"The Noshing with Nina Show" in Vienna

As you may recall, in our last newsletter we announced that The Noshing with Nina Show would be spending the bulk of the month of August in Austria and Great Britain. Nina Kennedy in her role as concert pianist was invited to film a music video at the Bösendorfer

Salon, which happens to be inside of the Musikverein building in the heart of Vienna.

Our gracious host, Vladimir Bulzan, was kind enough to sit down with us for a short interview on the history of Bösendorfer in Vienna, and to share some details on the beautiful Imperial Grand piano on which Nina performed. That instrument was the model owned and preferred by jazz pianist Oscar Peterson, and Vladimir discovered later that afternoon that the day we were filming happened to be Oscar Peterson's birthday. Happy belated birthday, Oscar! You are our favorite jazz pianist.

Vladimir also pointed out the Bösendorfer model owned by Michael Jackson.

Nina and Vladimir also shared some insight on the life of composer Franz Schubert, who made his home in Vienna during his short life. Franz Schubert enjoyed much success because of his symphonies and songs, one of which was the famous Ave Maria. One of the works Nina recorded was the Widmung or "Dedication" by Robert Schumann - a song written for his wife Clara Wieck (Schumann) to be sung to her on their wedding day - which quotes the melody of the Ave Maria at the end. This was a nice segue into a discussion on Schubert's personal life and his struggles as a gay man.

During our stay in Vienna we enjoyed wine and fried chicken at the Beethoven Haus in Grinzing, currently a Heurige inside of the house where composer Ludwig von Beethoven lived. We also visited Mozart's apartment in downtown Vienna, and took in an all-Mozart concert at the famous Wiener Staadtsoper (Vienna State Opera House). And of course we had to stroll the grounds of the royal summer residence at Schönbrunn Palace, and treated ourselves to lunch at the Gloriette behind the palace where we had a panoramic view of the entire city.

Be on the lookout for Nina's performance of Schumann's "Widmung" on the Classic Arts Showcase channel. We'll keep you posted as the broadcast date approaches.

And here's a short rehearsal clip. Watch the show for more performances!