At Home: Celestial Sounds in the Living Room

Back in "the day," the great and the good hosted salons in their homes. These were occasions that were either musical or literary and might include performance or discussion. (I suppose, in a way our contemporary book clubs are a salon of a sort.) They have existed since the first salon in Italy in the 16th century. Some of the greatest works of Faure, Poulenc, Debussy and Ravel got their start in the salon. 

Photo: Sharon Emery

Over the past year or so, Rick has brought that tradition to his home with house concerts by classical musicians. His first was with guitarist Onur Alkavuklar, and it was Onur who suggested Rick ask harpist Belle Coty to perform. I'm glad he did.

Amsterdam -- The Music!

There were two things we wanted to do in Amsterdam.

I wanted to see the Anne Frank house.Rick wanted to attend a concert at the Concertgebouw.

Considered one of the finest concert halls in the world, the Concertgebouw was completed in 1888 and in renowned for its acoustics.

On the day we were in Amsterdam, there were three concerts scheduled. We chose to attend one at 11:30 a.m. This alone amazed us -- that a concert hall could fill up three times a day, as early as before noon.

What we discovered, after we left our tram and approached the building, is that there are many concerts held there -- each and every single day. In fact, nearly 900 concerts are presented here each year. Perhaps more.

We didn't have tickets, but the website said tickets were available, so we headed first to the box office. As we were getting in line, a couple, perhaps in their 60s or maybe their 70s, asked if we were looking for tickets. 

We expected them to be scalpers, but they were season ticket holders whose friends couldn't attend. This very charming couple sold us the extra tickets for face value and then asked us to join them for a before-show coffee in the hall's bar. (We never would have found this without them.)

It was simply delightful to chat with them about their country and the differences in our two countries. When we went to sit together in the auditorium, we felt like friends.

The concert was broadcast on Radio 4 and we enjoyed a program that included music by Stravinsky, Debussy, Rimski-Korsakov and Dukas, with soloist Ronald Brautigam.The conductor, Mark Elder,  seemed quite young to us (from our fifth row seats!). 

After, we wandered about, taking photos of the hall and rich in the euphoria of hearing wonderful music, beautifully played and in a concert hall that did it justice. 

And we had one of those serendipitous encounters that make any experience richer.

 

Travel Tips

1) Online reservations -- it all depends. We learned that if one is on a tight time frame and really wants to do something (like the Anne Frank House), they are mandatory. If you are willing to take a chance, you, too, may have the kind of encounter we enjoyed.

2) If you're not familiar with a venue, ask if there is a spot to enjoy refreshments before the show. The bar in the Concertgebouw was not obvious and had it not been for our Fairy God-Dutch friends, we never would have found this delightful spot.

A Day of Music

This and other posts are part of the "Paris Tour" party on Anita's blog, "Castles, Crowns and Cottages." The links are at the bottom of her lovely post HERE.) 

One of Rick's big dreams for his Parisian vacation was visiting the luthiers and guitar shops, with an eye toward choosing a new guitar for himself.

The district in Paris where there are multitudes of shops is a street called Rue du Rome and some of its sidestreets.

So, on another rainy day, we were off!

The streets in this area are named after the capitol cities of Europe -- it's no surprise that the Metro stop was called Europe.

 

The first shop we visited was one he'd heard of from the luthier we met on our first day, but they were closed for lunch.

So, we moved to the next one, where a lovely shop owner showed Rick many guitars, all of which he played.

Then we asked the shop keeper to play one, which was quite delightful!

After visiting the first shop, we were ready for lunch. The cafe on the corner looked nearby and inviting. 

Called La Lutetia, we were to discover a totally decadent and delicious omelet there! 

 

I love how dogs are present in cafes, restaurants and stores of Paris!

After lunch, we returned to our original destination. The shopkeeper was in the back, playing.

 

He invited Rick to do the same. While he played (and played and played), I made good tracks in my journal, settled into the comfy sofa in the front of the store.

 

Rick left that store with some music, but no guitar. The price ($10,000) and the thought of customs duty was a little bit overwhelming.

