ALL CREATURES GREAT AND SMALL
 How many knights,
princes, and royalty have passed through this gate, and left
their footprints on the long walk to reach the courtyard of Schloß Eggenberg?
Perhaps they rode on horseback or in gilded carriages.
Now IW concert-goers were duplicating their steps. The setting sun cast a deep
glow on this warm summer evening. Strolling reflectively gave one time to see the
vast gardens, where even the strutting peacocks roam free.
Entering the palace, one is awed by the splendor of an era long past. If only
these walls and portraits would speak and tell their tales. The grand staircase
leads to the concert in the ballroom, the Planetensaal, on the upper level
overlooking the gardens.
As we take our seats a gentle evening breeze greets us from the open windows. Hundreds
of candles are already lit and cast a magical spell on the evening's event.
 Pianist Nelita True
begins and there is rapt attention from the audience.
Suddenly a screeching sound ascends from below...the peacocks! They are
adding their quite dissonant improvisation to the concert.
Now these creatures are certainly endowed with magnificent plumage. Could that
explain why their creator thought that would suffice and thus overlooked their
voices???
Someone immedietely closed the windows, but it wasn't long before we understood
why the ballroom walls are lined with windows. The air on this summer evening
became so heavy, that when Nelita acknowledged the applause between selections,
she said: "open the windows, let them sing!"
The program continued beautifully with only an occassional aviary solo to be
heard. What an event: Nelita collaborating in concert with peacocks.
Could there be an encore in July??
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