Alte Meister

In the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna, every second morning—except on free-entry Saturdays—the music philosopher Reger takes a seat on the bench opposite Tintoretto's White-Bearded Man and immerses himself in the painting. One day, the routine is interrupted: Reger asks his friend Atzbacher to meet him at the museum on a Saturday of all days. But before the reason for this unusual behavior is revealed, Reger indulges in wonderfully spirited tirades against the Viennese, against artistic pretension and title-seeking, the Capuchin Crypt and the Hofburg, the culture of pastries, and the Prater.