 

We window shopped around the area, finding a variety of fascinating shops.

 

A music shop offered some good deals on the sidewalk.

 

Inside, it was simply enormous, packed with sheet music.

 

Max Eschig was a publisher who was noted for his guitar publications. His company had once been at 48 Rue du Rome -- so of course, we had to take a photo!

All in all, our time at Rue du Rome was delightful -- if you are a serious music fan, you could do worse than spending all or part of a day trying out instruments.

And if you're a beginner, another version of the franchise could be found here, along with terrific CDs and sheet music.

After, we walked down toward the opera, where we would go tomorrow and did a bit of window shopping.

The displays were fabulous!

But we opted to spend our money at our favorite department store, BHV, located near Jerry's apartment. It's not inexpensive, but it's less than the others and the merchandise is as lovely.

 

Jerry fixed us a nice dinner and we had to agree that despite the rain, we had a lovely day!

Lessons from Paris

If you are planning a day like this -- interesting to one person, less so to the other, be sure to pack a book or journal. That well could be your only time to write in it -- or postcards, for that matter -- and your time will pass quickly.

Just because you window shop or even go into a grand store, remember, you may be able to get quite similar merchandise less expensively -- be a smart shopper and don't let the fabulous displays or emotion of the moment get in your way!

Great Lakes and Great Folks

East Lansing was a wild place the weekend of August 13 with the annual Great Lakes Folk Festival -- my favorite event!

Over the course of three days we heard Celtic...

...a cowboy poet...

Mariachi (not pictured) and flamenco. (This would have been an excellent act if the guitarist had kept his mouth shut. He was very loud and sort of sounded like he was in labor when he sang. Gave me a headache and we left after this group! That said, he could play the guitar like crazy!)

He came with his dancers -- and they were good. (The guy was fabulous and really was shining in his solo. Often the woman looked like she was just going through the steps, but it was also 88 and a little humid. We were dripping just sitting there, so I've got to cut her some slack!)

All that and more was Friday. There are many stages to this event, with the music happening simultaneously, along with lots of demonstrations, a green arts marketplace and more. While there was lots to enjoy Saturday, one of my favorite bits was the musicians jam (there was also a community sing). Here Hanno, one of our local musicians, participates in the jam.

And this is a lousy picture of the wonderful Quebecois group that also performed that night.

They were also at the dance tent, which is great fun. (You could have joined in there with polka or Creole/Zydeco, too!)

If those genres don't get you, how about some Hawai'ian ukulele? Kimo Hussey was my favorite of the acts, and a very nice guy.

And then there were the heritage awards. Alberta Adams, at 93, was recognized for the blues. And if you think a 93-year-old can't belt it out with the best of them, think again!

She had the pipes (and the band) to really sell it!

Without doubt, a good time was had by all!

Be there, next year! (Second weekend in August!)

The Doctor Is In! (Root Doctor, that is!)

Today's Autumn Image takes us a wee bit closer to Thanksgiving!

And, I also want to remind you that on Chopsticks and String (my oft-neglected other child) those interested can find part one of a four-part series of writings I'm doing related to grieving and supporting others who may be.

The other night I had a great experience at work (I don't say that often!). We are recording a series of musical concerts for a new series called "BackStage Pass."

Last night's group was Root Doctor, a local blues band whose current recording is number eight on blues charts (along with some heavy hitters like B.B. King, Taj Mahal and others who had new releases at the same time!)

Root Doctor is special to us at WKAR for lots of reasons. For one, they're fabulous.

But the other more personal one is that lead singer Freddie Cunningham used to work for us as a camera op/studio supervisor/lighting specialist.

I remember how much fun it was to go into the studio when Freddie was hanging lights high near the ceiling. He'd be singing as he worked and it was glorious -- if angels sang the blues, it would be Freddie leading the pack!

The program is going to be terrific, with numbers from last night's concert plus backstage interviews.

And I have to say, a good time was had by all -- especially me!

It'll be awhile before this one hits our air, but if you love the blues, visit their website and check it out. And if they're playing in a spot near you (they go everywhere!) don't miss 'em!