Outside, excavators thunder through the drizzle over the building site in Charlottenstraße, but opposite the porter's lodge, it's already a bit Christmassy and contemplative: Principal Harp Ronith Mues and her golden instrument get into our elevator, which, despite all the construction work, is making its way up reliably and as slowly as ever. 

Actually, it's our dear stage managers who need the elevator for me! I always take the stairs - even when we have rehearsals upstairs in the Werner-Otto-Saal.  It's a good exercise (laughs)!

But the harp definitely depends on the elevator. If that doesn't work, I'm lost. We've already had to move a chamber music rehearsal from the WOS under the roof to the second floor. That was just about bearable for the stage managers who carried my harp up there.

Christmas is a time of the supernatural - and the angels in heaven have traditionally been imagined with melodious harps and trumpets. It's partly because of the way the harp looks that people always think of something sweet. But it can also sound quite loud and full sounding. And we're not just sitting decoratively at the instrument and possibly wearing angel wings!

For us musicians and especially for me as a harpist, these weeks are really stressful and not as much of a pleasure as they are for the audience, who particularly enjoy coming to our concerts at this time. Because harp music is very popular in the background, I often played at Christmas parties when I was a student. But that was not contemplative at allfor me! And it's no fun being out and about with a harp in snowy Munich.

I love chamber music - it's good for the soul, good for the sound and for fitness on the instrument. I particularly enjoy playing with my “Horensteinern”, we have known each other for a long time, are well-rehearsed and will certainly be making music together for many years to come. This time the program includes E.T.A. Hoffmann's Harp Quintet. There are not so many works for string quartet and harp. A wonderful, very classical piece with the harp in a leading role that usually given to the piano.