- HAMBURG, Germany (Reuters)
-- The sound of 40 kg (90 pounds) of finely tuned cucumbers, leeks, potatoes,
radishes, peppers, aubergines and marrows entertained a German audience
at a weekend concert by the Viennese Vegetable Orchestra.
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- The nine-piece orchestra plays a range of original compositions
on instruments constructed from vegetables -- including a flute made from
a carrot, a saxophone carved out of a cucumber and a pumpkin converted
into a double bass.
-
- "I would never have thought you could get sound
out of a cucumber," a young woman at the concert said. Others commented
on the raw vegetable aroma accompanying the melodies.
-
- The Austrian ensemble, three women and six men, said
their instruments are freshly sliced and put together only an hour before
each performance to enhance the sound. Size, texture and water content
are vital to achieving the correct sound.
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- "Ordinary vegetables work better together than organic
vegetables," said Matthias Meinharter, who plays a violin fashioned
from leeks.
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- The musicians must also work against the clock. To protect
their instruments from drying out during the performance, they place damp
cloths around the vegetables when they're not in use.
-
- At the end of the performance, the instruments were turned
into vegetable soup.
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