation, clapping and clapping for at least 15 minutes. They clapped to the beat and asked for an encore. We made them wait for more music. So we have to go back one more time,” she said.
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