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Monday, May 19, 2008
Barbara Walters
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Barbara Walters swings into Decatur tonight to plug “Audition,” her new memoir that has received such scant publicity recently.
Despite what has seemed like a total news blackout, “Audition” sold a whopping 250,000 copies in its first week, has been at or near the top of the best-seller lists, and has even — you may find this hard to believe — prompted Star Jones to speak out in her own defense.
Walters, who appears on television from time to time, will be at Agnes Scott College tonight at 7. She will be interviewed by Jovita Moore of WSB.
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GUEST BLOG: ASO Chorus says auf wiedersehen to Berlin
Chorus member Kathleen V. Poe gives a first-hand look at the ASO's trip to Germany
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Our Friday and Saturday performances at the Philharmonie were just as well received as Thursday was. The audience’s response remained totally overwhelming each night as they called Joe Kaiser, Norman Mackenzie and Maestro Donald Runnicles back to the stage four and five times. The bravos and ovations were intensified because we were surrounded on all sides by audience members, some of whom were close enough to touch. (For these concerts, about one-third of the chorus occupied seats that would normally have been sold to patrons because our group is larger than the typical European symphonic chorus.) Each night, concert-goers clapped and waved until after we had left the stage.
Perhaps even more thrilling was the applause of the Philharmonic, as well as the keen musicianship they brought to the partnership. Joe Kaiser told a group of us after Friday’s concert that he had heard the orchestra many times before and could tell from the way they played that these performances were heartfelt. A lot of credit for this goes to Runnicles. He was absolutely on fire in Berlin, with a ferocious energy and unwavering focus. If, as he said, “Alle gute dinge sind drei,” — all good things are three — the chorus can look forward to a third engagement with the Philharmonic under Runnicles’s baton.
During the long journey home, which began for half the group at 5 a.m. Sunday morning German time, I spoke to several chorus members about how our week in Berlin stacked up to the 2003 trip. Both were deemed chorus career highlights, but the two were difficult to compare. For some people, this trip didn’t possess the same magic as the first one. This time, each party in the collaboration came into the week with expectations built on prior experience: the Philharmonic musicians knew our abilities, and we knew theirs, generally speaking.
So many stories from the previous trip center on that first rehearsal and the orchestra’s in-the-moment reaction to the chorus, now the stuff of ASOC legend. The element of surprise was not at play as much this time. For those for whom this was a return trip, these indelible memories are likely foremost in their hearts. For singers like me who weren’t a part of the chorus in 2003, Berlin 2008 had a certain magic all its own.
