Dresden: Sounds of Music
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Story & photos by Julie Maris/Semel
A brief weekend in Dresden is equivalent to tasting streusel on a warm German coffee cake. One needs time to experience the depth of art and culture within the restored Baroque and Renaissance architectural gems.
From the top of Frauenkirche’s sandstone dome, its 221 ft. high platform offers spectacular views of Dresden that give perspective to the city’s history. Contemporary art museums, the Albertinum’s New Masters Gallery, the Historic Green Vault with its dazzling opulence of jeweled objets d’art, and the Semper Opera House attest to the enduring culture.
Dresden’s Altstadt, the historical center, bustles with activity of tourists and locals alike at Neumarkt Square’s poppy seed cake stands and handcraft stalls and Kreuzkirche, home of the well-known Kreuzchor, the boys’ choir whose songs resonate.
Eight hundred years of music with angelic voices at vespers and the vibrant Dresden Philharmonic Orchestra continue the tradition along with the opera’s 150th anniversary celebration of the birth of Richard Strauss, the annual Dresden Music Festival and International Dixieland Festival in May and June, and the November Jazz Festival.
A tranquil retreat early morning, the Neustadt District across the Elbe River offers unique and vintage shopping, cafes, and restaurants on its streets and in the Kunsthof Passage’s connected courtyards, but in the evening pubs and music vie for the attention of the Altstadt. The quiet Baroque Quarter with its artisan arcades house modern art galleries and elegant shopping.
On Brühl’s Terrace near the Albertinum and in a secluded garden that overlooks the river, take a moment to absorb Dresden’s renewed spirit and energy and listen.
For more info:
Frauenkirche (Church of Our Lady)
Albertinium and Residenzschloss
Dresden Music Festival May – June 2014
Hotel Taschenbergpalais Kempinski
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